​Our Mission

The mission of the Oswego Renaissance Association (ORA) is to promote the restoration,  beautification and preservation of healthy, vibrant neighborhoods in Oswego, NY. The ORA accomplishes this by partnering directly with critical masses of neighbors, who work with us as teams to leverage investment in targeted residential areas. We strategically grow housing and neighborhood value, and expanding ever outward from these anchor points. We succeed when neighborhoods reach the positive tipping point --- and blocks naturally retain and attract neighbors with choices where they can live, becoming Neighborhoods of Choice.

 

Our Philosophy​

The heart of Neighborhood & Community Revitalization is focusing on building on strengths, not fixing weaknesses. As the strength and quality of neighborhoods grow, weaknesses are more easily addressed. A strong neighborhood develops when citizens leverage their neighborhood’s strengths and recognize the mutual dependencies between the people living in them. Neighborhoods are not only places where people live but they also act as markets; they are investments with interdependent stakeholders. The decision to live in, and invest, in a neighborhood is related to confidence in the neighborhood. Confidence is driven by signals and behaviors of the neighborhood itself; neighborhood pride, the condition of the homes, the upkeep in the properties, and the everyday behavior (social fabric) of the residents. These are inexorably linked. Negative signals and behaviors lead to disinvestment and decline, which in turn reduces confidence, promoting further disinvestment. Positive signals promote confidence, leading to investments in the neighborhood. This in turn promotes stable and increasing home values, attracts new residents, builds confidence, and increases capacity of the neighborhood to meet future challenges. Such neighborhoods become Neighborhoods of Choice. Neighborhood health can be restored, maintained and strengthened, when interventions provide neighborhoods with the resources and confidence to reinvest in their neighborhoods. This happens by leveraging the strengths of a neighborhood, especially its people. The Oswego Renaissance Association employs this tried and true methodology to promote neighborhood revitalization in Oswego, NY.

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Our Organization​

The Oswego Renaissance Association (ORA) was formed in 2013 with the purpose of restoring our neighborhood and community quality of life in the City of Oswego. The Director of the ORA is located at 453 Mahar Hall, State University of Oswego, in Oswego NY. We execute our mission through our Board of Directors, consisting of Executive Director (Dr. Paul Stewart), and Associate Directors Walter Bozek, James Dowd, Catharine Early, Lisa Glidden and Katie Pagliaroli.  We seek to expand partnerships with nonprofit foundations, government agencies and local businesses to improve the quality and conditions of the communities in the City of Oswego.
 

Fiscal Sponsor

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Starting January 1, 2024, the ORA is fiscally sponsored by CenterState Development Foundation dba Invest CNY. All grants and donations to the ORA are  controlled and managed by CenterState Development Foundation dba Invest CNY, which is a 501c3 nonprofit. Checks to support the ORA should be made payable to CenterState Development Foundation with ORA in the memo line and mailed to  115 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13202.

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Funding awarded to ORA prior to January 1, 2024 is administered through the Research Foundation for the State University of New York with a location at the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (http://www.oswego.edu/administration/ORSP/research_foundation.html).  All grants and contracts for the ORA and sponsors received before January 1, 2024 are administered through the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation continues to oversee the budget and accounting for those funds, and is responsible for all fiscal and reporting requirements to federal, state and local sponsors.