In The News

Got an opinion about those left behind in the new wave of prosperity in Pittsburgh? The Pittsburgh Foundation wants to hear from you. As part of their 100 Percent Pittsburgh—an initiative to devote more resources to the 30% of the population in this region that has been left behind in the latest wave of prosperity—the foundation is conducting extensive research to find out how the community feels about such matters.

Have a grand idea and want to take it to the next level? UpPrize, the social innovation challenge created by The Forbes Funds with partners BNY Mellon and Bridgeway Capital, is back after its stellar debut last year.

Over the past two years, the fraternity’s charity run has raised more than $200,000 for the Live Like Lou Center for ALS Research at the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute. The center is named for the patient advocacy organization LiveLikeLou.org started by Neil and Suzanne Alexander. The nonprofit, administered through the Pittsburgh Foundation, is dedicated to raising money to fund patient care and research to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

While voting is a right of every U.S. citizen, the process isn’t easy for those faced with strict registration deadlines, voter ID laws and limited access to polling places. That’s why the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership (GPNP), a part of The Forbes Funds, is committed to getting everyone to the polls this election season. The GPNP, a coalition of over 420 nonprofits and community partners from a 12-county region in southwestern PA, assembled 17 cohorts to participate in the nonpartisan Nonprofit Vote voter engagement program.

The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Day of Giving generated $2.1 million during 16 hours on Wednesday, pushing the total to more than $5.1 million raised across two days – about four months apart.

Four Penn State researchers have been awarded a total of $450,000 by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation to carry out basic science research over the next two years.

The development that is rapidly transforming some areas of the city could actually be part of the solution to ensuring everyone benefits from the region’s economic transformation. That’s the premise behind a report from the research institute PolicyLink—Equitable Development: The Path to an All-in Pittsburgh—which provides a roadmap for Pittsburgh to “not just imagine but actually build a different future,” says Sarah Treuhaft, director of equitable growth initiatives at PolicyLink.

The Pittsburgh Promise is one of many programs aimed at improving educational outcomes, closing the achievement gap and removing cost barriers for young people to succeed. The Promise has seen firsthand the need to bolster learning and ambition in children as early as possible. In fact, kindergarten-readiness is a prerequisite to Promise-readiness in our urban schools.  

For it’s third year, 1Hood recently hosted 1Hood Day, a two-day festival that celebrates the hip hop culture in all its manifestations. 1Hood Day was built on the idea of uniting family, the community and music. Based in knowledge of self, on this day, the organization honored all the pillars of hip hop, including MCing, DJing, B-boying, and graffiti. Funding for the The Pittsburgh hip hop collective was provided by the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Program, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments. New Pittsburgh Courier

The fund, administered in part by the United Way of Westmoreland County, was initially used to help pay medical expenses for students injured in the attack, and helped fund crisis counseling. Following the attack — in which then-16-year-old Alex Hribal is charged with injuring 20 students and a school guard — more than $130,000 in donations poured in for the fund. More than $34,000 remaining in the account was used by the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County to establish the scholarship fund.