The Oishei Foundation has always been committed to helping our community thrive. We’re proud of our work and, through our partners, believe we've made a difference. But as we look around, it’s clear that many of our neighbors—especially communities of color—still face stark inequities. 

Black people in Buffalo earn 40% less, die 10 years sooner, and own their homes one-third less often than white people. How can we say we’re The City of Good Neighbors when nearly 4 out of 10 Black residents live in poverty, but fewer than 1 out of 10 white people do? _(sources)

So, the foundation is evolving its approaches, focusing first on Buffalo’s East Side, working with the community in innovative ways to address the root causes and systemic barriers that perpetuate racial inequity with a mission to build financial prosperity for a racially just region.

Learn more about the foundation’s work.

Beyond Grantmaking meaningfully describes the Oishei Foundation’s longstanding commitment to go beyond solely funding nonprofits through grants, providing vital support to these organizations by helping them build capacity, develop strategic plans, and establish partnerships.

Our commitment to advancing racial equity and shared financial prosperity through systems change now leads us even further beyond grantmaking — beyond grants themselves. Oishei Foundation president Christina Orsi affirms: 

“Regardless of intentions, we cannot grant our way to racial and economic justice. Together, we must reform the way systems work, ensuring everyone has equitable access to real opportunities to not just survive but to thrive.”

As we move forward, we are redesigning the way we will work, our systems and supports. Working alongside community, we will develop key initiatives and seek to leverage all our resources — grantmaking, nonprofit capacity building support, investment, influence, connections, policy and advocacy in ways that advance our mission.

Our work is driven by an essential understanding—that our region’s resurgence will only be complete when everyone is included. 

Addressing the root causes of racial inequity to build financial prosperity through systems change is disciplined by the belief that those closest to the problems must drive the solutions, ensuring that our shared path forward directly reflects the community’s vision of progress.

We are committed to active, ongoing engagement with the East Side community, building trust, listening to the diverse voices of leaders of color and stakeholders—people and organizations with lived experience—and sharing all we learn with our partners in this work.  

Together we will build a foundation for racial equity—a foundation for a better Buffalo and a thriving region.