The city of Buffalo rejoiced last year when Terry and Kim Pegula bought the Bills and pledged to keep the team in Buffalo.
As it turns out, that sale will benefit the region far beyond ensuring that the NFL remains in town. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, named for the late owner of the Bills who passed away last year, announced their plans to operate as a grant-making organization “dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people” in Western New York and Southeastern Michigan. The foundation was funded with $1.2 billion-plus investment income from the sale of the team and will spend the money over the next 20 years.
“Ralph saw firsthand the impact of his generosity in his lifetime,” Wilson’s widow Mary said in a statement. “Always thinking of others even in his own legacy, his hope with this trust was that the Foundation’s work may make a direct impact in the lifetimes of those who knew him best.”
The foundation named “healthy lifestyles, early childhood and youth development, caregivers, community development and economic growth” as their top priorities and earmarked $60 million in grants for 2015. They are now putting together a staff that will oversee a formal, long-term grant application process for 2016 and beyond.
Wilson may be gone, but it’s clear that his impact on Buffalo and elsewhere won’t be going away for quite some time.