Search Through Pittsburgh Grants for Nonprofits in Pennsylvania

About the Foundation

The Benter Foundation was founded in 2007 to help communities and individuals thrive.

Since then, the Foundation has invested to advance a more livable Pittsburgh, emphasizing downtown and the neighborhoods that comprise the city’s urban core.

Reaching beyond Pittsburgh, the Foundation supports peace building efforts and innovators who create new knowledge to tackle large-scale issues.

Areas of focus include smart transportation, enhancing the arts, sustaining open spaces and fostering global connections and community engagement so that everyone can participate in our region’s progress. This work relies on strong partners who have the tools they need to serve our community effectively.

Global Focus

The Foundation’s investment strategy is a work in progress.

We started with a few key areas in mind, primarily focused on one city, Pittsburgh. Over time, we found more organizations and good ideas that helped to shape our grantmaking.

We have learned a great deal from our grant partners and will continue to refine approaches based on their results.

Today, the Foundation concentrates on the following geographic and thematic areas in order to:

Advance a More Livable Pittsburgh

The Benter Foundation was founded in Pittsburgh and continues to focus much of its work on downtown Pittsburgh, the heart of the region, and in the neighborhoods that comprise the city’s urban core. 

• Support of smart transportation, where multiple modes like expanding bike usage, technology enhanced parking and better pedestrian experiences make mobility easier and safer.
• The arts and open spaces bring people together. To enhance the arts, Foundation grants fund agencies that range from large-scale cultural gems to small and medium sized innovators. Together they amplify diverse and creative voices in our region. Open spaces that everyone can enjoy like public parks and activated riverfronts promote community health.
• Global connections that inform people about the world and increase our ability to understand and work with one another inspire grants in global education.

Broaden Access to Pittsburgh’s Progress

As the region continues to change, insuring that more people benefit suggests several strategies that broaden access to Pittsburgh’s progress.

• Programs that help young people Start Right by encouraging lifelong advantages like children’s savings or post-secondary education offer building blocks to a better future.
• Careers look different today in Pittsburgh than they did decades ago. The region needs new ways to help people prepare for and connect to work. Completing a post-secondary degree, accessing skills training or career development networks can all boost economic well-being. Take the connection between creativity and work, where a special skill or talent can sometimes turn into long-term employment. Artists, artisans, and others who “make” and sell goods are fueling a sector of creative entrepreneurs that can employ more people and grow the local economy.
• Engaging citizens in solving local problems supports community care and stewardship. To thrive, the region needs strong community leaders. This is especially true in the nonprofit sector, where many organizations face complex challenges and tighter funding. Insuring that our nonprofit partners have the tools they need to improve their performance and better serve our community remains a key goal of this strategy. Supporting leadership development and fundraising, marketing and community involvement are all building blocks of this work.

Working Beyond Pittsburgh

A few projects carry our work Beyond Pittsburgh. This funding recognizes innovators who

• Create new knowledge to tackle hard problems or
• Support peace building in key regions of the world

The McCreery Fund was established in 1938 by the will of Emilie McCreery in honor of her parents. The McCreery Fund joined the Buhl family of funds in 1955. Grants are available to nonprofits that focus on furthering musical education and music awareness for young people in the Pittsburgh region. 

Mission

To encourage human development in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania through strategically placed charitable resources.

Guiding Principles

The following principles guide the Foundation’s grants programs in those regions: 

• We honor Michael and Sarah Benedum’s belief in “helping people help themselves,” and we seek opportunities to cultivate the creativity of people and communities. 
• We nurture leadership within the communities we serve, and we participate in leadership when it adds value.
• We encourage planning, projects and programs that cross geographical and political boundaries so that access to services and economic growth is maximized.
• We expect collaboration among the public, private and nonprofit sectors in order to leverage the resources that each can bring to common concerns.
• We strive to advance innovative practices that demonstrate measurable and sustainable benefit.
• We seek projects that contribute to advancement in public policy.

