In The News

The Pittsburgh Foundation is narrowing the focus of its former Day of Giving fundraiser to raise money for more than 100 nonprofits in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties that directly support people with needs in five areas.

This year, The Pittsburgh Foundation is suspending Day of Giving and focusing instead on what they call #SafetyNetPGH Critical Needs Alert—a full day of online donating for the most vital services, for those most deeply in need. On Tuesday, May 23, starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until midnight, The Pittsburgh Foundation is asking the public to donate to nonprofits of their choice at PittsburghGives. Donations between $25 and $1000 will be eligible for matching funds.

The Pittsburgh Foundation has raised a call to arms – or at least a call to pocketbooks – for Tuesday, May 23. That’s the day you can make a difference in children’s lives across Allegheny County by participating in the Critical Needs Alert fundraising event.

The philanthropic arm of KeyBank announced Wednesday that it will donate a total of $1 million over four years to the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program. “As [Pittsburgh] newcomers, we were trying to identity a wonderful opportunity that aligned with our vision, mission and goals for the KeyBank Foundation, and this was on target,” foundation chair and CEO Margot Copeland said in an interview.

The Pittsburgh Promise honored UPMC on Thursday for making the last installment of its $100 million commitment to the scholarship program. “There has never been a gift of this magnitude to urban public schools,” said Saleem Ghubril, Promise executive director.

The Pittsburgh Foundation strongly supports the Council on Foundations statement opposing the executive order issued by the White House on Thursday to weaken the Johnson Amendment.

After seeing fundraising slacken through most of 2016, the community fund took in twice as much in the last two months of the year as in the previous November and December, with most contributions going into donor-advised funds, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh Foundation CEO Maxwell King said donors were "hesitating and holding off" before the vote amid concerns about tax policy and the markets' direction.

The Delmot Library has received a $2,500 grant for an outdoor butterfly garden from the Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Fund of The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, which has provided gardening grants for eight libraries throughout the county.

The Pittsburgh Foundation, a community foundation that funds critical needs and other causes in the region, raised nearly $45 million in donations last year and handed out 22 percent more in grant money than it did in 2015.

In December alone, The Pittsburgh Foundation received cash donations topping $18 million, compared to $10 million raised in December 2015, a foundation report released Friday shows.