Search Through Grants for the Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the U.S.

Health and healing for our society and planetThe Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation is committed to caring for our communities through investment in big ideas that advance the arts, education, human services, and the environment. The Foundation has a targeted focus in Pittsburgh, Pa., Santa Barbara, Calif., and a small number of legacy partnerships in Squam Lakes, N.H.PrioritiesIn Pittsburgh, Pa. and Santa Barbara, Calif., the Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation emphasizes the arts, education, and human services. The Foundation encourages big ideas and projects from new organizations that fit exclusively into these geographic areas. In the Squam Lakes, N.H. area, the Foundation focuses almost exclusively on conservation, environmental education and access through a small number of legacy partners.

Background

The Buhl Foundation’s first year of grants were made in support of the areas of economic development, education, recreation, and social research. One of the significant grants in that first year was used to establish a pension fund for the employees of Boggs and Buhl, continuing Henry Buhl, Jr.’s legacy of care.

In 1937, the Foundation provided an initial grant to the Pittsburgh Symphony Society to support the establishment of a symphony orchestra for the city. In more recent years, a grant was provided to revitalize the Harris Theater, creating a lively cultural attraction in the heart of the Cultural District.

Transformational Impact

As a regional foundation with a strategic geographic focus, the Buhl Foundation’s history of success and thought leadership continues in the entrepreneurial spirit of our giving.

Pittsburgh’s Northside

The Buhl Foundation has committed to a place-based strategy to invest in the lives and futures of the residents of Mr. Buhl’s beloved Northside. The majority of Foundation funds are directed towards Pittsburgh’s 18 Northside neighborhoods that some 40,000 residents call home. The resident-driven initiative birthed from this commitment, One Northside, catalyzes and supports long-term sustainable change with particular emphasis on resourcing community members, young and old, to lead and create tangible change from within. The success of One Northside will be found in the value of relationships and respect given to each individual and neighborhood. Working with thousands of Northside residents and community members, the One Northside strategy is grounded in five key pillars: Education –Initiatives that foster learning environments critical to building a knowledgeable and talented population. To look to a better future, we invest in our children today. With stronger professional training and increased Pre-K access, all of our children will be school ready by age 5. Joining together as a community, we will invest in state-of-the-art resources to encourage and enhance learning both in and out of the classroom. So, our Northside children will be ready to embrace the path before them.EmploymentAccess to opportunities with the ability to grow are key for our community to flourish. Our continued partnership with companies will provide youth and adults with the programs, jobs and training needed to pursue well-paying careers. Additionally, attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and emerging leaders will encourage the growth we desire for our community.HealthResidents thrive through healthy lifestyles and seamless access to beneficial services. Better coordination of health and human services will simplify the care for physical as well as social and emotional health needs. And, by improving food access and providing education on nutrition, our residents will have a greater ability to maintain healthy lifestyles. Ultimately, we will build a resilient community.PlaceThe Northside is our home. It is where we live, grow, and thrive together. As a community, we will work to ensure that all of our residents have access to quality, affordable housing. Simultaneously, we will proudly participate in building and maintaining a litter-free and green environment for all to share. Growing together, we invite organizational partners to join us in creating resource centers that foster ongoing collaboration and innovation.SafetyPolice are the Community. And the Community are the Police. Our officers and residents will value collaborative relationships to build trust and prevent crime. Neighborhood watch organizations and accessible safety centers will provide residents with the training and services that support safe communities.Regional Endowed with a sense of curiosity and flexibility, the vision for the Buhl Foundation was, and remains, one of transformational impact for the whole community of Pittsburgh. In addition to our commitment to the Northside of Pittsburgh, the Foundation remains sensitive to four major areas in our region: Education

• Initiatives that foster learning environments critical to building a knowledgeable and talented population

Youth Development

• Projects that provide opportunities for our young people to thrive, to be safe and to live in a nurturing environment.

Human Services

• Strategies where our resources make a difference in addressing persistent community challenges or unmet needs of at-risk neighborhoods.

Economic & Community Development

• Efforts that encourage innovation and entrepreneurial solutions to improve quality of life.

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Elsie H. Hillman Foundation

The Elsie H. Hillman Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania for all residents, with a focus on strengthening neighborhoods and encouraging young civic leaders.

