New Grantmaking Strategy Announced

The two key areas of giving are Mental Health and Education

Buffalo, NY – 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 and new Executive Director over the past year. Moving forward, the Foundation will focus its grantmaking in two key areas: mental health and education.

In the area of mental health, the Lee Foundation is pursuing opportunities that support people, families and providers who are confronting serious mental illness.  The focus includes increasing public awareness, education centered on early diagnosis and screening, and professional training for those working with individuals with mental illness.

“Raising public awareness on issues of mental health – specifically serious mental illness – is a significant part of our funding strategy,” said Patrick P. Lee, Chairman of the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. “According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 25 adults lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar. Increasing education and support for providers and caretakers is critical to helping improve outcomes for patients.”

In the area of education, the Foundation is committed to supporting educational opportunities that lead to job realization.  The Lee Foundation will continue to fund scholarships for engineering students and will expand funding to include scholarships for students entering the mental health profession.

“As part of the Lee Foundation’s new grantmaking strategy, we have recruited two well-respected community leaders to join the grant committee effective immediately,” said Jane Mogavero, Esq., Executive Director of the Lee Foundation. “We are looking forward to tapping into the expertise that both Arthur M. Michalek, PhD and Ann F. Monroe bring to the Foundation.”

Arthur M. Michalek, PhD is a Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo.  Dr. Michalekwas at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute for over 30 years having retired in 2010 as Dean and Senior Vice President for Educational Affairs.  Dr. Michalek was recently a Fulbright Scholar at Wroclaw University, Poland.

Ann F. Monroe has served as president of the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York since it began operation in 2003. With more than 40 years of experience in health and human services, Ann has held leadership positions in both the public and private sector in the fields of mental health, community health, managed care and philanthropy.