What We Fund

In keeping with the wishes of Michael and Sarah Benedum, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is a regional philanthropy focusing on West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation generally invests two-thirds of its grant dollars in West Virginia and one-third in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Foundation serves the entire state of West Virginia. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, the service area includes Allegheny, Washington, Greene, and Fayette Counties. This four-county area is a natural connector between Pittsburgh and West Virginia and contains rural communities that may benefit from the Benedum Foundation’s experiences in West Virginia. However, the Foundation recognizes that economic regions do not follow political boundaries, and therefore, the Foundation both encourages projects that cross state lines, and supports economic initiatives that benefit the multi-state economy centered on Pittsburgh.

Program Areas

The Foundation makes grants in two program areas that span both states:

Education

The Benedum Foundation seeks to foster learning environments, across formal and informal educational systems, that position young learners to thrive in career and life. Academic achievement, social and emotional wellbeing, and real-world workforce preparation are the ultimate objectives of this program.

The Foundation places a high priority on teacher quality and the most advanced instructional tools. Because schools do not function in isolation, the Foundation also looks to the resources of community organizations, business, and higher education to reinforce the learning objectives of the classroom. In preparation for the rising demands of the workplace, the Foundation recognizes the need for all students to enter some form of post-secondary education.

Although the Foundation is interested in any significant opportunity to improve the education system, current specific areas of interest include:

• Programs that improve teacher quality through professional development and innovative instructional strategies.
• Early childhood educational practices that bolster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development, including early intervention services that support school-success.
• Expanded and extended learning opportunities that complement and enhance the learning that occurs during the traditional school day.
• Career education and future readiness skill development, aligning secondary and post-secondary programs to high-demand, high-wage occupations.

Economic Development

Innovation will be the cornerstone of the future success of the economy in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation supports economic development activities based upon the region’s strengths in research, technology, and advanced manufacturing.

The Foundation’s agenda seeks to promote regional planning and cooperation, recognizing that with respect to any endeavor, “region” should mean whatever area is most appropriate to optimize the available opportunity, without reference to historic, geographic, or political boundaries. The expected outcomes of the Foundation’s Economic Development grants are the creation and growth of innovative, wealth-producing businesses and high-quality jobs.

In addition, many of the communities in the region served by the Foundation are rural, and enjoy abundant natural assets that provide economic opportunities that complement centers of technology-based growth. The Foundation currently supports efforts to advance agriculture, outdoor recreation, artisanship, and cultural tourism. Current specific areas of Foundation interest include:

• Promotion of entrepreneurship.
• Projects that promote technology-based economic development.
• Programs to promote the growth and accessibility of new capital for businesses in distressed communities and areas of high unemployment.

BackgroundSolving big problems through civic leadership, collaboration, and innovation Henry L. Hillman Foundation inspires, invests in, and leverages great ideas to make Pittsburgh one of the world’s most forward-looking cities.Henry L. Hillman Foundation’s mission is to inspire, invest in, and leverage great ideas and initiatives for outcomes that improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania.Henry L. Hillman Foundation seeds and scales innovative solutions to address significant community needs. Projects supported by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation are forward-looking, collaborative, and seek to leverage the Pittsburgh region’s competitive advantages.Strategic PortfoliosHenry L. Hillman Foundation has a broad interest in initiatives that are timely and designed to take advantage of an emerging opportunity. The Foundation will prioritize investments that align with the following “portfolio” focus areas:

Aging Well

Preparing for a smaller and older regional population

• Support healthy aging, with a focus on caregivers and aging in place
• Leverage the assets and value of the aging population

Big Ideas and New Models

Solving big problems through collaboration, leadership, and new ways of thinking

• Support and incentivize nonprofit partners to take risks and to try new ways of approaching their work

Capturing the Next Economy

Shaping the future of work and new models of economic development

• Grow and strengthen the region’s innovation economy
• Support Pittsburgh’s growth as a leader in the future of work and learning
• Promote economic mobility and diverse pathways to living wage careers, particularly within the innovation economy

Healthy Neighborhoods

Safe, healthy, and thriving communities that positively influence social determinants of health

