The Upstate Foundation
The Upstate Foundation was founded in 1976 as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation to receive and administer gifts and bequests for charitable purposes with a focus on patient care, education, scientific research, and community health and well-being. A public charity with the ability to make distributions to any qualified nonprofit organization, the Upstate Foundation’s primary orientation is supporting the mission of Upstate Medical University.
The Foundation’s staff works with an engaged board of directors to manage over 1,200 funds; conduct multi-year, multi-million dollar capital and endowment campaigns; administer alumni associations for the colleges of Nursing and Health Professions; implement named giving and planned giving programs, and a grateful patient and family program; run annual campaigns for Upstate University Hospital, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Upstate Cancer Center; and sponsor several signature fundraising events annually. In addition, the Foundation is home to the local chapter of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The Upstate Foundation offers donor-advised funds and is licensed to issue charitable gift annuities in New York and Florida.
The Foundation is largely self-supporting with the assets it manages totaling nearly $300 million.
Thank you to our donors
“The only wealth you get to keep is that which you give away.”
We had the distinct honor and pleasure of hearing an emotional Tom Golisano speak these words this past September as part of an announcement that he and his foundation were giving $360 million to nonprofit organizations across Upstate New York. The Upstate Foundation received an unrestricted $10 million gift from the Rochester philanthropist in support of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. It is the largest unrestricted gift in Upstate’s history and brings Tom’s total support to $20 million. His namings include the Children’s Hospital (2009), Golisano Pediatric After Hours Care (2012), Golisano Center for Special Needs (2021), and Golisano Children’s Pavilion, which will be dedicated in May of this year.
Tom’s gift also propelled the Foundation to our most successful year ever – raising an unprecedented $22 million. By the same token, we made awards totaling $14 million, also the most ever.
2024 was notable for other reasons as well. We concluded our Child & Adolescent Mental Health Campaign, raising more than $6.6 million over the past three years in support of suicide prevention, addiction, eating disorders, ADHD and more.
In addition, the Upstate Foundation was recognized for its support of cancer research. The Upstate Cancer Center hosted its annual research retreat and presented the Foundation with a Cancer Research Award. By the end of 2023, 30 percent of the Foundation’s funds had a purpose related to research.
The inaugural Alan W. Rothschild Innovation Award was presented late last year at an event hosted by the Upstate Foundation in partnership with the New York State Innovation Summit.
Lastly, there was a solar eclipse in April with Central New York located in its path of totality…which had nothing to do with the Upstate Foundation, except that we closed the office so
that our staff members could view this once-in-a-lifetime event.
As always, we have you to thank for another terrific year.
Candid/GuideStar’s top distinction
The Upstate Foundation has achieved Platinum distinction from Candid/GuideStar, the leading source of information on the programs, finances and impact of more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations.
Platinum is the highest level of recognition in Candid’s nonprofit profiles. Donors, funders, researchers, educators, professional service providers, governing agencies and the media use the Candid site, seen by seven million visitors annually.
According to Candid, the Platinum distinction encourages nonprofit organizations to share their progress and results in important new ways—moving way beyond simplistic financial ratios—to reflect the changes organizations are making in the world.
The Upstate Foundation had previously received Candid’s Bronze, Silver and Gold level distinctions, which offer increasingly detailed organizational information ranging from basic contact information to qualitative information. Now, Candid Platinum allows nonprofits to report their progress against their missions in quantitative terms. As an early adopter of Platinum recognition, the Upstate Foundation is demonstrating its commitment to measuring progress and results, and sharing that information with potential funders.
“Our donors expect us to use their contributed dollars wisely and appropriately to alleviate illness, search for knowledge and educate tomorrow’s health care practitioners,” said Eileen Pezzi, vice president for development at Upstate. “Candid's Platinum is one more way for the Upstate Foundation to provide transparency so our donors can see the impact of their gifts.”