OSWEGO – The restoration of front porches. The colorfully painted historic homes. The flower gardens along sidewalks. The block parties and neighborhood events. We’ve seen it happening in Oswego and it’s only growing.
The Richard S. Shineman Foundation has awarded the Oswego Renaissance Association (ORA) a $125,000 grant for neighborhood revitalization work in the city of Oswego. This is the 9th consecutive grant to the ORA from the Shineman Foundation, now totaling more than $1.5 million in support since the ORA’s formation in 2013.
This grant, combined with additional support from more than 15 corporate sponsors, will fund over 18 city of Oswego blocks and projects in 2022.
Beginning with a housing and neighborhood market analysis in 2013, the ORA and the Shineman Foundation have partnered in a long-term strategy in the city of Oswego that has blossomed into leveraging more than $4.3 million in private investment in targeted neighborhoods.
“I’m extremely grateful for the Shineman Foundation’s continued confidence in this vital work. Our neighborhoods, in fact the whole city of Oswego, has been transforming in an incredibly positive way in the past several years,” said Paul Stewart, Director of the ORA. “This could not happen without the Shineman Foundation’s continued support.”
“The ORA’s neighborhood revitalization initiative has been the most transformative program our foundation has supported,” said Karen Goetz, executive director of the Shineman Foundation. “Paul Stewart’s application 9 years ago for funding support was one of the first grants our fledgling board of directors approved. It has been so gratifying and exciting to partner with the ORA each and every year since 2013, because of the transformation we see happening in Oswego.”
Stewart also pointed out the importance of a broader perspective on what is happening in the city of Oswego.
“This is not just about neighborhoods. It’s about a broader strategy and way of thinking,” Stewart said. “For decades, Oswego almost solely focused on trying to fix problems. Focusing on the negative. In contrast, the current approach – from the ORA, the mayor’s office, and in the community – is to build on our strengths. This asset-oriented approach has been the single most important difference between Oswego today vs earlier decades. The momentum that Oswego now has speaks for itself.”
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