• Prevent displacement and concentration of poverty through enhancing the availability of high-quality, affordable housing
• Improve the environment for healthy living, including through safe housing, clean air, healthy food, and accessible outdoor spaces
• Support the vibrancy of Main Street business districts and strive to make Pittsburgh a leading city for individuals who want to start or grow a business

Strengthening Democracy

Good governance and ethical society for collective long-term prosperity

• Support high-quality public media for an informed population
• Increase civic engagement and ensure equitable and accurate representation
• Develop skills and tools for more effective civic participation
• Encourage policy progress and innovation across portfolio focus areas

Sustainable Regional Infrastructure

Innovation and investment in twenty-first century communications, energy, and other systems that support success within the other portfolio focus areas

• Modernize infrastructure and systems through innovation, with a focus on quality, affordability, and security
• Enhance broadband connectivity and the development and deployment of digital tools
• Transition to a low-carbon economy

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Mission & Principles

To improve the health and well-being of the communities served by Jefferson Hospital through engagement, community-driven research, and grantmaking.

Fulfilling the Mission

JRF is not a private foundation but rather a support organization for AHN Jefferson Hospital. As such, our activities broadly support the Hospital’s mission, as we both work to improve the health and well-being of the residents in its service area.

In order to achieve our mission, we operate under a set of guiding principles:

• Approaching our work through an equity lens and an intentional purpose of inclusivity
• Advancing the Foundation’s priorities by investing grant resources with effective community organizations
• Promoting and strengthening the community’s resources, assets, and voice with integrity and transparency
• Actively partnering with a variety of public, nonprofit, and private organizations and leaders who share our vision
• Wise investment of the Foundation’s funds for growth while preserving the principal
• Gathering, sharing, and leveraging important information about community resources and existing and emerging needs
• Building the capacity of community groups to promote quality of life and fulfill the mission of the Foundation
• Supporting the development and expansion of interventions and programs that demonstrate best or promising practices
• Supporting AHN Jefferson Hospital by focusing on the social determinants of health within the community

Grantmaking

The Jefferson Regional Foundation has three grant cycles in the Foundation’s fiscal year which runs from July 1st to June 30th. The Foundation’s Board of Directors meets in December, March, and June of each year to review and discuss recommended grant requests. If the Foundation’s Board of Directors approves a grant request, partners are notified of the grant award and provided with next steps to receive funding.

Partner organizations who have ensured eligibility, a connection to our service area, and fit with our grantmaking priorities may submit Letters of Intent (LOIs) at any time. Foundation staff, upon review of the LOI, an introductory meeting, and other due diligence activities, must extend an invitation to partner organizations to a submit a full grant proposal.

Grant Priorities

The Jefferson Regional Foundation, with target communities south of Pittsburgh, PA, has used the Jefferson Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment as an important source of community information to identify grantmaking priorities (see Community Reports). The Foundation intends to engage with Jefferson Hospital and community partners in an ongoing assessment and review of community needs. This will result in the evolution of grantmaking priorities over time.

The Foundation currently has three priorities for grantmaking:

• Health & Wellness
• Basic needs including food, housing, and transportation
• Physical, mental, behavioral, and environmental health
• Education, Workforce, & Economic Opportunity
• Early childhood/literacy
• Youth development
• Training
• Youth, adult, and community education
• Community Engagement & Policy Work
• Advocacy
• Civic engagement
• Organizing

Funding Categories

Types of strategies the Foundation will consider funding that support increased health and well-being:

• New and innovative initiatives (includes pilot or planning grants)
• Ongoing initiatives
• General operating support for organizations operating within the Foundation’s service area
• Capacity-building funds (strategic planning, technical assistance)
• Capital funds (equipment, facilities) Note: This category is limited and requires extensive discussion with Foundation staff. It is generally reserved for grantees that have a direct and immediate community impact in the Foundation service area.

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

Statement of Purpose

• The Neighborhood Initiatives Fund Program (NIF or the Program), administered by the URA’s Business Solutions Unit, is designed to provide grants to:
• Help unlock the economic and placemaking potential within City of Pittsburgh neighborhood commercial corridors.
• Support vision-to-action community investment strategies that build a more equitable Pittsburgh; and
• Formalize collaborative partnerships across the City of Pittsburgh (City).