Elsie H. Hillman Foundation was formed in 2006 to support the organizations and causes that mattered most to her. During the nine years Elsie Hillman chaired the Foundation, she supported a broad range of interests, with a particular focus on helping and promoting women and minorities.

Strategic Priorities

Elsie H. Hillman Foundation prioritizes investments that promote the well-being and increase the regional opportunities available to women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ residents. Current priorities are focused on programs that:

• Help all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, participate fully in the region’s improving quality of life and be as successful and happy as possible
• Promote equity and build bridges among Pittsburgh’s different populations – helping the region’s citizens to better understand each other’s needs, wants, goals, and dreams
• Facilitate community dialogue through arts and culture projects that explore issues of concern or note to the region
• Sow seeds for community revitalization through creating or supporting cultural gathering spaces in disadvantaged neighborhoods
• Promote a regional culture of health, focused on addressing social determinants of health and prevention initiatives for at-risk mothers and their children
• Engage young people from throughout the region and from diverse backgrounds in civic leadership and public affairs
• Provide opportunities to lend a timely and neighborly helping hand when that is what is most needed

The Heinz Endowments 

For nearly 140 years, the Heinz family has been a key business and philanthropic leader in the Pittsburgh region and around the world.

The Heinz Endowments grew from the success of one of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, Henry John “H.J.” Heinz, as a reflection of the values shared by generations of his family, their devotion to civic causes, and their willingness to embrace transformative ideas and invest in seeing them through. 

The Heinz Endowments was established in 2007 with the consolidation of two Heinz family foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. 

Today, The Heinz Endowments is among the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, distributing approximately $90 million in grants annually. 

Grants

The Heinz Endowments awards grants in these areas: Arts & Culture; Civic Participation; Climate, Environment & Health; Community & Economic Development; Food Systems; Veterans; and Workforce.

We concentrate our efforts and resources in southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA). Given our primarily regional focus, the foundation is generally unable to consider applications for funding outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, unless the proposal is expressly for the benefit of residents of the SWPA region or state.

ImpactThe Henry John Simonds Foundation works to champion communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania through promoting community-driven solutions and meaningful collaborations.The Henry John Simonds Foundation is committed to supporting the communities of Pittsburgh, PA and Southwestern Pennsylvania. Through focused grantmaking in the areas of education, cultural advancement and the arts, and community development, the Foundation works to enhance the quality of life for the region’s citizens and strives to create a more equitable and sustainable future for all.PrioritiesThe Henry John Simonds Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the areas of education, urban agriculture and design, the arts, and community development with the goal of creating a more equitable, healthy, and environmentally sustainable future for all.

Since its founding in 1951 by John Hartwell Hillman, Jr., the Hillman Foundation’s mission has been to improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation supports grantmaking that will establish the Pittsburgh region as a national leader in developing and implementing ideas that improve people's lives.Strategic PrioritiesHillman Foundation strives to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region through strategic grantmaking focused on economic development, health, education, human services, the arts, and the environment.

Arts and Culture

• Intersection: Fostering the inclusion of arts and culture into all other focus areas
• Education: Increasing the availability and quality of arts and culture PreK-12 education
• Making Pittsburgh a destination: Enhancing Pittsburgh’s standing as an internationally-respected, vibrant, and diverse arts and culture destination and as an artist-friendly city

Community and Economic Development

• Economic mobility: Increasing economic mobility through affordable housing, asset building programs, entrepreneurship support, and other promising initiatives
• Supporting communities: Bolstering neighborhood anchors through capacity building for community development corporations, flexible capital for community plan implementation, and incentivizing collaboration within and between neighborhoods
• Transportation modernization: Improving quality of life by modernizing the regional transportation system for pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists, and drivers through research, pilot projects, and targeted capital investments

Education and Workforce Development

• Innovative approaches to workforce development: Investing in the future of work and learning through pilots and/or expansions of education and training approaches that prepare the regional workforce for living wage careers
• Early learners: Creating strong foundations by supporting early childhood centers, staff, and teachers, and progress toward universal pre-K

Energy and Environment

• Low-carbon: Aiding the transition to a low-carbon economy
• Outdoor parks and recreation: Improving the environment for healthy living, including support for land conservation, parks, and other outdoor recreational assets
• Clean water: Ensuring access to reliable and clean water supplies and high-functioning stormwater/wastewater management
• Identifying best practices: Certification initiatives, performance measurement, and promoting best practice development

