In The News

The Pittsburgh Foundation on Thursday said its board’s Program & Policy committee approved $5.9 million for 53 grants in its fourth-quarter grant-making cycle.

A recent video shown to local residents aimed to inspire donors to support the construction of a second Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc. training facility just a few miles away in Robinson, Washington County. The facility’s price is projected at $15 million to $20 million and the chief fundraiser is Jack Wagner, a former Pittsburgh City Council member, former state auditor general and a Vietnam veteran.

Small grants, big impact: Charitable groups are among 24 nonprofits serving Allegheny County that will share in a newly announced round of grants totaling $341,000 through The Pittsburgh Foundation’s “Small and Mighty” program — a funding mechanism available to small to mid-sized nonprofits that demonstrate community-impact bang for their charitable buck.

Single moms, their strengths and the challenges they face, are the focus of a new report, released by The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh has awarded grants totaling more than $427,000 to advance individual and institutional projects and help with organizations with operating costs during 2019.

A charitable fund created in honor of Mac Miller — the late Pittsburgh-born rapper who sought to invest in youth programs and safe playgrounds in his hometown — has raised more than $370,000 in donations, fund managers confirmed Sunday. Miller’s family established the Mac Miller Circles Fund at The Pittsburgh Foundation “to provide programming, resources and opportunities to youth from underserved communities, helping them recognize their full potential through exploration in the arts and community-building.”

“It’s an instrument that works really well for the donor, said Maxwell King, CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which manages about 1,000 DAFs valued at $330 million — up from about 500 accounts totaling $111 million in 2009. “I have no reason to think that it won’t continue in popularity,” said Yvonne Maher, the foundation’s executive vice president for development and donor services. “This year, we’ve already raised $40 million in new money, and I think that we’ll continue to grow.”

The Christian Leaders Fellowship has set up the endowment fund at the Pittsburgh Foundation, which is administrating it. The principal would be kept permanently in the fund, according to the plan, with the interest used to meet the estimated cost of up to $70,000 to transport and set up the creche. The DLM Foundation is offering to match up to $200,000 in donations through March 6, according to the Pittsburgh Foundation.

Tony Ferrieri has been named the established artist of the year for his 40 years of theatrical feats, and interdisciplinary artist Alisha B. Wormsley has been honored as the emerging artist. The awards, which began in 2012, come with $15,000 grants from The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments.

Director of Development Jennie Zioncheck provides a detailed description for Fort Pitt Capital Group of "bunching" as a philanthropic strategy and how it can benefit both the donor and the charities.