The Program is intended to assist nonprofit and community-based organizations with neighborhood scale projects within commercial corridors that improve quality of life and maintain the corridor as a desirable location for small business. NIF projects include efforts that encourage investment through vacant property reclamation and stewardship, historic preservation, brownfield redevelopment, public infrastructure improvements, and other eligible efforts.

Use of Funding

The Program will fund up to 15 proposals for non-housing related place-based initiatives and equitable neighborhood-scale projects within Pittsburgh’s neighborhood commercial corridors. Funds are awarded on a competitive basis.

Specialized Grant Categories

The Neighborhood Initiatives fund has grown since its founding in 2019. With additional funds the URA is now able to offer categorized grant opportunities to fit the growing needs of communities.

These categories are:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades in business corridors
• Public Art Installation and Improvements
• Nonprofit Building Improvements
• Small Nonprofit Organization Grants

Tier 2 grants will fund projects between $50,001 and $150,000

Tier 2 grants will require a 2:1 match -- for every two dollars ($2) of Program funds awarded to the project, there must be at least one-dollar ($1) of match invested in the project by the grantee. Matching funds must come from non-URA and non-city sources.

To have the greatest impact, organizations need flexible funding that supports organizational development and long-term planning. The purpose of the General Support Grant Program of the Social Justice Fund is to provide operating support for organizations engaged in advocacy, mobilization and healing work. 

By providing general support, The Social Justice Fund will increase investment in strengthening the infrastructure for social justice work in the Pittsburgh region, particularly for efforts that are led by communities that are least well off politically, economically and socially. General support grants are one-year grants that can be renewed for up to three years. However, renewals are not guaranteed and each year the application process will be competitive. At the end of each 12-month grant period, grantees will submit a final report describing their progress and meet with Foundation staff to share their findings. Grantees will also have access to workshops, training and peer-learning opportunities to help develop their individual capacity and build networks that will deepen the collective impact of their work. 

What We Fund

The Social Justice Fund is intended to support organizations engaged in advocacy, mobilization and healing work. We have defined these categories of work as follows:

• Advocacy: Efforts intended to bring about greater justice in economically underserved, people of color, LGBTQIA, immigrant and disability communities by working to place an issue higher on the political agenda; strengthen government/institutional commitment to implement or improve policies or practices; or increase or sustain financial or other resources. This can include petitions, one-on-one educational meetings with decision-makers, raising public awareness, public education, policy analysis and litigation.
• Mobilization: Bringing together affected individuals and their allies to raise awareness of and challenge a particular social, cultural, political or economic injustice and to strengthen community participation in decision-making. Mobilization can include activities such as: community conversations, protest marches, workshops/teach-ins, using art or images to illustrate ideas or influencing public perception through traditional and popular media. 
• Healing: Efforts that provide opportunities for community members to build and re-establish healthy connections and lift up resiliency and wellness practices as a transformative response to oppression, especially violence and trauma. 

Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition

We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Conservation

Wildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.

Economic Development

To help make Southwestern Pennsylvania 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.

Economic Mobility

All children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future. We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.

Health & Well-Being

Everyone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.

Organizational Effectiveness

Our partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating the achievement of their strategic priorities.

Social-Impact Investments

The Foundation is currently accepting applications for its annual Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition.

The Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks, and resources they need to develop products, deploy services, and address societal issues at the individual and community level.

Management Assistance Grants (MAGs)- The Forbes Funds collaborates with community-based and human services nonprofit partners in the Greater Pittsburgh region.

Management Assistance Grants are awarded to nonprofit collaboratives to support the cost of hiring third-party consultation for a collaborative capacity-building project. MAGS are reimbursement based grants. 

Possible areas of support include the following:

• Financial strategy to support operational needs and sustainable growth
• Ideas for growing the mission and capitalizing on program opportunities
• Enhanced strategic and generative performance of the board
• Models for generating more impactful employee performance
• An objective and experienced sounding board with whom you can share your leadership challenges and dreams

What do we fund?

