News

We were honored to be recognized as the Partner of Year by Family & Children's Service of Ithaca. Supporting the mental health workforce is one of our top priorities, and our grant supported clinician advancement and retention.

The mind is a precious resource. One that deserves to be nurtured, inspired, and empowered.

In 2023, the Lee Foundation provided scholarships to 86 students pursuing BS and AS degrees in engineering and other STEM fields.

The Lee Foundation is pleased to announce 10 grants totaling $1,071,936 to promote recruitment and retention at mental health organizations serving western and central New York.

Lee Foundation Celebrates 15 Years of Grantmaking

Two exceptional students have been named the 2023 Distinguished Lee Scholars.

The Lee Foundation invests $300,000 in scholarship support to bolster the local mental health workforce.

Requests for Proposal - Mental Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention and Funding Opportunity

12.1.22 Buffalo News “Another Voice” by INTERCEPT’s Steven Silverstein

The Lee Foundation invests nearly $200,000 in campus-focused mental health initiatives

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation invites eligible organizations in New York to respond to this request for proposals (RFP) to fund support services for families and caregivers of people living with mental illnesses.

New Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship

THE LEE FOUNDATION COMMITS $533,275 IN SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE IN WESTERN NEW YORK

The Lee Foundation names 2021 Distinguished Lee Scholar and invests an additional $435,000 over the next three years to expand its STEM Scholarship Program.

Lee Foundation Joins with Fellow Funders to Support ECMC Behavioral Health Services

COVID-19, Structural Racism, and Mental Health Inequities: Policy Implications for an Emerging Syndemic

The Thomas Scattergood Foundation, Peg’s Foundation, Patrick P. Lee Foundation, and Peter and Elizabeth Tower Foundation commissioned the ‘Think Bigger Do Good Policy Series’ to address crucial behavioral health issues and promote effective advocacy.

Lee Foundation renews a grant with University Psychiatric Practice to continue a doctoral internship program focused on serious mental illness.

In response to the ongoing needs of the WNY Community, the Lee Foundation awarded an additional $50,000 grant to the WNY COVID 19 Community Response Fund.

The Fall 2020 newsletter shines a light on the Lee Scholars and how they are adapting to remote learning, and spotlights Lee Foundation grantee, National Alliance on Mental Illness Buffalo and Erie County (NAMI Buffalo).

To ensure its critical support of families continued without disruption, the Foundation awarded NAMI Buffalo a $25,000 grant.

The Western New York COVID-19 Community Response Fund, announced that it has awarded nearly $1 million to an additional 47 nonprofit organizations, bringing the total grant amount from the Fund to $6.6 million, supporting a total of 156 nonprofits.

This prestigious award is given to an exceptional Lee Scholar who has successfully integrated the Foundation's values of integrity, leadership and service to others into their personal and academic endeavors.

The Spring 2020 newsletter celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Lee Scholarship Program.

WNY COVID-19 Community Response Fund awards addition $1 million to support nonprofits addressing immediate needs.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation announced a $450,000 generous financial commitment that will provide a gateway to stronger preventative services focused on mental health and education for the new Buffalo City Mission community center.

The Lee Foundation continued its efforts to address the mental health workforce shortage by awarding $217,500 to the University of Rochester School of Nursing to create scholarships for students earning a psychiatric nurse practitioner degree.

The Lee Foundation was honored to be recognized as Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation by the Association of Fundraising Professionals WNY Chapter. The award was presented at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon held on November 13, 2019.

On September 26, 2019, Buffalo Business First recognized 25 women in a variety of roles for their contributions in the workplace. Lee Foundation Executive Director, Jane Mogavero, was honored at the event.

The Lee Foundation is a proud member of the Erie County Anti-Stigma Coalition, a group committed to ending the stigma of mental illness in our community.

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) is honoring the Erie County Anti-Stigma Coalition in Buffalo as a recipient of the inaugural OMH Community Care Awards. These awards are given during May – Mental Health Awareness Month.

Leading mental health and education advocacy organizations Bring Change to Mind and the Patrick P. Lee Foundation release a new advocacy and awareness campaign, Between The Lines.

