A new fund at The Pittsburgh Foundation aims to change that. Seeded in November 2017 with a $250,000 pool for grantmaking, the Social Justice Fund will support organizing and advocacy efforts addressing critical issues such as affordable housing, criminal justice reform and the impact of racism on people of color. Developed over several months in partnership with local activists and organizers, “the Social Justice Fund acts on what we’ve learned — that when you give those who are closest to the issues the ability to organize, advocate and build awareness, the community is more focused on the root causes of inequality in systems and institutions,” says Maxwell King, the Foundation’s president and CEO. The idea emerged last year, as the Foundation’s team of program officers sought “to better understand how we could realize our values of racial equity, voice and courage,” says Michelle McMurray, senior program officer for Health and Human Services. “Community-led activism and organizing was receiving national attention that made us curious about what is happening in Pittsburgh. What types of organiza­ tions are doing activism work? And what roles are foundations playing?” To find out, the program officers held a half-day learning session with 10 local organizers, including Ruiz, and eventually formed the committee that helped the Foundation design the Social Justice Fund. McMurray says the group has helped Foundation staff “understand the ways in which typical grant-making programs are incompatible with the on-the-ground reality of how social justice work happens.” For instance, because a community’s needs can change so quickly, social justice organ­ izations can’t always afford to wait Alex Castaño of Casa San Jose and Alicia Quebral of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition walk the hallways of the state capitol in Harrisburg on May 21, advocating for immigrants’ rights with legislative staff.