• Proposals focusing on finance, strategy, and organizational realignment
  • Financial projects will seek to understand the financial standing of a partnership and develop planning for joint sustainability (e.g. Joint sustainability plan, collaborative earned revenue strategy)
  • Strategy projects will set a direction and plan to pursue joint activities and outcomes (e.g. Strategic plan for a collaborative, shared business plan)
  • Organizational realignment projects involve formalizing partnerships through a shared structure (e.g. Shared back office, shared positions, strategic affiliation)
• Capacity-building projects that seek to produce impact at the organizational and systems-level (e.g. Partners from multiple sectors, more efficient use of shared resources)
• Collaboratives addressing known Social Determinants of Health affecting the region such as:
  • economic stability
  • education
  • social and community context
  • health and health care
  • neighborhood and built environment

AEO Better World Foundation

The AEO Better World Foundation is a 501(c)3 private foundation established in 1999 to support the community in partnership with AEO Inc, our Brands, and our associates.

We support causes that are important to our associates and customers by making a meaningful impact in their communities through national and global charity partnerships.

MISSION:

We are committed to showing the world that there’s REAL power  in the optimism of youth by supporting causes that educate and empower teens and young adults.

Community Grants

AEO is committed to building a better world and showing the world that there’s REAL power in the optimism of youth by supporting causes that educate and empower teens and young adults. We strive to create positive change by awarding grants to nonprofit organizations at a grassroots level in the communities of Pittsburgh, New York City, Hazleton, Ottawa, and Mississauga (Ontario area). Local 501(c)3 organizations and registered Canadian charities are invited to apply to support programming for teens and young adults in the locations mentioned above. 

Grant Amounts

If an organization is NEW and has not yet received funding from the AEO Better World Foundation, we ask that you submit a proposal for a grant of $5,000. This $5,000 can support a new or ongoing program, and you can have additional funders if necessary.

If an organization has received funding from the AEO Better World Foundation before, your organization is eligible to apply for a grant in the range of $5,000 - $15,000

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. 

Mission Statement

Opportunity Fund awards grants to small to midsize arts organizations, and organizations and initiatives that advance social and economic justice.

At least 75% of our grants are awarded to projects that benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community. 

Funding Areas

Arts

• Performing Arts, with an emphasis on theatre, dance and music, especially classical chamber music and jazz, presented by small and mid-sized arts organizations
• Visual Arts, with an emphasis on craft and small to mid-sized organizations.

Social & Economic Justice

• Black-Led Movement Work
• Civil Liberties
• Civil Rights, with special interest in Black and LGBTQ+ people, and other groups impacted by social injustice
• Human Rights
• Reproductive Freedom
• Safety Net Resources for people in need, including social services, economic independence, housing, tangible aid, transportation, healthcare

The Opportunity Fund offers both project-based grants and operational support. As a new funding entity, Opportunity Fund is continually finding and adjusting its focus. As such, past grants are not entirely indicative of what will be funded in the future.

About The Hear Foundation

The Hear Foundation (THF) is the first and only nonprofit in Pittsburgh dedicated exclusively to collaborating with community leaders, Pittsburgh Police, residents and the City to create a safe, thriving community for all. Co-founded by Leon Ford and former Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert, The Hear Foundation’s mission is to convene, fund, and implement initiatives that build police and resident relationships and strengthen Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.

The Hear Foundation Impact Grants

Nonprofits and community organizations are invited to apply for financial support, up to $40,000, for efforts that promote public safety through work in one or more of THF’s three pillar areas:

• Gun Violence Reduction
• Healing Trauma
• Workforce Development

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: Employment

In this area, we seek to support youth and adults who experience significant barriers to employment, including limited math and reading skills. This includes support for programs that prioritize the employment needs of individuals who are low-income, have a disability, are formally incarcerated, experience housing insecurity, in or aging out of foster care, and single parents. These needs are complex and not easily resolved by one agency alone.

