Upstate Today & Tomorrow
Upstate Today & Tomorrow highlights timely ideas and stories showing the profound impact of a planned gift to the Upstate Foundation. For more information or to have a confidential conversation regarding your legacy gift plans, contact Carolyn Hendrickson at 315-464-6490 or hendricC@upstate.edu.
Spring 2025 Issue
Upstate Legacy Society member – Phillip Capozzi, Jr., MD
A young Phillip Capozzi Jr., dreamed of being a doctor, but when he couldn’t gain admission to medical school, he turned to commercial real estate and thrived in this profession for more than a decade. However, when he was 39, a fateful encounter with Dr. Zahi Makhuli and his wife Marion at a restaurant one evening rekindled his love for medicine. Makhuli, a prominent urologist at Upstate University Hospital, and Marion encouraged Capozzi to pursue his dream and reapply to medical school, which he did. Shortly thereafter, he packed up and left for New York Medical College in Westchester County.
He returned to Syracuse as a physician, completing his residency at Upstate Medical University in anesthesiology and has practiced in the area for 20 years. Fate again intervened when his good friend and doctor ordered a biopsy of his prostate following a routine exam, and Makhuli told Capozzi he had a very aggressive tumor. Capozzi once again followed Makhuli’s advice when he was referred to Upstate’s Dr. Gennady Bratslavsky for surgery.
Eternally grateful for the recommendation, care and extension on life, Capozzi wanted to extend his gratitude beyond words, which led him to the Upstate Foundation. Eileen Pezzi, vice president for development, recalled explaining to Capozzi how to structure a gift to name an endowed professorship in Bratslavsky’s honor.
“The decision to fund an endowed professorship is an important one,” Pezzi said. “We are humbled that Dr. Capozzi has chosen the Upstate Foundation and Upstate Medical University for this significant support of our mission.”
Pezzi added that in the years since making his legacy gift, Capozzi’s relationship with the Upstate Foundation has deepened to the point where he is now serving on its board of directors.
“Giving back is the most gratifying and philanthropic way of saying thank you for my health and the life I love! And more amazing is how generous giving has a way of coming back to you many times over,” Capozzi explained. “And the Upstate Foundation has the expertise to support my desire to give back.”
Upstate Legacy Society
At the most recent meeting of the Upstate Legacy Society hosted by the Upstate Foundation and Office of the President, over 40 local members gathered for the annual luncheon. During the event, society members received an update on the ongoing work of Upstate Medical University and the Upstate Foundation, learning about the life-changing impact their legacy gifts have on both Upstate and the broader community. Since its inception in 2009, the society has grown to more than 110 members.
Professional Advisory Council Spotlight* – Our family’s philanthropic strategy
Richard E. Cote Jr., CLU, ChF, Financial Advisor
Professional Advisory Council, Upstate Foundation
Key to our family’s philanthropy is a three-step process in which my wife Lisa and I established an endowment at the Upstate Foundation, created a donor-advised fund to support the endowment, and when we both pass, the remaining balance of the donor-advised fund will be our final gift to the endowment.
Having been volunteers and conducting fundraising for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital for the past 25 years, Lisa and I understand the importance of having a local hospital to specifically treat and care for sick and injured Central New York kids, especially those who have special needs. We created the Madeline Cote Endowment to assist the Golisano Center for Special Needs in facilitating adaptive activities for special needs children and their families.
*Professional Advisory Council members are estate planning attorneys, financial/wealth advisors and accountants providing advice and council to the Upstate Foundation and those seeking financial assistance.
Funds in the Spotlight
The Upstate Foundation manages over 1,200 funds, the most of any charitable organization in the region, in support of patient care, education of health care providers, scientific research, and community health and well-being. Below are just a few of the Foundation’s many funds.
Urology Staff and Patient Enhancement Fund #47705 – The specific purpose of this fund is to support recruitment and retention of staff and for patient unmet needs.
Zahi Makhuli, MD Endowed Fund in Urology #67950 – The specific purpose of this fund is to provide funding for patient care, education and research.
RuariSparkle Pediatric Brain Cancer Research and Comfort Fund #42890 – The specific purpose of this fund is provide funds for pediatric brain cancer research to find more effective treatments, and to provide comfort, support and sparkle for children and their families facing childhood cancers.
Madeline Cote Endowment #61930 – The specific purpose of this fund is to assist the Golisano Center for Special Needs in facilitating adaptive activities for special needs children and their families.
To find the fund – or create a new one – that matches your giving interests, contact the Foundation or visit www.UpstateFoundation.org/fundsearch
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