Health and Medicine

• Addressing social determinants of health: Promoting a culture of health through initiatives that support good health for all, like quality affordable housing, healthy food, and violence prevention
• Preventing chronic disease: Prevention initiatives as well as supporting those living with chronic disease through evidence-based best practices
• Accessible and affordable healthcare: Strengthening accessibility, affordability, and quality of regional healthcare, including rural health care and telemedicine
• Robust workforce: Ensuring that the region can recruit and retain a qualified and diverse health care workforce, including innovative strategies like community health care workers

Human Services

• Innovation: Continuing to build a strong human services sector through investments in organizational financial stability, innovative delivery models, and human capital
• Service models and policy change: Accelerating momentum for change, particularly in criminal justice, homelessness, substance abuse, and healthy mothers and families

Background

Mary Hillman Jennings (1921–1979) created the Foundation in 1968 with the intention of advancing her charitable work and her support for Pittsburgh-area nonprofit organizations. Throughout her life, she dedicated herself to a wide range of community activities and believed that a truly world-class region invests in its most vulnerable citizens and its most disadvantaged communities.

Providing opportunity for people in southwestern Pennsylvania facing barriers

Improving the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania for all, with a focus on communities historically left out of opportunity, is central to Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation's approach.

Priorities

In the greater Pittsburgh region, Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation's grantmaking focuses on community development, health, education, human services, the arts, and the environment. Serving the most vulnerable among us is a top priority.

• Arts and Culture
• Community and Economic Development
• Education and Workforce Development
• Energy and Environment
• Health and Medicine
• Human Services

Strategic Priorities

Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation prioritizes investments that increase opportunities and promote the economic, social, and emotional welfare of those whose voices and concerns are often overlooked. Current priorities are focused on programs that provide direct services to:

At-Risk Children and Youth

• After-school programs
• Culturally relevant arts and culture education

Homeless Individuals

• Homelessness prevention and response
• Low-to-no barrier housing options and supportive services

Immigrants and Refugees

• Culturally responsive approaches that promote well-being and inclusion, such as translation, interpretation, and student supports

Low-Income Workers

• Neighborhood-based workforce development and financial empowerment initiatives

Mothers and Children

• Lowering premature morbidity and mortality
• Supporting maternal and child well-being from birth

People Struggling with Addiction and Recovery

• Prevention, education, harm-reduction, and increased access to existing services
• Increasing community response capacity

People Formerly Incarcerated who are Re-Entering the Community

• Policy changes, diversion models, collaborative approaches, and innovative in-jail and re-entry programs for juveniles and adults

Victims of Violence

• Reducing neighborhood violence through evidence-based programs
• Mental health and other essential services

The Problem

The region’s economic prosperity is hindered by a widening gap in economic opportunities among residents and education systems that are not keeping pace with what the workforce of the future needs to compete in the innovation economy

Our Vision

A region that is an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.

Investment Areas

Talent Development

This investment area aims to advance education, training and development for adults (age 18 and above) in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to help them gain the skills to succeed in the new economy – an economy marked by continual technological disruption, and innovation that is empowering people to transform our world. As technologies change, so do the skills that are in high demand. We are particularly interested in proposals that aim to grow the adult talent pool’s 21st century skills, facilitate career pathways and pipelines to employment, and improve the region’s workforce systems.

Talent Development proposals should include outcomes such as:

• Improvement in skills
• Participation in, or strengthening of, industry-based partnerships
• Participation in on-the-job and work-based learning opportunities
• Development of career pipelines and pathways
• Navigation and awareness of career opportunities
• Employment and retention in new economy jobs that offer family-sustaining earnings

21st Century Skills – Individuals with transferable 21st century skills—such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and other workplace competencies—will have the ability to navigate the new economy, improve their employment status and wages, and enhance their resilience to industry-specific shocks. The Foundation seeks proposals that focus on education and training opportunities that convey skills and are performance-based, rather than solely knowledge- or content-based. This could include novel instructional methods that are hands-on and practical, such as on-line as well as brick-and-mortar programming; and embedding work-based learning and on-the-job opportunities within programming.

Career Pathways – The Foundation seeks proposals that aim to build and support pathways and pipelines to careers in the new economy that are person-centered and accommodate the wide variation in the ways people in our region sequence their education and careers. This could include efforts that enable individuals to secure industry-relevant certification and obtain employment within an occupational area; flexible, stackable, and micro-credentialing efforts that provide sustainable pathways for adults to improve their life opportunities; giving new skills to incumbent workers; transitioning vulnerable workers into viable and high-quality new-economy jobs; or efforts that raise individuals’ awareness about career opportunities.