We are specifically interested in services and activities that:

• Offer comprehensive assistance for adults and include interest and skill assessments, soft- and hard-skill development, employer and human service partnerships, job placement with wages of at least $13.00 an hour and at least six-month follow up.
• Align with career pipeline programs and local industry partnership strategies targeting technology, health care, financial services, advanced manufacturing and construction activities.
• Provide age-appropriate youth programs that include life and social skills training, career exploration or career planning with work-based learning such as employer visits, job shadowing, adult career mentoring, internships, summer youth employment, occupational skills training, pre-apprenticeships, industry recognized credentialing and employment in targeted industries.
• Seek to identify and implement best practice/innovative strategies that support single parents, people with justice system involvement and people in recovery. 

Awareness. Education. Prevention.  These are three key tenets of Bayer Fund’s investments in health and wellness.  With a focus on cancer and cardiovascular disease, we provide resources to organizations dedicated to educating and/or providing services to patients, caregivers and at-risk populations.

Health & Wellness Grants

Programs that Bayer Fund will support include those that focus on patients and their families needing assistance with issues to managing cardiovascular disease and cancer. This includes education, disease awareness, and supportive services for these diseases. In areas related to cardiovascular disease, priority (though not exclusivity) will be given to charitable organizations that focus on programs and support for the African American community due to the high incidence rate of disease in this population.

Giving in this category will focus on support services such as education, disease awareness, and general access to care (e.g., housing for families traveling for cancer or heart care).

All funding requests and budgets must be for program activities and expenses that start after funding decisions are made. All programs must be completed within one year of the start date, except in limited situations where longer term programs have been agreed upon. Grant award amounts vary, depending on the size of the community, the type of programming, and the reach of the organization.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Champions in Action

Citizens' Champions in Action program is designed to support nonprofit organizations that address social challenges facing our communities. Since 2002, the program has awarded over $12.3 million to more than 400 Champions. In partnership with media outlets, we also provide support through promotion, publicity and volunteerism to help our Champions in Action better serve our communities.

Champions receive:

• $50,000 in Funding
• Local Media Coverage
• Volunteer Support
• Promotional Opportunities

Current Focus: Uplifting Resilient NonprofitsNonprofits are adapting to a fast-changing environment marked by increased community needs, staffing challenges, and evolving funding sources. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, more than half have experienced a rise in service demands, and nearly 70 percent cite staff burnout as a major concern. In response, many are reimagining their operations to remain effective and accessible.

At Citizens, we are proud to champion organizations that lead through change and deliver lasting impact.

The 2026 Champions in Action award will recognize nonprofits advancing financial empowerment or workforce development through innovation. These organizations are demonstrating resilience and creativity by embracing new approaches to strengthen their teams, enhance results and expand their reach in the communities they serve.

POISE Community Impact Grants

POISE Foundation accepts online grant applications twice a year during its Spring and Fall funding cycle for requests that fit within one or more of its Priority Areas and are for activities within the Pittsburgh Region.

Grants are typically between $1,000-$5,000.

Funding Priority Areas

POISE Foundation’s mission is to assist the Black community in achieving self-sustaining practices through strategic leadership, collective giving, grantmaking, and advocacy. Through the Community Impact Grants, the Foundation provides small grants to nonprofit organizations located in the Pittsburgh Region that provide services, and seeks to bring change to the Black community which leads to empowerment and self-sufficiency. In general, grants are one year in duration. 

POISE typically provides grants to Black-led, Black serving nonprofit organizations offering programs and services that fit within one or more of our Priority Areas:

Community & Economic Development

Programming that helps community leaders, residents and their communities build capacity to engage in civic participation, to collaborate, to make decisions and to advocate for the well-being of Black communities and the residents that live there. These types of programs also seek to engage community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological, and other impacts on their way of life. In addition, these programs should aim to foster pathways from poverty to prosperity for individuals and families in Black communities. We also look for programming that encourages diverse and robust neighborhood and community economies.

Education

Programming that supports and advances the educational achievement of Black youth in the Pittsburgh Region. We also invest in programming that offers innovative approaches to learning experiences that engage families and communities in the academic and social success of Black youth.

 Entrepreneurial Activities

Programming that advances the creation and development of Black businesses and cooperatives in the Pittsburgh Region.

Young Ladies

Programming that supports and advances the well-being of young ladies in preparation for future endeavors in the Pittsburgh Region.

