CONTACT:
Jake Goodman, Opportunity Fund Executive Director
jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org, 412-362-1300
PITTSBURGH, PA, May 26, 2026 — Opportunity Fund announces grantmaking support in the total amount of $1,339,000 to 75 partners as part of its first grant cycle in 2026. The foundation reviewed 187 requests for funding, requesting over $3.5 million.
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Grant Partner List:
412 JUSTICE ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. 412 JUSTICE is a multiracial, intergenerational, multi-issue organization that advocates for economic, environmental, and educational justice. They educate Black, Brown, and disabled communities and use their voice to promote strong, healthy communities, and corporate accountability through the redistribution of wealth, power, and resources.
Alliance for Global Justice ($20,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Bukit Bail Fund of Pittsburgh. Grant funds will support Bukit’s primary purpose as a bail fund and sustain their secondary purposes, tabling at the jail to deeply connect with their neighbors, and maintaining their restitution intervention project. The Bukit Bail Fund of Pittsburgh is an abolitionist collective focused on freeing incarcerated folks at Allegheny County Jail and supporting people otherwise caught up in the criminal legal system.
Allied Media Projects ($45,000 over three years), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of The Racial Imaginary Institute. Grant funds will provide flexible, multi-year support for Project Marseille, a residency that connects U.S. and European artists committed to racial and social justice. Grant funds additionally support the summer 2026 residency at the Camargo Foundation, as well as an annual residency reserved for a Pittsburgh-area artist.
Amachi Pittsburgh ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support, bolstering trauma‑informed, community‑rooted programming and advocacy efforts for children and families impacted by parental incarceration during a time of rising need. Amachi Pittsburgh empowers, nurtures, and protects those most vulnerable to the justice system through high-quality mentoring, family strengthening, advocacy and leadership development.
American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania (ACLU Foundation-PA) ($75,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support. The ACLU defends the individual rights guaranteed by the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions through litigation, advocacy, and public education.
Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation ($60,000 over three years), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support BOOM Concepts and the work of the BOOM Universe with flexible, multi-year, general operating support. BOOM Concepts provides a creative hub and incubation dedicated to the expansion of activity by artists and entrepreneurs representing Black, Brown, femme and queer communities.
Bethel-Trinity Community Development Corporation ($10,000) to support their Community Food & Housing Stability Project. Bethel-Trinity Community Development Corporation advances equitable community revitalization in Pittsburgh’s Hill District by expanding access to affordable housing, food security, and economic opportunity through Black-led partnerships, neighborhood-based programs, and restorative justice.
Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation ($5,000), acting as fiscal sponsor to support the work of Irma Freeman Center for Imagination (IFCI), as they complete the second printing and distribution of “Pittsburgh’s Avant-Garde: 60 Years in the Underground Art Scene.” The IFCI is an arts and green energy community center that enriches and diversifies the local community by building positive experiences in a multicultural, progressive setting.
Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation ($5,000),acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Steel City Shared Equity Housing (SCCH) as they facilitate the development and operation of limited equity housing cooperatives in Pittsburgh. SCCH expands non-market, permanently affordable housing options for Pittsburgh residents through education, training, and project planning services that promote and support resilient, self-governing housing cooperatives throughout the city.
BreakIT ($10,000) to support the expansion of the PGH Pardon Hub, which supports individuals submitting pardon applications by providing assistance and resources for clearing their records. BreakIT breaks down societal and systematic barriers that hold back traditionally underserved and rejected populations, particularly LGBTQ+ and justice system-impacted people, by leveraging personal gifts, talents and passions into successful businesses toward individual and community betterment.
Brew House Arts ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Brew House Arts provides creative space and support for people to connect and expand their relationship with the arts. Their work includes exhibitions, artist studios, and residency programs for artists and curators, as well as an exhibition of artwork by Pittsburgh-based fiber artist, Louise Silk.
Bridge to the Mountains ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Bridge to the Mountains is a full-time street outreach and harm reduction organization in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County that accompanies individuals navigating life on the street.
Bunker Projects ($15,000) to support their residency program. Grant funds will support partnerships with local peer organizations, skill‑building workshops, and memberships to both local and visiting residents in contemporary craft areas like print‑making, glass, metals, woodworking, and digital fabrication. Bunker Projects is a nonprofit artist residency and experimental gallery that serves as a platform for emerging artists to develop their practice and create new works for exhibition.
Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle ($20,000 over two years) to support the creation and delivery of educational and performance programs that explore Taíno culture and explain the fundamental beliefs, traditions, and rituals of the Caney Taino Spiritual Circle. The Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle is dedicated to the revitalization, preservation, and continued practice of Indigenous Taíno spirituality and beliefs.
