In The News

Just before 11 a.m. on May 3, Maxwell King, the Pittsburgh Foundation’s president and chief executive, was preparing for a two-hour shift handling phone calls from donors and others who had questions during the foundation’s Day of Giving — the ambitious online philanthropy event that raises millions of dollars to benefit 1,000 nonprofits in the Pittsburgh region.

Back to Pittsburgh around 6 p.m. to prep for a meeting I have next week with the Visionaries of Westmoreland County, a young professional philanthropy group that a few friends and I started about five years ago. Each year, we gather a group of young professionals, raise money, and then throw a party where votes are cast to award funds to local charities.

As it has in past national election years, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has teamed up with the Black Political Empowerment Project to push that organizations tenet that African Americans should vote in each and every election. In East Liberty, Sept.8, PAT and B-PEP announced that 40 buses will carry that message across Allegheny County as they ply their daily routes between now and the Nov. 8 election. “For the first time in our history, with financial support from the Pittsburgh Foundation sponsoring our signs and our mission,” said B-PEP Founder Tim Stevens.  

Steve Shelton and Trade Institute backers herald the program as a great investment, boasting a one-year re-incarceration rate of 4 percent, compared to the state’s average of around 22 percent. They’ve found backers in local philanthropic groups like the Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Foundation, and have started a partnership with Construction Junction and Carnegie Mellon University called Project RE. The program pairs Trade Institute grads and CMU design students to find new ways to reuse old construction materials.

September is a busy month at the Sewickley library already, Toth says, and while they don't have specific events planned around Love Your Library, there is a lot going on. The children's librarian of 31 years is retiring, and the Pittsburgh Foundation's rescheduled Day of Giving is Sept. 21. They're also gearing up for Savoring Sewickley next month, which is the Sewickley library's biggest fundraiser of the year.

UpPrize, the social innovation challenge by The Forbes Funds, is back after a stellar debut last year. And NEXTpittsburgh will once again host the UpPrize networking event to kick things off. If you were there last year, you know not to miss it. And if you weren’t, sign up now before it fills up.

The Export Historical Committee recently secured a $780 grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County to create and install an informational sign marking the borough's historic “fan house,” near District Judge Charles Conway's court on Corporate Lane. The fan house was used 75 to 80 years ago to bring fresh air into the coal mines over which Export is buil

Pitt professor Richard Schulz headed the national panel that produced the study and will lead new local effort aimed at helping caregivers. The Caregiver Project received $1 million in funding from the Stern Family Foundation and the Emily Kelly Roseburgh Memorial Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation. Part of that will be used for Pitt and RAND staff to analyze past research to better grasp which caregivers are under the biggest physical, mental and financial hardship. A large survey is also to be conducted of local caregivers to understand their needs.

“Blueprint offers a series of necessary actions that we want to see different organizations across the county take ownership of,” said Betty Cruz, who spearheaded the Blueprint effort with a $50,000 initial grant from The Heinz Endowments and anticipates support from The Pittsburgh Foundation, Hillman Family Foundation and Jefferson Regional Foundation.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Health Policy Institute and the RAND Corporation will announce Sept. 14 a $1 million foundation grant to support The Caregiver Project. Funding for The Caregiver Project was provided by the Emily Kelly Roseburgh Memorial Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation and Stern Family Foundation. University of Pittsburgh.