Some might consider two NFL Super Bowl championships and a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction to be a great legacy.

Add to it a billion dollar donation for the community to spend over the next 20 years and you've got a philanthropic sports masterpiece.

In July, the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, named for the Buffalo Bills football team's founder and owner, announced that residents of upstate New York and southeastern Michigan will benefit from a billion-dollar project to fund community growth, childhood development and healthy lifestyles. 

Over the next two decades, the Foundation will spend $1.2 billion on improvement projects, with $60 million allocated specifically for grants to nonprofits.

"Ralph saw firsthand the impact of his generosity in his lifetime," his wife, Mary Wilson, said. "Always thinking of others even in his own legacy, his hope with this trust was that the Foundation's work may make a direct impact in the lifetimes of those who knew him best."

Wilson grew up and lived in Michigan, but had close ties to his team's fans in western New York and created his foundation to benefit people in both regions.

He founded the Bills in Buffalo, New York, as part of the American Football League in 1959, and owned the team until he passed away early in 2014.

The Bills won the league championship twice and played in four Super Bowls after the AFL merged with the National Football League. Wilson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

(READ more from NFL.com) – Photo: runneralan2004, CC

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