The John R. Oishei Foundation Announces a New Direction: Building a Foundation for Racial Equity
The Board of Directors of The John R. Oishei Foundation has announced a new direction that centers racial equity for the philanthropic organization. The Oishei Foundation intends to narrow its focus to build shared financial prosperity by addressing systemic barriers or root causes that deny opportunity, starting in Buffalo’s East Side communities.
The new direction was developed through a comprehensive strategic planning process that spanned a year and included an internal assessment, interviews with external stakeholders, community input, and a deep review of data and research.
According to William G. Gisel, Jr. Chair of the Board of the Oishei Foundation, “The Foundation has a proud legacy of supporting and strengthening the nonprofit ecosystem across all parts of Western New York. Now, with our updated strategy, we will begin prioritizing our energy and resources on one part of our broader community where our fellow citizens have not benefited from the area’s economic resurgence.”
Christina P. Orsi, President of the Oishei Foundation commented, “This work led to a better understanding of the disparities within the region and to the conclusion that the Oishei Foundation could have greater impact by narrowing focus and addressing root causes and systemic barriers that deny opportunity to East Side communities. These barriers are the core reason communities of color – that are made up of people who are knowledgeable, hardworking, and focused on their futures - have not had equal opportunity to build financial prosperity. We also firmly believe that our region cannot achieve sustainable growth and prosperity until all residents can fully contribute.”
While parts of our region are experiencing economic growth, including jobs, more startups and income growth, our community is one of the most segregated, and continues to have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation, particularly in communities on the East Side of Buffalo. The new direction includes a framework that sets a new, narrower focus centering racial equity and includes:
Moving from five broad areas (education, healthcare, neighborhood stabilization, self-sufficiency and arts & culture) to focus specifically on building shared financial prosperity for a racially just region; because when individuals have the financial resources to provide for their families basic human needs and enough savings to weather the inevitable setbacks they can then begin building for their future through, for example, home ownership, business ownership, auto ownership, college savings, and retirement savings. The benefits extend to the entire community, with more well-paying jobs, more thriving businesses, and more opportunities for everyone to contribute.
Narrowing the geographic focus from all of Western New York to initially focusing on and partnering with Black communities on Buffalo’s East Side – the largest population center of Black residents in our region; and
Shifting emphasis from supporting direct service to addressing root causes and systemic barriers, because lasting change starts at the root of the problem. Poverty is a vicious cycle that manifests itself in lack of access to healthy food, insufficient housing, and poor health, but those are just symptoms of the problem. Until we get at the underlying causes and address those, we cannot have financial well-being for all our community.
A central part of the new direction also includes centering community to build a shared path forward that directly reflects the community’s collective vision of progress and prosperity.
The Foundation’s belief is that these efforts will benefit the entire region by supporting the full potential of a vibrant community and helping to build financial prosperity. The goal is to contribute to driving economic growth that will create opportunity for all, and that will strengthen all of WNY.
The Foundation will adopt practices, build capacity, align services, and build and share resources to align with the new strategy, with an understanding that its staff and board have much to learn. As specific priorities are identified and plans developed, a transition plan will be put in place that includes pausing all new grantmaking for now as the Foundation spends time in the community listening and learning. Transition grants to key grantees are also planned while the Foundation phases out of all current grantmaking, giving its partners time and resources to adjust.
As the organization realigns it work, it will use a full array of tools including advocacy, networking, convening, and financial tools, as well as grantmaking, designed to address root causes to advance racial equity leading to financial prosperity for our region.