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    4. Regional Assets
      1. The Vital Center: A Federal-State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region
      2. The Great Lakes Region and the Knowledge Economy: A Roadmap to the Future
      3. The University and the Creative Economy
      4. Buffalo Niagara Partnership Regional Agenda
      5. Erie and Niagara Counties: Framework for Regional Growth
      6. Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America's Older Core Cities
      7. Economic Benefits of Land Conservation
      8. Artists’ Centers: Evolution and Impact on Careers, Neighborhoods and Economies
      9. Buffalo Niagara Cultural Tourism Initiative Strategy
      10. Sustaining Arts and Culture in Buffalo Niagara
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      1. Queen City in the 21st Century: Buffalo's Comprehensive Plan
      2. Blueprint Buffalo: Regional Strategies and Local Tools for Reclaiming Vacant Properties in the City and Suburbs of Buffalo
      3. Urban Ecosystem Analysis, Buffalo-Lackawanna
      4. Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America
      5. Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities
      6. Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America's Older Industrial Areas
    6. Academic Performance
      1. Children Left Behind: How Metropolitan Areas are Failing America's Children
      2. From Aspirations to Action: The Role of Middle School Parents in Makingthe Dream of College a Reality
      3. Organized Communities, Stronger Schools
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      1. The Western New York Health Risk Assessment
      2. Every Breath We Take
      3. One Friday, Four Futures Initiative
      4. Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes
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Home > What We Fund > Regional Assets

Regional Assets

One of Western New York’s greatest assets is its cluster of colleges and universities. The 22 colleges and universities located in Western New York draw thousands of students to the region and are among the largest employers in the area. These strong creative institutions are essential to our region’s vitality.  

In addition, our wide array of cultural institutions throughout the Buffalo Niagara region draws thousands of visitors from around the world annually.  Our vibrant cultural and educational institutions stimulate an economy based on knowledge, innovation and progress.

The Foundation intends to leverage and support WNY's substantial intellectual and cultural resources to the greatest extent possible. We will stirve to connect the resources of colleges and universities with efforts to improve the wider community and deploy the resources of arts and cultural organizations in all efforts related to community advancement and improvement.

Educational Institution support will include fostering the ability to assess, plan for, and implement community improvement activities that reflect institutional missions and leverage internal resources. Collaborative efforts between colleges and universities and community organizations are encouraged.

The Foundation will partner with colleges and universities on programs and activities that support other Foundation goals and objectives such as community health, literacy, academic performance and neighborhood and economic development. This will include studying the economic impact of the colleges and universities located in Western New York and convening leaders of colleges and universities to determine opportunities for collaboration and increasing community impact.

Arts and cultural organization support from the Foundation will endeavor to strengthen programs and operations of arts and cultural organizations. Strategies for building organizational strength include investing in capacity-building and organizational development activities such as strategic planning and implementation projects; staff development; technological improvements; and successful inter-organizational alignments, including shared purchasing, administration and mergers.

Broadening audiences is another way we plan to strengthen programs and cultural institutions and will include investing in:

  • New and innovative programs in schools, community centers, faith-based institutions, and health-related institutions, and across ages and cultures
  • Specific efforts that appeal to multi-cultural and younger populations, and promote opportunities to expand cross-cultural offerings

By convening organizational leaders to align goals, objectives and strategies and by identifying opportunities for collaboration, the Foundation will work as a partner with arts and cultural groups on efforts that will support our six specific paths to impact.