Strengthening Black Families

Through Strengthening Black Families, we can envision a region where the Black Family is restored a core institution that is actively thriving and engaged in the re-development and transformation of Pittsburgh’s Black community. The Foundation will invest in programs and activities that build, strengthen, and support Black families.   

• being family-driven;
• building, strengthening, and supporting family development;
• increasing family time, interaction, engagement and communication;
• being culturally and contextually responsive in approach;
• assisting families with building authentic support networks with other families;
• providing families with tools and opportunities to build the skills necessary to advocate for their needs; and
• promoting and supporting family healing and wellness.

• Black-led, Black serving organization
• Have a current 501(c)3 or a fiscal sponsor with this documentation
• Serving Black families in Allegheny and Beaver Counties
• Organizations may request up to $6,500 for Strengthening Black Families programs/projects.

Grants Focus Areas

As a member of the South Pittsburgh community, The Birmingham Foundation supports local organizations in developing, implementing, and advancing their efforts to help young children birth to age eight and their families thrive. Annually, the Foundation welcomes letters of interest from nonprofit organizations whose services align with one of our three focus areas:

Maternal and Child Health (Prenatal to 3)

Every child deserves a healthy start in life and every mother should have access to quality healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth.

• Pre and Post Natal Care
• Home Visiting
• Developmental Screenings and Early Intervention
• Social and Emotional Wellbeing Supports

Early Care and Education (Birth to Age 8)

Children with access to quality early learning are more prepared for kindergarten, have increased vocabulary, enhanced language, math and social skills, and more positive relationships with their classmates. These children are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, enter the labor force, earn living wages, and thrive.

• Workforce Supports
• Access to Quality Culturally Responsive Programs
• Kindergarten Transition
• Social and Emotional Wellbeing Supports

Parent and Family Wellbeing

All families deserve a better future no matter their race, ethnicity, or zip code. Poverty, like wealth, is passed down from generation to generation. Decades of racial inequity and underinvestment in our communities have kept families trapped in a cycle. Breaking the cycle by investing in parents and families builds overall well-being, financial strength, and social connections to lift two generations at once.

• Family Engagement
• Access to Services
• Social Connectedness and Leadership
• Social and Emotional Wellbeing Supports

Andersen Corporate Foundation

The Andersen Corporate Foundation was established in 1941 with the mission to improve lives and strengthen communities where Andersen employees live and work. Since then, the Foundation has donated more than $65 million to worthy causes.

The Andersen Corporate Foundation supports nonprofit organizations working in the following areas: housing, healthcare, hunger relief, and education. 

Giving Areas

Housing: Funding to increase housing access and stability, including services to transition out of homelessness, and provide and maintain affordable housing.

Health: Funding to advance health access and equity, including support for critical access hospitals/clinics/providers, expanded access to mental health services, and expanded access to preventative healthcare.

Hunger Relief: Funding to address food insecurity and increase food access, including providing healthy and culturally relevant foods.

Education: Funding to advance equity and opportunity in education, and funding to support and raise the profile of trades and industrial education programs.

Funding

The Andersen Corporate Foundation supports general operating, program/project, and capital campaign funding requests. Grants requests may range in size from $5,000 to $50,000 for general operating and program/project requests. The majority of general operating and program/project grants awarded fall between $5,000 and $20,000.

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.  

John R. McCune IV served as director of various for-profit and non-profit organizations throughout his life, most notably, as a director of the Union National Bank of Pittsburgh from 1923 until his death in 1972. During his life, Mr. McCune gave generously to charitable organizations, while seeking no public recognition of his philanthropy.

The John R. McCune Charitble Trust was established in 1979, after the death of his wife, Mary Corson McCune. The Trust continues John R. McCune IV’s philanthropic legacy by giving anonymously to non-profits in such areas as education, health care, and social services.

 John R. McCune Charitable Trust Grant

The John R. McCune Charitable Trust awards an average grant amount between $10,000 to $75,000 to nonprofit organizations that are defined as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the areas of secondary & higher education, health care, and social/human services. The majority of grants authorized by the Charitable Trust are Board driven, although unsolicited requests may be considered if the organization is located within southwestern Pennsylvania. 

