Stories
Front-porch philanthropy
Financial advisor Sam Spanos believes that excess wealth is truly best used for making memories and for giving to worthy causes.
People and their stories are at the heart of community philanthropy. In this section, you’ll find stories about how our donors, grantees and partners are working to help our community move from surviving to thriving. PDFs of our printed publications — including Forum, which was published through spring of 2021, and our annual report to the community — are available in the publications section.
Financial advisor Sam Spanos believes that excess wealth is truly best used for making memories and for giving to worthy causes.
Financial Opportunity Centers help low- and moderate-income families build their assets while attaining financial stability and upward mobility.
In response to the Pennsylvania budget impasse, a statewide coalition of community foundations and United Way organizations was created in order to demonstrate the funding community’s unified stance against budgetary abuse of the human services sector.
Paul and Charlotta Ross' fund helps children whose families are unable to afford the extra classes and musical training.
Words Without Walls has helped those on society’s margins find their voices and tell their stories.
Last year, Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents Richard and Priscilla Hunt bestowed $15 million to The Pittsburgh Foundation, the philanthropy’s largest-ever gift from living donors.
Named for Pittsburgh’s most celebrated playwright, the August Wilson Center has been resurrected and reopened as a showcase for African American art and theater.
A young couple decided to give back to their adopted home—and to encourage the “New Pittsburgh” to do the same.
Project uses stories and experiences of young people to shape the Foundation’s related grantmaking, policy and advocacy work around juvenile justice.