Dozens of local nonprofits — large and small — are going to benefit from the $360 million Tom Golisano is donating. Many are still bouncing back from the pandemic.

Medical Motor Services of Rochester and Monroe County is a small nonprofit. It’s been around since the 1918 pandemic. It was created by five nurses to help people get to medical appointments.

Executive Director Tim Kohlmeier said many clients are older folks and people with disabilities.

The service took a hit during COVID-19 and is still trying to recover. Kohlmeier said the current need has far outweighed the available resources.

But Tuesday morning’s announcement changed things.

The nonprofit was awarded $2 million, to be spread out over the course of four years.

Kohlmeier said the money will be used to serve more people and invest in the fleet.

News10NBC’s Eriketa Cost asked Kohlmeier how long it would’ve taken to raise that amount alone.

“Decades,” he said. “We are struggling to build capital to address our fleet needs, and we had no path forward on that. This is such a gift to our organization to be able to build that in the community,” Kohlmeier said.

The news came as a surprise Tuesday morning.

Bigger nonprofits like The American Red Cross of Western New York are also feeling grateful.

The Red Cross said it’s thankful whenever people donate after disaster. But they need that support year-round to ensure those life-saving measures are available every day.

Nick Bond, CEO for Western New York’s Red Cross, said getting support like this can be life-changing; if not life-saving.

“When we respond to a home fire, we provide direct financial assistance, right off the bat, to those families so that they have a safe place to go,” he said. “They can get food, water and clothing if they need it. So to make sure we have those resources available to impact families during a time of disaster, this is a great thing for us,” Bond said.

Bond said some of the money will go toward blood drives and donations, like the blood processing center in West Henrietta. The center collects, tests, and processes every drop of blood in New York State.

“You know, if a freezer unit goes down, or HVAC unit goes down, just being able to have additional resources to make sure that we can impact our mission, and our blood supply stays consistent, we can support hospitals, is a great thing,” Bond said.

Bond said the $5 million would typically take a year to raise, and they’re excited to continue serving the community with an extra pad of support.

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