Workforce Development Systems – An employment and skills-driven education and training system prepares people for the jobs of today and imparts the skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow. The Foundation seeks proposals that employ a systems approach to workforce development; proposals therefore must include sector-based partnerships or collaboration with employers in new-economy industries.

Employment Opportunities

This investment area aims to foster adults’ access to opportunities for employment in the new economy, thereby allowing them to gain income and wealth and forge economic independence. The Foundation is particularly interested in proposals that aim to expand access to jobs in the new economy, foster entrepreneurism, and support workers in the gig economy.

Employment Opportunities proposals could include outcomes such as:

• Increase in new economy jobs or businesses
• Employment, income, or retention rates of hires in new economy jobs that offer family-sustaining earnings
• Participation in activities that foster new economy business growth
• Attraction of capital to foster start-ups and businesses
• Stabilization of employment and earnings for gig economy and independent workers
• Increase in the re-entry of women or vulnerable populations who have left the labor force or who are underemployed
• Reduction in stressors of workers by supporting connections to the social safety net, improving financial literacy, lessening social isolation, or cultivating resilience in the face of constant change and uncertainty

Business and Job Creation – The Foundation seeks proposals that support the creation of jobs that offer family-sustaining wages, are career enhancing for individuals, and support individuals in obtaining and succeeding in occupations of the future or that connect underemployed or unemployed people with job opportunities in high-priority occupations in innovation economy fields.

Entrepreneurship – Small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy. Yet, the rate of entrepreneurship has been declining in the United States since the 1970s. Although the region has made recent strides in supporting small businesses and entrepreneurism, more work remains. The Foundation seeks proposals that aim to support efforts to allow entrepreneurship to thrive, to attract capital to foster start-ups and businesses, to build the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and to support efforts for underrepresented groups to jumpstart or grow entrepreneurship efforts.

Economic Independence – Increasing numbers of people are disconnected workers—those who are left out of the “formal” economy. Recent estimates report that one in three prime working age (25-54) Black men and one in six white men fit this description. This is also the case for women, as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women’s labor-force participation. Concurrently, a relatively large portion of the workforce is made up of independent, gig, and contract workers: in July 2020, 41 percent of Americans on unemployment insurance—nearly 13 million people—were people who had been self-employed; independent contractors; gig-economy workers; those with limited recent work history; and those looking for part-time work. The growth of nontraditional work arrangements such as freelance employment and contract employment has brought about concomitant challenges, since the current labor market and workplace is not keeping pace with the shifting nature of this flexible workforce. Independent, gig and contract work often is considered tenuous and unstable because of the impermanence of “jobs.” However, there are some positive elements to independent work that could be more deeply supported: freelance type of work supports a person-centered economy in which workers have control over the type and flow of tasks. The Foundation seeks proposals that support individuals’ nontraditional, independent employment avenues and careers as freelancers and contractors, or in the gig economy. We also seek proposals that aim to grow young talent to become leaders in the new innovation economy; address inequities and challenges facing workers in these fields; and that foster needed adaptations as the region moves toward remote work in the COVID economy, or toward ways to “work” that have not yet been invented.

Community Building

This investment area focuses on transformational efforts that improve the quality of life in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. It aims to support innovation, creativity and infrastructure so the region is vibrant, exciting, welcoming and livable. The Foundation is particularly interested in proposals that enhance arts and culture; innovation districts that act as hubs for new-economy industry, work, and creative spaces; and infrastructure and transportation. These investments work in tandem to attract visitors and new residents to the region, as well as to enhance the lives of current residents.

Arts and Culture – A core element of economic development, arts and culture enhance the region’s vitality and livability. The Foundation aims to support the region as it becomes an international arts destination by investing in core arts institutions, artists, and artistic and creative communities.

Innovation Districts – Innovation Districts are geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators. These are investments in places and spaces where entrepreneurs and businesses can grow and thrive, further enhancing the quality of life of residents in the neighborhoods around these districts.