Catapult Greater Pittsburgh ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Catapult Greater Pittsburgh engages in emergency resource distribution, peer-to-peer support, wealth building, trauma-informed financial counseling, and policy advocacy to ensure systematically disenfranchised communities can meaningfully achieve economic justice and lead dignified and equitable lives.
Cave Canem ($10,000) to support the 2026 Cave Canem Retreat in Greensburg, PA, and the 30th Anniversary Reunion Pittsburgh, PA. Cave Canem is a nonprofit organization, committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets. Founded by artists for artists, Cave Canem fosters community across the diaspora to enrich the field by facilitating a nurturing space in which to learn, experiment, create, and present. Cave Canem develops audiences for Black voices that have worked and are working in the craft of poetry.
Children’s Window To Africa ($12,500) to provide flexible, general operating support. Children’s Window to Africa provides children with a deep connection to their African heritage to help them internalize positive communal values and self-identity. Their vision is that all children of African descent will know their value and worth, and that their caregivers will be equipped to provide African-centered education.
Christian Immigration Advocacy Center (CIAC) ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grant funds will support CIAC as it expands access to immigration legal aid. CIAC is a not-for-profit organization that provides high quality, affordable immigration legal services.
Community Forge ($45,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year support. Grant funds will support free and discounted public cultural arts and community building events at the “Forge Theater,” a new social hub and cultural destination opening in 2026 at Community Forge. Community Forge builds an equitable economy for Wilkinsburg and the Greater Pittsburgh region by creating opportunities that promote professional development, financial wellbeing, and entrepreneurial growth.
Dreams of Hope ($60,000 over three years), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Hatch Arts Collective with flexible, multi-year, general operating support. Grant funds will support the world premiere of With Ourselves, With Each Other by dance maker Maree ReMalia. Funds will additionally support a national tour, at least two new development processes, and multiple training initiatives. Hatch Arts Collective is a performing arts incubator centering queer and BIPOC artists, stories, and communities that specializes in new work development and interdisciplinary artistic training.
Flamenco Pittsburgh ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grant funds will support the organization in producing its first themed series, “Duende: A Flamenco Journey” in 2026 and 2027. Flamenco Pittsburgh creates awareness and appreciation for flamenco music, song and dance for audiences and performers in the Pittsburgh area who share Hispanic heritage or simply a passion for global culture.
Foundation of HOPE ($10,000) to support HOPE’s Reentry Program, which provides formerly incarcerated individuals with basic needs assistance, comprehensive case management and wraparound support, resume-building and employment placement assistance, financial literacy, housing placement and rental assistance, and weekly support groups. Foundation of HOPE is an interfaith nonprofit that empowers people impacted by the criminal justice system to renew their faith, rebuild their lives, and restore positive relationships.
Garden Home Ministries ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Garden Home Ministries provides holistic care for female victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking due to substance use coercion. Funds will support the operation of the Sunflower House, a recovery home for women who have been sexually exploited and trafficked due to substance use coercion.
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. GPAC builds a more resourced, connected, and informed arts sector, empowering artists and arts organizations throughout Southwestern PA. By sharing resources, fostering significant relationships, leading advocacy initiatives, and increasing public awareness of arts and culture, the Arts Council cultivates a thriving, vibrant arts community for the Greater Pittsburgh region.
Grounded Strategies ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grounded Strategies improves the social, economic, and environmental health of distressed and transitional communities by building capacity to reclaim vacant and underutilized land. They mobilize residents, policy-makers, and like-minded organizations to ensure communities have the resources, knowledge, tools, and partners to make change happen in the places they live, work, and play.
Grow Pittsburgh ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grow Pittsburgh teaches people how to grow food and promotes the benefits that gardens bring to our neighborhoods.
Handmade Arcade ($7,500) to provide flexible, general operating support. Handmade Arcade empowers makers of all ages by providing them with professional development and connections to customers.
Harambee Ujima Black Arts and Culture Association ($10,000) to support the 58th Harambee Ujima Summer Festival. The Harambee Ujima Black Arts and Culture Association is a cultural collaboration that advances and advocates for the Black Arts Movement in order to preserve all forms of Black Art in the greater Pittsburgh region. The Association works to advance the Black Arts Movement for the next generation to re-establish pride and dignity in Black diaspora communities.
Hill District Consensus Group ($15,000 over two years), acting as fiscal sponsor, to provide multi-year support for the work of Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance. Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance is a grassroots network of individuals and groups committed to advancing and protecting human rights for all people in our region. They work to create a culture of human rights by building and supporting broad coalitions advocating for human rights, fostering human rights learning, and promoting policies that help all people to live with dignity and justice.
