Lee Health Foundation

Lee Health Foundation

Lee Health Foundation formed in 1995 to direct private philanthropy toward Lee Health, the nonprofit health system serving Southwest Florida's five-county region. The Foundation raises and deploys charitable capital for specific clinical programs, technology purchases, and facility expansions across Lee Health's network of hospitals and outpatient centers. Unlike a general-purpose community foundation, its mandate is tied operationally to a single health system's strategic priorities. The Foundation's deployment model spans directed giving to hospital units, capital campaigns for named centers, and funded research initiatives within Lee Health. Confirmed major gifts include the Shipley Cardiothoracic Center, backed by Richard C. Shipley and the Shipley Foundation, and Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, named for Tom Golisano. Richard M. Schulze, founder of Best Buy, has also directed support through the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. Assets held on the balance sheet include donated land in Southwest Florida and an art collection in Fort Myers, alongside an investment portfolio. The board draws on local operating and financial leadership: Joseph R. Catti is CEO of FineMark National Bank & Trust, while Dominic Cameratta serves as CFO of Cameratta Companies. Dr. Larry Antonucci serves as president and CEO of Lee Health, linking the Foundation's governance directly to health system operations. The Foundation discloses no public AUM figure, nor does it publish professional headcount. The Foundation's structure is singular in tying philanthropic governance to a single nonprofit health system board, with the health system CEO serving as an ex-officio trustee. This arrangement makes the Foundation's capital deployment a direct extension of the health system's clinical and strategic planning, rather than an independent investment office allocating across asset classes for perpetual return.