Infrastructure and Transportation – By investing in infrastructure, transportation, and in nimble solutions for increasing mobility and accessibility, the Foundation aims to support the region to meet the needs of a variety of users, as well as drive regional growth and competitiveness. Investments aim to connect communities to economic centers, ease traffic congestion and related air pollution, as well as facilitate economic mobility by connecting individuals to cultural and recreational assets, employment opportunities, support resources and more.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

UPMC Hand Surgery Fellowship Program

We are pleased to announce that the Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery Services at the University of Pittsburgh and the Hand & UpperEx Center (formerly the Western Pennsylvania Hand Center) have further enhanced the collaboration and cross-fertilization of their respective Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship Programs. The new format offers an unparalleled experience in both skeletal and soft tissue aspects of hand surgery, including microsurgery, conducted in both an academic setting and a private surgery center environment.

Trainees in both fellowship programs will attend joint conferences, didactic lectures, and Journal Clubs together. Exchange rotations would result in equally diverse experience in all aspects of hand and upper extremity conditions. Between the two fellowships, there are a total of seven positions for candidates completing their residency training in Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, and/or General Surgery. Matched candidates will have the opportunity to be trained by 10 full time faculty members, perform surgical procedures in a newly established state-of-the-art freestanding surgery center, as well as complex upper extremity reconstruction and microsurgical procedures at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh

Over the 12-month fellowship-training period, experience and responsibility are gradually increased and by the end of the program each fellow is comfortable and competent in all areas of shoulder, elbow and hand surgery, and microsurgical techniques.

Duration and Scope

• The University of Pittsburgh Plastic Surgery Hand Program is a one-year, ACGME accredited hand surgery fellowship program.
• Prerequisite resident education must be completed in a general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, or plastic surgery program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation Grant

Based in Pittsburgh, Pa., the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation provides grants to a wide range of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on education, the visual arts, writing, and literature. The Foundation’s primary geographic focus is Pittsburgh, though a select number of contributions are made each year in other localities where the Foundation has established interests.

The Foundation’s principal program interests are in education, the visual arts, writing, and literature, however, grants are made in other areas such as the dramatic arts, human services, environmental protection, and parks on a limited basis. 

Striving for a future where creativity is nurtured, democracy is upheld, and gun violence is no more.

The William Talbott Hillman Foundation supports Pittsburgh- and NYC-based art institutions, as well as national efforts around guns and civic engagement with a focus on young people and BIPOC communities.

Priorities

In Pittsburgh, PA and New York, NY, the Foundation prioritizes innovative arts programming and the promotion of photography as a fine arts medium.

In New York, its Affirmation Arts affiliate prioritizes safety nets for working artists, art education, and regional museums in under-resourced communities.

Nationally, the Foundation focuses on strengthening gun laws, preventing gun-related suicides, and driving voter and civic engagement, particularly among young people and people of color.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region.

Foundation-Directed Grantmaking

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.

Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.

Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.

Environmental Action

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

Environmental Action Grants: Equitable Access to Land, Water and Air

To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources. We recognize the constitutionally protected right of all residents to clean air and water and the multiple benefits of connection to safe and accessible outdoor greenspaces.

Specifically, we are interested in supporting strategies that:

• Increase access to greenspace for environmental justice communities.
• Support conservation and stewardship projects that center community voice, mitigate or help communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and advance public health and increase social impact (i.e., workforce development opportunities, outdoor school, increased human-powered mobility).
• Address safety and community priorities through local and regional clean water initiatives.
• Seek to examine and improve regional air quality.
• Address health disparities attributed to environmental pollution and risk exposures.

Vision and Focus Areas

We commit to creating a vibrant, equitable and just Pittsburgh region that supports everyone – regardless of race, identity or circumstance – to thrive and fulfill their potential.

Under our strategic plan, we strive to strengthen our focus on community and the positive impact that can be achieved through our grantmaking. Our current areas of focus are: Basic Needs, Equity and Social Justice, Arts and Culture, Economic Mobility and Environmental Action. From time to time, we have special grant-making opportunities related to specific regions or to issues such as juvenile justice or senior care. 

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas listed below.

Basic Needs

We seek to improve the stability of low-income people by supporting direct assistance to obtain food, housing, health care, mental health supports, child care, education and employment.

Across our basic needs grantmaking, we are committed to expanding knowledge of, improving access to, and improving coordination among local resources and human services.