The McKeesport Community Fund

The McKeesport Community Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation was established in 2017 by Trulieve as part of Trulieve’s commitment to fostering the well-being of the community and giving a portion of revenue back to the community to support revitalization. The McKeesport Community Fund will provide monetary resources is to support public 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are located in McKeesport and/or serve 70% of McKeesport residents, that focus on education and job training, at-risk and special needs youth, anti-violence initiatives, expungement programs, projects to improve infrastructure, removing blight, affordable housing, local entrepreneurship, economic development, drug treatment and sober living, support services focused on the qualifying conditions under Act 16 and healthcare assistance.  

Two Funding Tracks Offered

• Event or small capital projects: These are grants for events or small capital projects that support the mission of the Fund. Events must be within 12 months of submission of the application. Examples of capital needs include building materials, technology or recreational equipment, appliances and/or the labor needed for the improvements. 
• Operating support or projects: These are grants for operating support or projects that support the mission of the Fund. These grants may support the operations of a nonprofit to serve its mission, such as staffing, materials or operations overhead. Grants may also support a project, including piloting new services, expanding an existing service, or fulfilling a temporary need that has a timed beginning and end. Organizations may ask for multi-year funding up to two years if the project is expected to take that time.

Funding

Trulieve anticipates donating approximately $50,000 annually to McKeesport community organizations through strategic grantmaking. 

The Toy Industry's Toy Donation Program

We believe access to play provides comfort, joy, and extraordinary physical, emotional, and educational benefits to children when they need it most. Toy Chest is the only industry-wide giving initiative that distributes companies’ toy donations to children when they need it most. Since 2003, Toy Chest has comforted more than 35 million children with the power of play. Part of The Toy Association™, Toy Chest advances members’ corporate social responsibility efforts, supports inventory management, and assists in tradeshow moveout. Toy Chest is an opportunity to unite the industry’s donations to create big impact on children around the world.

Apply for Toys

We distribute toy donations to vetted nonprofit organizations with support of a logistics partner that operates facilities in New England, Greater New York, Pittsburgh, Appalachia, Greater Chicago, North Texas, and Pacific Northwest. Member organizations can pick up toys quarterly from the closest facility to distribute to the children served.

Statement of Purpose

The Neighborhood Initiatives Fund Program (NIF or the Program), administered by the URA’s Business Solutions Unit, is designed to provide grants to:

• Help unlock the economic and placemaking potential within City of Pittsburgh neighborhood commercial corridors.
• Support vision-to-action community investment strategies that build a more equitable Pittsburgh; and
• Formalize collaborative partnerships across the City of Pittsburgh (City).

The Program is intended to assist nonprofit and community-based organizations with neighborhood scale projects within commercial corridors that improve quality of life and maintain the corridor as a desirable location for small business. NIF projects include efforts that encourage investment through vacant property reclamation and stewardship, historic preservation, brownfield redevelopment, public infrastructure improvements, and other eligible efforts.

Use of Funding

The Program will fund up to 15 proposals for non-housing related place-based initiatives and equitable neighborhood-scale projects within Pittsburgh’s neighborhood commercial corridors. Funds are awarded on a competitive basis.

Specialized Grant Categories

The Neighborhood Initiatives fund has grown since its founding in 2019. With additional funds the URA is now able to offer categorized grant opportunities to fit the growing needs of communities. 

These categories are:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades in business corridors
• Public Art Installation and Improvements
• Nonprofit Building Improvements
• Small Nonprofit Organization Grants

Tier 1 Grants

$20,000 to $30,000

No matching requirement.

The Wish Book is a soft-cover, printed book that is mailed to our donor community every November. Donors may use their donor-advised fund to make grant requests to fulfill the "wishes" on a rolling basis between November and March. In 2023, donors contributions totaled $670,000 to 100 Wish Book organizations.

The 2025 Wish Book should arrive before Thanksgiving. To fulfill a wish, contact your donor services representative by phone or email. You can find your representative's contact information on our staff page or by contacting the Development and Donor Services department