The Pittsburgh Foundation

Small and Mighty Grants

Standing in the foreground, The Pittsburgh Foundation's Senior Program Officer Jamillia Kamara Covington and Program Consultant Chris Ellis lead a discussion at a Small and Mighty information and grant-writing session hosted at the Energy Innovation Center on May 31, 2023.
Standing in the foreground, The Pittsburgh Foundation's Senior Program Officer Jamillia Kamara Covington and Program Consultant Chris Ellis lead a discussion at a Small and Mighty information and grant-writing session hosted at the Energy Innovation Center on May 31, 2023.

The Small and Mighty grants program was created in 2016 in response to barriers that smaller organizations faced in accessing support from foundations. Since then, the program has provided operating and program support funding to nonprofits meeting basic needs across Allegheny County.  As of the 2024 grant cycle, the Foundation has awarded $3.3 million since its inception in 2016 to 85 unique organizations with budgets under $600,000. 

Awardees: 2024 

In 2024, the Small and Mighty grant program provided two-year project and operating support grants up to $40,000.  (Read the news release.)

Congratulations to the following awardees (seven are first-time grantees and marked with *): 

Aaron Donald 99 Solutions Foundation*:  Founded in 2019, the Aaron Donald 99 Solutions Foundation is a Black-led and -serving organization that prioritizes the holistic development of student-athletes from ages 13-18, with the goal of equipping students with the academic enrichment and positive youth development experiences that will yield their successful completion of high school and post-secondary endeavors.
Autism Urban Connections Inc.: Founded in 2018, Autism Urban Connections provides education, support, advocacy and empowerment – with an emphasis on self care – to Black families with children experiencing autism spectrum disorder. The organization was started after the founder's son received a late autism diagnosis, and it’s the first and only Black, minority and family-focused autism nonprofit in Pennsylvania.
Brookline Teen Outreach*: Brookline Teen Outreach was founded in 2015 and provides quality, free-of-charge resources to youth from ages 10-18 in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The organization’s resources focus on maximizing educational and social programming, life skills workshops, tutoring, community service opportunities and licensed counseling.
Future Kings Mentoring Inc.*: Founded in 2020 by two collegiate best friends, Terrell Galloway and Sean Spencer, Future Kings Mentoring cultivates and develops male-identifying Black youth into successful leaders in their careers and communities. Using the collegiate training Terrell received in engineering and Sean received in journalism, the pair developed an out-of-school time program that combines weekly STEM workshops with positive youth development activities.
Greater Wilkinsburg Community Advancement Association*: Founded in 2019, Greater Wilkinsburg Community Advancement Association is a community-centered organization dedicated to providing opportunities for sustainable employment, access to quality education and building a healthy environment and family life.
HOPE for Tomorrow: Founded in 2014, HOPE for Tomorrow aims to help students be competitive in the global community despite various economic and societal risk factors. The organization creates a safe and nurturing environment for youth in the West End communities. Its primary program provides homework and academic tutoring and extensive supplemental programming outside of school, including a racial equity and social justice program and art classes.
Naomi’s Place Transitional Housing Inc.: Naomi's Place Transitional Housing is a Black-led organization that provides housing for single women and children experiencing housing insecurity. The organization’s partnerships with Pittsburgh Scholar House and education and employment providers have helped it also focus on financial and economic mobility within the population it serves.
Open Up*: Founded in 2014, Open Up teaches and promotes mindfulness and wellness through movement practices and interactive arts to people living with disabilities. Open Up’s mental and physical health programming is open to all who identify as having a disability, as well as to those who do not.
Out of the End Inc.*: Out of the End is a Black-led and -serving organization building foundations in sustainability, livability and entrepreneurship for Black and Brown communities in Pittsburgh. The organization was founded in 2019 and manages urban farms in the West End community, where it grows and distributes healthy produce to community members, provides educational opportunities and promotes greater access to healthy food.
Ozanam, Inc.: Ozanam is a Black-led and -serving neighborhood-based youth organization that focuses on racial equity. It runs year-round academic and positive youth development out-of-school time and summer programming in the Ammon Recreation Center in the Hill District.
Shepherd Wellness Community: Founded in 1987, Shepherd Wellness Community (SWC) is the only HIV/AIDs community center in western Pennsylvania. Serving the 11-county region, it’s often the first place a person seeks help after an HIV positive diagnosis. SWC offers supportive physical health services for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh*: Uptown Partners was founded in 2007 to improve community quality of life and to collaboratively create a vision and pathway for Uptown’s revitalization. The organization provides programs to support the economic development of the neighborhood and promote food access through community gardens and food distribution events.

For questions about how to apply for future Small and Mighty grants, please  goodc [at] pghfdn.org (email Tika Good).  

 

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