• Food Access: We seek to support programs and services that assist low-income individuals and families to obtain enough food.
• Child Care: We seek to ensure equitable access to quality child care.
• Education: We strive to ensure access to high-quality in-class education as well as culturally-responsive,  out-of-school time programs.
• Mental and Physical Health: We aim to support the mental and physical health needs of residents by ensuring access to quality, affordable and culturally responsive services.
• Housing: We seek to support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system, and help support those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing.
• Employment: We seek to support youth and adults who experience significant barriers to employment.

Equity and Social Justice

We seek to support civic participation and community organizing to achieve policy changes.

Our equity and social justice grantmaking places strong emphasis on leadership by individuals who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice, as we believe that they are best positioned to propose solutions that remove barriers that impeded their ability to thrive.

• Civic Participation
  • Voter Engagement: We seek to support the ability of the nonprofit sector to engage historically underrepresented populations and communities that have documented low voter turnout.
  • Access to Information: We seek to support public media  outlets and other platforms that produce professional, regionally focused, fact-based news coverage and information.
• Community-Driven Solutions
  • Protect Basic Needs:  We seek to support grassroots organizations and resident-informed initiatives that address barriers that prevent families from being able to meet their basic needs and thrive.
  • End Mass Incarceration:  We seek to uplift and provide resources for community-led efforts to change policies and practices that result in over-policing and over-incarceration.
  • Youth Justice:  We are interested in supporting intervention and prevention activities that support youth who have any involvement with the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Environmental Action

We seek to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment.

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

• Equitable Access to Land, Water, and Air: To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources.
• Learning and Action: We seek to address the harms of chronic pollution and mitigate future impacts, translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and support resident voice in environmental decision-making in their communities.

Arts and Culture

We seek to strengthen small-to-mid-sized arts organizations and support individual artists by fostering a diverse, healthy and just arts ecosystem. 

• Small-to-Mid-Sized Arts Organizations: Small and Mid-Size Arts Organizations face disparities in their ability to access resources.
• Support for Careers and Lives of Individual Artists: Through this funding to individual artists, the Foundation hopes that the Pittsburgh region will be exposed to the breadth of human experience and the unparalleled talent the region has to offer.

Economic Mobility

We seek to reduce the wealth gap in Allegheny County.

• Access to Post-Secondary Education: We seek to support programs that enable students to earn college credit while in high school; admissions navigation support and academic and financial counseling; re-engagement strategies for students who have stopped attending school; and supports for non-traditional students.
• Career Advancement: We are interested in supporting organizations that offer technology training with career potential. 
• Entrepreneurship: We are interested in efforts to increase entrepreneurship.
• Homeownership: In 2025, applications for the Homeownership focus area will be by invitation only.

Types of Grants

Recognizing that nonprofits need flexible support that allows them to adapt to changing community needs, we offer applicants the opportunity to apply for two types of grant support:

• Project/Program Support:  Funds are used to develop and/or implement a specific set of programmatic activities. These grants are usually time-bound and aimed at achieving specific goals and milestones.
• General Operating Support: Funds can be used at the discretion of the organization to cover any costs necessary to carry out its mission. This means that the grant award can be used to cover day-to-day activities or ongoing expenses such as administrative salaries, rent and office supplies, etc., as well as for program costs, software and hardware purchases, and professional development

Our Priorities

We will prioritize funding for organizations that reflect one or more of the following:

• Primarily serve communities disproportionately impacted by poverty.
• Have a demonstrated commitment to addressing the historical and present-day impact of social injustices on the specific communities it serves.
• Have an established history in the communities in which it works.
• Are representative of the communities it serves, including but not limited to, leadership and staff who have lived experience in the community issues that it addresses.
• Meaningfully integrate the experience and perspectives of the communities that it serves in the design, implementation, evaluation and/or decision-making process for its strategies and/or programs.

Funding

Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds. One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000.

In limited situations, proposals that align with one or more of our grantmaking focus areas and with grantmaking priorities, and that clearly demonstrate the need and potential impact, may be considered for a larger grant. Organization leaders should have a conversation with a program officer before submitting a request for more than $150,000.

Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region.

Foundation-Directed Grantmaking

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.

Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.

Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.

Basic Needs

We seek to improve the stability of low-income people by supporting direct assistance to obtain food, housing, health care, mental health supports, child care, education and employment.