The Mental Health Advocates of WNY (MHA) recognized WBFO-FM 88.7 and The Patrick P. Lee Foundation with the MHA Advocacy Award for the impact they’ve made in the community through WBFO’s Mental Health Initiative.

Patrick P. Lee HON ’99 first learned about the importance of giving back from his grandmother.

Dinner will honor Niagara Falls School District with Community Impact Award; Patrick P. Lee Foundation and WBFO with Advocacy Award; Dough Bronson with Volunteer of the Year Award; Henry Harris/Veterans One-stop Center of WNY with Volunteer Award.

As part of the Mental Health Initiative, funded by the Lee Foundation, WBFO launched the first in a series of video stories on mental illness. The first video shares the story of longtime WBFO anchor Mark Wozniak and his struggles with depression.

The Western New York Human Services Collaborative – a group of eight nonprofits providing a wide range of parenting, mental health, developmental disability, and other programs – has received funding from four Western New York’s leading foundations.

Members of the Lee Foundation Board met with Jack Quinn, President of Erie County Community College, and recipients of the Lee Foundation Scholarship at Erie County Community College.

Executive Director, Jane Mogavero, was invited back to AM Buffalo to continue the conversation about BeKind2TheMind. The initiative, which launched in May, seeks to raise awareness and educate about mental illness and its community impact.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation (Lee Foundation) announced $984,250 in mental health grants and scholarships to support mental health professionals. The Lee Foundation concentrates its investments in two key focus areas – mental health and education.

Executive Director Jane Mogavero, was invited on AM Buffalo to discuss the Lee Foundation's new initiative - BeKind2TheMind. The Foundation in partnership with Congressman Brian Higgins (D) and Congressman Tom Reed (R) seeks to educate the community.

The Lee Foundation announced the launch of BeKind2theMind, a mental health awareness initiative. Driven by the Foundation’s focus in mental health, BeKind2TheMind will raise awareness of mental illnesses and the need for resources and services.

On May 3, 2018, the Buffalo and Erie County Chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) awarded its President's Award to WBFO in honor of the station's Mental Health Initiative.

To meet a growing demand of mental health workers needed in the area, D’Youville created the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program in 2016. The Patrick Lee Foundation has announced they will join D’Youville and support these students.

On April 26, 2018, the Lee Foundation received the Googie Butler Award from Compeer Buffalo. Named for Gertrude "Googie" Butler, founder of Compeer, the award recognizes outstanding contributions in mental health advocacy.

Lee Foundation Board Members met with the newest ECC Lee Scholars. The highly competitive scholarship program awards ten scholarships each year to students entering their second year of study in a technical field.

The Lee Foundation Board was pleased to meet the five newest Lee Scholars. The Lee Scholarship Program at Canisius College is the Foundation's newest scholarship program and provides competitive scholarships to students.

Generous $250,000 grant will directly support construction of Behavioral Health “Safe Rooms” and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) triage rooms in new Trauma Center/Emergency Department.

With funding from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, WBFO-FM has introduced the Mental Health Initiative, a multi-faceted, two-year media project to share critical information about mental illness.

The Lee Foundation is pleased to announce the election of Arthur M. Michalek, PhD, to serve on its board of directors. Michalek is a Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo.

In 2013, the Lee Foundation granted the University of Buffalo Foundation $600,000 towards "Advancing Schizophrenia Treatment Breakthroughs, Education and Outreach in Western New York". In late December, the research outcomes were published.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) defines a mental illness as a medical condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling or mood. It permeates all races, religions and socio-economic backgrounds.

Lee Foundation Executive Director, Jane Mogavero, along with Jessica Pirro, Executive Director at Crisis Services, were invited on AM Buffalo to discuss stigma surrounding mental illness.

The Lee Foundation is pleased to announce $90,000 in professional development grants in mental health and new engineering scholarships. The Lee Foundation focuses its investments in two key areas – Mental Health and Education.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation is pleased to announce $90,000 in professional development grants in mental health and new engineering scholarships. The Lee Foundation focuses its investments in two key areas - Mental Health and Education.

