Erie County > Buffalo
One of the biggest stories in Upstate philanthropy broke in 2016, when Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery announced a gift of $42.5 million to help pay for a planned expansion. The donor, billionaire investor Jeffrey Gundlach, a native of the area, structured his largesse as a challenge grant to build community involvement. By the time of the groundbreaking in 2019, Gundlach had promised another $20 million.
He credits his commitment to his mother, who took him to the Albright-Knox when he was a boy and sent him news about the gallery expansion after he had moved to California and earned a fortune at DoubleLine Capital.
Our list of grants in the city shows other significant gifts to the project, including $6 million from the foundation created by the late Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
The museum reopened in June 2023 with a new name: the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, for Albright-Knox-Gundlach.
The city is also home to several colleges, including the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State, and an important medical hub for western New York. Roswell Park is a nationally known cancer center.
School districts: Buffalo City School District
Hospitals: Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo General Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Sisters of Charity Hospital, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo VA Medical Center
Libraries: Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Emergency services: Buffalo Fire Department
Fraternal organizations: American Legion, Lions, Moose, VFW, Zonta
Not-for-profit cemeteries: Concordia Cemetery, Cutler Cremation Co., Ebenezer Cemetery, Forest Lawn Cemetery & Crematory, Glenwood Maltby Memorial Cemetery
State parks: Buffalo Harbor State Park
Change agents:
Grants to local organizations have funded a refugee drop-in center, a mobile food program, a children’s reading program, construction of skate parks, and other causes.
Buffalo grants by interest:
Agriculture
Animals
Arts and culture
Business and professional
Children and youth
Colleges
Community building
Economic development
Education
Emergency services
Employment
Financial services
Food
Health
History
Hospice
Hospitals
Housing
Human services
Justice and legal services
Land conservation and environment
Libraries
Media
Nonprofit sector
Parks
Refugees and immigrants
Religion
Research
Seniors
Special needs
Sports and recreation
Tourism
Veterans
Water
Women
Largest nonprofits in Buffalo (by assets) include:
University at Buffalo Foundation
Kaleida Health
Independent Health Association
Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Catholic Health System
John R Oishei Foundation
Sisters of Charity Hospital of Buffalo New York
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy
Canisius College
Mercy Hospital of Buffalo