Where does systems change start?

To be effective in transforming systems, we must start with the understanding that philanthropy itself is a system—the Oishei Foundation recognizes that systems change starts within our organization. We cannot be effective in working toward major changes in our community if we aren’t willing to first examine our own organization and make necessary internal changes.

As we build the foundation to implement this new strategic direction, 2024 has been—and will continue to be—a period of significant change. Since sharing our new framework, the Oishei Foundation has been focusing in key areas:

• We’re helping long-term grantees successfully pivot. We recognize that the strategic shift from direct support to systems change focused on advancing financial prosperity, as well as the shift from working across all of Western New York to focusing first on Buffalo’s East Side, creates real challenges for the organizations who have historically received funding from the Oishei Foundation. Because of this, 2024 grantmaking has been largely allocated as transitional funding to provide immediate support, as well as to provide time for grantees to adjust. We are proud of the progress we’ve made together over the past 25 years, and although the way we work is shifting, the Oishei Foundation recognizes the important work these organizations do to make Western New York a better place.
• While we have a new strategic direction, we have not yet determined exactly which systems we will work in. This is to be decided as we listen and learn and become more present and engaged in the East Side community, making certain our work is directly informed by individuals and organizations with lived experience. The Oishei Foundation acknowledges that the historical and persistent racial inequities faced by Black residents living in Buffalo’s East Side communities have caused trauma and harm. We know it will take time and our commitment to build trustful relationships and the meaningful connections necessary to be an effective ally in the work ahead to change systems.
• With the focus on racial equity in all we do, we are carefully evaluating how our organization is structured, the roles filled by our team, the ways we work together, and how we prepare ourselves to align with our new strategic framework. We began by assessing the Oishei Foundation’s capacity in all critical areas in order to guide a comprehensive organizational redesign that best supports the implementation of our plans. We believe that being part of the collective solution demands a willingness to first examine our own organization and make meaningful changes internally. An example of this organizational transformation is our partnership with Open Buffalo in their Race, Power, and Privilege Anti-Racism Training for the Board of Directors together with staff, empowering the Oishei Foundation’s culture and practices. As progress is made in the coming months, we will share the specifics of our evolved organizational structure. 
• In addition to hearing directly from community members, we also continue our learning from the work of Dr. Henry Louis Taylor (How We Change the Black East Side), Rita Hubbard Robinson, and Heather McGee, among others—and we are committed to sharing the new perspectives we gain. The Oishei Foundation is hosting a series of shared learning sessions with Community Conversations for Leaders of Color and the Oishei Leaders of Color Fellows. The most recent session presented an overview of Western New York by the numbers, as well as an update on major collaborative economic development initiatives currently in motion, delivered by Laura Quebral of the Center for Regional Strategies. Our hope is that through this collective learning we can contribute to collective action, and that this shared action will lead to true prosperity shared by all.