Hardships caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have been deep and widespread, but for many people — especially those who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) — hardships predate the pandemic. As examples, one-in-five Pittsburghers is food-insecure, and there is a shortage of affordable housing and child care. When individuals and families can meet their basic needs, they experience less stress, which supports overall health and well-being.

Across our basic needs grantmaking, we are committed to expanding knowledge of, improving access to, and improving coordination among local resources and human services.

Basic Needs Grants: Housing

The share of renters in Allegheny County has been growing over the past two decades. Renters tend to have lower incomes and are disproportionately Black. Many thousands of renters in Allegheny County are facing housing insecurity due to insufficient wages, underemployment, increasing cost of rent, long wait lists for housing assistance, unsafe living conditions, discriminatory rental practices and threat of eviction. Evictions often lead to homelessness. In Pennsylvania, landlords have a legal duty to provide their tenants a living space that is safe, sanitary and reasonably comfortable. According to the City Planning Department, there is a supply gap of 11,126 units at 50% Area Median Income (AMI) or below with the most severe gap (8,200 units) facing households earning less than 30% AMI.

Through our grantmaking, we are interested in services and activities that:

• Support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system for those earning less than 50% AMI that includes rental, legal and resource navigation services, mediation, landlord and tenant education and tenant advocacy.
• Expand service coordination or fill service gaps for those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing. This includes programs providing housing navigation, furniture storage and moving expenses.

Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region.

Foundation-Directed Grantmaking

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.

Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.

Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.

Environmental Action

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

Environmental Action Grants: Learning and Action

All people have the right to live in a safe and healthy environment. To address past harms and mitigate future impacts, we seek to translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and build agency within these communities.

The Foundation is interested in supporting the following:

• Community-engaged participatory research and citizen science activities that seek to increase environmental health safety and climate literacy.
• Cross-sector partnerships that advance systems changes to improve environmental health outcomes, protect the environment and share decision-making power with community members.
• Advocacy initiatives that advance policies that protect health and preserve the environment.
• Grassroots and youth organizing efforts that advance environmental priorities in the region (for example, clean energy, transportation, food systems, economic transition of coal-impacted communities).

Grantmaking Overview

With an emphasis on outcomes and accountability, grants will focus on programs that offer long-term benefits for participants and the community. The Foundation favors programs that foster individual responsibility and self-sufficiency, exhibit a commitment to sound fiscal and program management, implement collaborative efforts, and demonstrate measurable outcomes.

Summary

From July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, Laurel Foundation distributed $1,510,000 to 55 organizations in the fields of:

• Arts & Culture
• Education
• Environment
• Public, Society Benefit

As a family foundation in Pittsburgh, PA, our philanthropic traditions are well rooted in our continued support of organizations that foster transformative programs which best serve the local community as a whole in the areas of arts and culture, education, environmental, health and medical, human services, and religion.

Even though the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation encompasses many broad areas of concern, or categories, there is no one area deemed more important than the next. Nevertheless, the Foundation has found it beneficial underwriting grants that are tangible in nature or serve a higher number of individuals within the community and surrounding areas. The Foundation continually aids organizations that are endlessly striving to serve the community in various ways such as improving social conditions, expanding education, and working to better the environment.

Category Definitions

The Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors has designated several areas of concern comprised of specific intentions.

• Arts/Culture: Performing arts, humanities, media and communications, multipurpose museums, public broadcasting, and historical preservations.
• Education: Promotional programs for elementary, secondary and vocational systems, colleges/universities, graduate programs, adult and multipurpose libraries.
• Environmental: Support of natural resources, beautification programs, pollution control, environmental education, and horticultural/botanical programs.
• Health/Medical: Rural health care, crisis intervention, special programs in health centers, and prevention/treatment of specific diseases.
• Human Services: Youth development and recreation, disaster relief, employment training/ placement, multipurpose agencies, and abuse prevention.
• Religion: The theological education and ecumenical programs as well as the mission of many churches, synagogues, and religious charities.
• Miscellaneous: Because every grant cannot be included into a category, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation permits grants for animal welfare, community development, sports, camps, fire and police departments and economic development as miscellaneous grants.  

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

STEM + Families Science Festival, sponsored by Bayer Fund

This program is for elementary schools. Forty (40) local PTAs will be selected, and each will be awarded $1,500 in funding. Science Festivals empower PTAs with resources to host hands-on, fun STEM experiences that bring students and families together and help families experience and explore activities in STEM. To be considered, PTAs must hold their programs in-person.