Pittsburgh Foundation establishes racial justice fund

As one of the city’s major philanthropies, the Pittsburgh Foundation has established a reputation for providing support to people of color.

But recent events, including the deaths of Black people at the hands of police and protests against institutional racism, have led the foundation’s leaders to reassess the depth of that commitment. On Monday, the Pittsburgh Foundation announced the establishment of a $1.5 million Grantmaking for Racial Justice Fund.

The thrust of the idea is to quickly provide grants to organizations that are led by and serve people of color.

“Today, we are confronted with the undeniable reality that the harmful impacts of systematic racism are omnipresent in the lives our Black and Brown colleagues, friends and loved ones and, as we have seen in recent months, represent a persistent crisis in our nation,” said Foundation president and CEO Lisa Schroeder. “We recognize that we cannot provide the best quality of life for everyone in this region unless we dramatically increase our efforts to provide equitable support and fight for justice.”

The way the plan works is Allegheny County based nonprofits can apply for the grants which will be awarded in early November. The organizations must either meet the needs of low-income residents and/or work to accomplish change that eliminates different outcomes by race and socioeconomic status.

“Those of us in philanthropy have had it plainly put in front of us that we need to redouble our efforts to eliminate systematic racism and the economic inequities that stem from it,” Schroeder said.

The $1.5 million dollar fund will provide grants of up to $100,000 to organizations that previously received funding from the Pittsburgh Foundation, and grants of up to $50,000 to organizations that have not received funding from the Foundation.

Among other things, the Foundation said the money will support organizations that operate within a racial justice framework and support efforts in communities of color to build civic, cultural and economic power.

More initiatives are planned, including diversity, equity and inclusion training and education sessions on racial equity for the Foundation’s donors, according to Schroeder.