I N MAY, I HAD THE HONOR OF SPEAKING TO 384 GRADUATES at the 172nd Commencement of St. Vincent College in Latrobe. I was to deliver the traditional address, supposedly to dispense advice and counsel, but I didn’t have much of either to offer. The working world these young people are entering is so much more complex and intense than when I graduated from college 50 years ago. RAND Corp. researchers have labeled the past 20 years as the age of acceleration. They cite technology advances in areas such as communications, and an exponential broadening of the areas in which we work and play. Much of this is exciting: I can only imagine the adventures and accomplish­ ments these graduates will have. But there is a dark side. The added complexity and faster pace may push some into a transactional mode of life rather than one built around relationships. After all, the transactional person is not tied to a set of values that might limit personal freedom. That includes the one value that I told St. Vincent graduates is essential in leading a truly successful life — kindness. Those who aspire to be kind are almost always ahead in life situations. They have empathy for others. The relational person acts on values that maximize the collective power of the group to achieve the greatest gains: “How can I help?” instead of “What can you do for me?” “We win or lose together,” instead of “I win. You lose.” My speech had anecdotes from the life of children’s educational television icon Fred Rogers, but I could have referred to stories in this FORUM issue about acts of kindness performed every day by Pittsburgh Foundation donors, grantees and community partners. Behind all these efforts are people who recognize the importance of relational values to the family unit, the workplace and societal institutions — especially to our democratic system of government. That’s backed up by the lead story in this issue reporting on our regional conference on the First Amendment, co-hosted last month with The Heinz Endowments. The goal: reassert the value of the First Amendment in community life as basic freedoms are devalued and under threat. One example applies to the graduates I addressed: a recent survey of college students by the Gallup polling organization and the Knight Foundation found that while 70 percent show strong support for the First Amendment, that’s an eight-point drop from the last poll two years ago. And when asked which was more important, free speech or respect for diversity and inclusion, students chose diversity and inclusion 53 percent to 46 percent. For that reason and many more, a second event is being planned, “The National Conference on the First Amendment: Bedrock for American Freedoms,” co-hosted with Duquesne University on its campus Oct. 21–22. As to why a community foundation is so focused on one plank of the U.S. Constitution, I go back to my kindness message and a quote from John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people — with goodwill, tolerance and kindness. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Maxwell King | president & CEO IN THIS ISSUE 4  PHILANTHROPY AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT A conference reaffirms the importance of basic freedoms in community life. 8  FROM BLIGHT TO BEAUTIFUL Revitalizing Westmoreland grants program widens its reach. 10  PRIMING THE PUMP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE Pittsburgh Foundation grant-making initiative brings community voice to the forefront. 14 NEW PHILANTHROPIC LEADERS New Philanthropic Leaders group learns from nonprofit innovators. 16  MATT’S MAKER SPACES Philanthropy helps grieving family heal. 22 ACCOUNTING FOR SUCCESS Rotary scholarship helps students attend college or trade school. 7 Staff Profile: Deanna Garcia 19  Staff Profile: Trista Zajch 20  Advisor Profile: DiNuzzo Index Advisors, Inc. 23  Staff Profile: Danitra Mason PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ON THE COVER Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, addresses digital journalism at the region’s first public conference on the First Amendment. He says journalists should be allowed to investigate the functions of social media platforms, which represent the new public square, without fear of legal ramifications.