Executive Director, Jane Mogavero, and Board Member, Michele Lee, were invited to share the work of the Erie County Anti-Stigma Coalition on WNY Living.

On September 17, 2017, Patrick Lee received the St. Louis University Alumni Merit Award. Saint Louis University established the Alumni Merit Award to recognize alumnae who exemplify the University's diverse, well-rounded educational program.

The Lee Foundation, the Buffalo based foundation dedicated to having immediate and measurable impact in Education & Mental Health, announces grants totaling $350,000 to two organizations providing support to individuals with mental health challenges.

Compeer Buffalo’s mission is to use the power of volunteer friends to improve the lives of children and adults who are striving for good mental health. One of the services Compeer provides to the community is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).

Join the Conversation is an awareness campaign created by the Erie Country Anti Stigma Coalition, a group of 15 Western NY organizations committed to mental health issues. The campaign seeks to start a community conversation about mental illness.

Patrick Lee, Board Chair, and Jane Mogavero, Executive Director, met with Lee Foundation's scholarship recipients at St. Louis University - Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology.

On April 21, 2017, the Lee Foundation sponsored the New York Funders Alliance event, Advocacy 101 for Foundations: Advocating for Advocacy. The objective was to educate and empower foundation staff and trustees on to effectively engage in advocacy.

The Lee Foundation is proud to fund Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to local law enforcement. Offered through Crisis Services, CIT trainings promote and support collaborative efforts to create and sustain more effective interactions.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation, a private family foundation, is pleased to announce the details of its new funding strategy developed by its Board of Directors. Moving forward, the Foundation will focus on two key areas: mental health and education.

Members of the Lee Foundation Board met with Jack Quinn, President of Erie County Community College, and recipients of the Lee Foundation Scholarship at Erie County Community College.

The Lee Foundation supports scholarships at University at Buffalo Medical School for students who are planning to train in psychiatry and are committed to practicing in Western New York.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Mogavero as executive director effective January 1, 2016.

High school students recently completed the ultimate lesson in hands-on learning. Ten high school seniors from the Building Trades program at Erie 1 BOCES Potter Career &Technical Center in West Seneca built a four-bedroom house in the school lot.

The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans selected Patrick P. Lee as one of 11 people to receive the Horatio Alger Award. The award is presented each year to individuals who have overcome obstacles to become successful entrepreneurs.

A $50,000 grant to the Charter School for Applied Technologies will be used to buy equipment for its advanced manufacturing experience lab, which provides high school students hands-on experience to pursue manufacturing careers in the region.

Lake Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. is thrilled to be the recipient of a $77,500 grant from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation to establish a CET (Cognitive Enhancement Therapy) Cleveland™ Program, a state-of-the-art, cognitive remediation model.

The grant will allow Horizon Health Services to continue their efforts in building the Young Adult 25-Bed rehab facility on their Horizon Village campus out in Sanborn, New York.

City residents will have two new after-hours options for health care with the opening next week of two separate facilities. WNY Immediate Care will open its new urgent care facility Dec. 12 at 2497 Delaware Ave., near Tacoma Avenue, in North Buffalo.

The Patrick P. Lee Foundation announces the expansion of their Board of Directors with the addition of Glenda M. Cadwallader. Glenda brings with her a wealth of experience from her past position as the Executive Director of The Tower Foundation.

Kaleida currently has a comprehensive behavioral health program that includes inpatient treatment, outpatient partial hospitalization, day treatment, counseling, psychiatry and substance abuse all available at 1010 Main Street in Buffalo, NY.

Mark O'Donnell will take over the top spot at the private foundation, while serving in a dual role with Lee Capital Acquisition LLC, effective May 9. O'Donnell has a 15-year history with the Lee family.

The officers and staff of The Salvation Army Lockport were pleased to receive word that they have been awarded a $40,000 grant commitment from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. The money is in direct response to the New Building Project.

The Buffalo City Mission announced its third annual hungerhunt.com fundraiser, an online experience that educates people about the plight of homelessness locally. This year’s online journey from hunger to hope is part of the Mission’s campaign.