In The News

The Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh partnership between The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments have awarded 12 artists and organizations grant support.

With the appointment of Janis Burley Wilson as CEO and president of the August Wilson Center last week, they now have a leader who can make the institution worthy of its name.

After a three-year search, the board of the August Wilson Center For African American Culture named its new president and CEO Thursday. Janis Burley Wilson, who is not related to the center’s namesake, has overseen programming at the center since the Cultural Trust took over temporary operation two years ago. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Burley Wilson’s hire means the conversation is no longer about saving the center, named after Pittsburgh Playwright August Wilson.

Janis Wilson is officially the new head of the August Wilson Center. She is the current vice president of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and has been a long-time events programmer for the AWC.

The August Wilson Center's new top executive faces an ambitious list of top priorities, including deepening the funding pool for the once struggling center. Janis Burley Wilson, 52, of Monroeville was named head of the center Thursday, though her familiarity with the center stretches back more than two years when it was taken over by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, where Burley Wilson spent 15 years as an executive.

Pittsburgh Magazine & The Pittsburgh Foundation Introduce #GiveBigPittsburgh. To participate, nonprofits must establish a profile by Oct. 24 and are urged to sign up now for a training session scheduled for Aug. 3.

As a successful entrepreneur or business leader, you build profitable enterprises that benefit workers, shareholders and consumers of your goods or services. Certainly, your company’s ability to meet payroll and turn a profit greatly benefits the community in which it operates. (The article is written by Maxwell King, president and CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation.)

On June 15, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made the unusual move of tweeting a “request for ideas” about how to direct his charitable giving. The tweet received ample media coverage and more than 40,000 replies on Twitter. In this open letter, leaders of 18 community foundations from around the United States, including The Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Maxwell King, respond.

With the state facing a $3 billion deficit, providers of essential human services are preparing for significant cuts, and several million Pennsylvania families who depend on them are fearing the worst. That is why we, as leaders of community philanthropies deeply engaged in funding essential human services, have developed #FamilyFirstPA, a statewide campaign to let legislators and Gov. Tom Wolf know that vital human services must remain a priority in the next budget.

The Allegheny County Homeless Advisory Board has a new plan to fight homelessness. The board’s plan is aimed to make the condition of homelessness “rare, brief and nonrecurring” in Allegheny County, and to ensure that various systems and social service groups are working together well. But before the plan is approved, the board is requesting feedback from the community.