Tom Golisano Pledges $253 Million to 6 Children’s Hospitals

The Rochester, N.Y., philanthropist Tom Golisano announced Tuesday morning that he is launching the Golisano Children’s Alliance and pledging a total of $253 million to six children’s hospitals throughout the country. The six institutions will join four other Golisano Children’s Hospitals to form the alliance and will be named for the donor.

All 10 hospitals will operate independently, Golisano said at a news conference announcing the donations. He said the alliance will act as a national network, collaborating on advancing treatments and advocating for more research funding, better reimbursement rates, and improved national health-care policies.

With the new donations, the founder of the payroll giant Paychex has given away more than $1 billion to charity, with a significant share directed to programs that help children. In total, Golisano has given more than $350 million to children’s hospitals since 2012.

“Children’s health has always been a priority for me, and it’s been deeply rewarding to see how the Golisano Children’s Hospitals are making a profound impact on the communities they serve,” Golisano said. “I’m fortunate to be able to help others, and I’m looking forward to seeing what these hospitals can achieve together.”

He also said he plans to give more to boost the Golisano Children’s Alliance by donating to additional hospitals in the future.

The six hospitals that will receive the latest gifts include Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University Health Children’s Hospital, University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital, and University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, each of which will receive $50 million.

West Virginia University Medicine Children’s Hospital will receive $28 million, and the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital will receive $25 million.

Those hospitals join four to which Golisano has given previous gifts — University of Rochester Medical Center Golisano Children’s Hospital, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Lee Health, and the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital — to form the alliance.

Golisano, who is 83, has been a mainstay among philanthropists in Upstate New York for decades. Born in Rochester, N.Y., to a pasta-salesman father and seamstress mother, Golisano founded Paychex in 1971 and built up a $6 billion fortune.

He became emotional during his news conference when he talked about his charitable giving, especially his support for organizations that help children and youths, and said he sees that support as an important part of his legacy.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to support a lot of special organizations in our community, but few things have brought me as much pride as investing in children,” Golisano told the crowd assembled at the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship, where the news conference took place.

Golisano plans to pay off these latest pledges personally rather than through his Golisano Foundation, which he established in 1985. The $120 million grant maker primarily supports programs that help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and awards grants to nonprofit organizations in western New York and southwest Florida.

Tuesday’s news conference wasn’t the first time Golisano has publicly announced a big collection of gifts. Last September, he announced donations totaling $360 million to 82 nonprofits in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, N.Y., and held yet another public event two months later to say he was giving an additional $85 million in gifts to 41 organizations in southwest Florida, where he spends the winter months.

Most of his 2024 donations were unrestricted and went to disability and human-services, health-care, education, and animal-welfare groups. Those donations, plus two others, landed Golisano on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors for the $500 million he ended up giving in 2024.