Oishei Launches New Strategic Plan - The John R. Oishei Foundation

Buffalo, NY (February 14, 2008) -- Following nearly two years of research, discussion, planning, and refining, The John R. Oishei Foundation today formally implemented its new strategic direction, along with a completely revamped website at www.oishei.org.

“We are very excited to finally get to this stage in what has been a very long, deliberate process,” said Robert D. Gioia, President of the Foundation. “Much of what people will see here comes directly from conversations, focus groups, and other facilitated discussions with a cross-section of the community. We also completed a comprehensive self-evaluation by the Center for Effective Philanthropy that gave us great information on our operations and how we could refine them.”

According to Gioia, the most significant change in strategy involves the change from a “silo-based” approach, or giving in rigidly defined areas like Arts, Education, and Healthcare, to an “issues-based” approach, in which the Foundation identifies broad issues, such as Stabilizing Neighborhoods or Improving the Self-Sufficiency of Low-Income Residents, and invites proposals from any non-profit in any sector that can contribute to a solution.

“We anticipate and will encourage more cross-sector partnerships and new ways of thinking about how these issues are approached,” added Paul Hogan, Vice President of the Foundation. “For example, we know that the arts can contribute significantly to improving educational performance in successful programs. Educational or Healthcare programs are critical parts of neighborhood stabilization. And colleges and universities collectively have enormous resources that can be brought to bear on all of these issues.”

While the Foundation anticipates some level of confusion during the change, Gioia assured the non-profit community that the Foundation is committed to continuing to fund many of the organizations it has funded in the past, and perhaps even some new ones. He also indicated that he expects 2008 to be a refining and adjustment period, and that the Foundation is open to the feedback of the community. “We don’t believe that we’ve nailed all the answers right out of the gate,” said Gioia. “There will be continual evaluation and adjustment to all of these areas, though we don’t expect major changes from this strategy.”