Tom Golisano gives away millions more to nonprofits, this time in southwest Florida

Philanthropist and Paychex founder Tom Golisano gave out out more money to nonprofit organizations on Tuesday.

This time, it was in southwest Florida, where Golisano lives for most of the year.

He distributed gifts totaling $85 million to 41 nonprofits including medical organizations, agencies helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and animal welfare groups.

Golisano told the representatives of the organizations he’d like to hear about the various innovative ways they may be using these grants.

“We care about how you do it, we care about how hard you work, and we know running nonprofits, being in nonprofits, is not the easiest thing in the world. So my congratulations to all of you,” Golisano told the gathering in Naples, Florida.

The awards ranged from $150,000 to $10 million each. These are unrestricted donations and may be used at each organization’s discretion.

Last September, Golisano announced a total of $360 million to be split among more than 80 organizations in upstate New York, including the Rochester area.

A statement from Golisano’s office said that with Tuesday’s announcement, it brings Golisano’s philanthropy this year to half a billion dollars and his life-long philanthropy to $860 million.