In The News

On top of the penalty, the company will pay $300,000 to the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County for local air improvements. Phil Koch, executive director of the foundation, said that money will go to initiatives like upgrading the emissions systems of diesel school buses to make them run cleaner.

Most Americans are poised to lose any tax incentives to give to charity under the final Republican tax bill negotiated Friday. A trio of Western Pennsylvania nonprofit leaders say they fear the “misguided bill” will thrust the charitable sector “directly in harm's way” and reduce giving in a seven-county region by as much as $60 million a year.

On Dec. 4, the 2017 Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture honored Pittsburgh artists Susan Tsu (Established Artist Award) and Sarika Goulatia (Emerging Artist Award).

Give Big Pittsburgh, organized by the Pittsburgh Foundation and Pittsburgh Magazine, raised $1,362,742, according to an unofficial tally on its website.

A new local fundraising effort for Giving Tuesday is replacing the Pittsburgh Foundation's previous Day of Giving event. Give Big Pittsburgh has hundreds of local nonprofit organizations participating through its platform and began at midnight Tuesday. As of 2:30 p.m., more than $690,000 had been given by more than 3,200 donors to 449 organizations through the Give Big Pittsburgh website.

Costume designer Susan Tsu and visual artist Sarika Goulatia are the winners of this year’s Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards, recognizing the works and achievements of one established artist and one emerging artist. The awards come with $15,000 for each artist, courtesy of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments. 

Jason Boll was never happier to help a student apply to college than he was to help Kevonna Stevens. She’d graduated at the top of her class at Perry High School in the spring, and she was applying to his alma mater, Temple University. Now, he's trying to help her stay there. Even with Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship money, the college student is struggling to cover all higher ed costs. 

Point Park University’s Conservatory of the Performing Arts and Pittsburgh Westinghouse Academy, grades 6 through 12, are partnering during during the fall semester to offer interested students an opportunity to take voice, dance and drama classes. This, thanks to a grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation, which will be overseen by Point Park part-time faculty instructor Ernest Tolentino and the principal of Westinghouse, Bernard Taylor.  

The Root 100 is an annual list of the most influential African Americans, ages 25 to 45. It’s a way of honoring the innovators, the leaders, the public figures and game changers whose work from the past year is breaking down barriers and paving the way for the next generation. Sarah Huny Young received a grant from Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh. Her multimedia project, American Woman, documents black women across the United States.

It’s impossible to keep track of all of the charities this community volunteer has supported with her time, input and financial support over the years. Debi Wheeler created the Pete Wheeler “Pay it Forward” Fund at the Pittsburgh Foundation and serves as its director. Her son died as the result of a traumatic brain injury at the age of 24. "If there is anything I can do to prevent that from happening, I’m going to do it,” she says.