Hill District Consensus Group ($10,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the Musical Instructional Mentorship program of Urban Jazz Violins. Urban Jazz Violins inspires and empowers underserved youth through music. By providing violins, expert mentorship, and enriching arts experiences, they help young people develop skills, confidence, and self-expression, nurturing their creativity and a lifelong love of the arts.
Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF) ($10,000) to support the HCEF Continuum of Programming Model, a longitudinal, interconnected system of care that follows students from pre-K through their first paycheck, ensuring educational stability, emotional well-being, and career readiness every step of the way. HCEF provides children and youth experiencing homelessness with a more equitable educational experience by partnering with students, families, and schools to eliminate the barriers caused by unstable housing.
Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. At a time of federal and other funding cuts, these grant funds will support LGBTQ+ youth, provide food for LGBTQ+ households, and allow case management and social and isolation prevention services for LGBTQ+ and HIV-impacted people in Western PA. The Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation works to improve the health of the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities.
involveMINT ($20,000 over two years) to provide flexible, multi-year, support. involveMINT facilitates connections and exchanges among community businesses and organizations, enabling them to trade goods and services without cash. These connections create local wealth in communities underserved by traditional finance.
Ìyá Pittsburgh ($45,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support. Grant funds will support and grow Ìyá’s programs, including labor/birth and postpartum mentorship, birthworker and community trainings, midwifery care, homebirth support and education, reproductive and perinatal social work and therapy, peer-supported groups, and a perinatal pantry and community clinic. Ìyá Pittsburgh envisions a world where opportunity, safety, options, and dignity are the perinatal experience, not limited by socio-economic status, race, or gender.
Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) ($70,000 over three years) to provide multi-year support for JFCS’ Immigration Legal Services, which provides affordable legal assistance, education, and responsive infrastructure for immigrant families. Sustaining these critical services helps them remain in the U.S., maintain employment, and achieve stability. JFCS supports people through life’s changes and challenges.
Justice at Work PA ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Justice at Work supports low-wage workers as they pursue economic and social justice. They do this through the provision of legal services, education, and advocacy.
Just Mediation Pittsburgh ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support to strengthen its role as a housing stabilization partner in Allegheny County. Grant funds will help sustain its landlord-tenant mediation program and build capacity to expand mediation services to emerging community conflicts through strategic partnerships and community-informed growth. Just Mediation Pittsburgh supports people and communities in conflict to create their own solutions constructively through accessible mediation, facilitation, and creative problem solving.
KidsVoice ($15,000) to support the Expansion Project, which, in 2026, will include three new initiatives to address pressing challenges related to education, housing, and behavioral health. KidsVoice advocates in court and in the community to ensure safe and permanent homes for abused, neglected and at-risk children. KidsVoice also helps former foster youth, through age 24, make a successful transition to adulthood by removing roadblocks to employment, health, and housing.
Landforce ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Landforce stabilizes and expands access to family-sustaining jobs in land care, tree work, and environmental restoration for people facing systemic employment barriers. They nourish a culture of self-empowerment through paid training, transitional employment, and long-term workforce pathways, all while strengthening Pittsburgh’s public lands and climate resilience.
Liberate X ($10,000) to provide flexible general operating support for Liberate X’s studio model, which offers fractional COO services, creative storytelling, and strategic planning support to Black-led organizations and emerging artists. Liberate X equips Black and African-diaspora creatives and community changemakers with the tools, resources, and networks needed to build sustainable ventures and strengthen community-led impact.
MAYA Organization ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. MAYA empowers BIPOC and marginalized birthing people and birthworkers, and creates positive change in the systems that impact them.
Moka On Soho ($12,500) to provide flexible, general operating support. Founded by multidisciplinary artists Errol Reynolds and Charlotte Ka, Moka on Soho is an art gallery, studio and residence located in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District. Moka on Soho communally restores the Hill District’s artistic roots with imaginative art exhibits and music, creating a world and future for artists to thrive in.
Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) ($10,000) to support Pathways to Justice: Unlocking Economic Mobility, an initiative that provides free legal representation, community education, and record-clearing clinics to help individuals expunge or seal eligible criminal records that block access to employment, housing, education, and stability. NLS meets the civil legal needs of the poor and vulnerable in our community through effective civil legal representation and education.
New Sun Rising ($15,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Anthropology of Motherhood, including its 10th Anniversary Celebration and the launch of the Deaf and Disability Artist Professional Development Program. Anthropology of Motherhood is an ongoing curation and commission of artwork, design practices, and social engagement that addresses the complex visual, material, emotional, corporeal, and lived experiences of care-giving, parenting, nurturing, and maternal labor.
New Sun Rising ($10,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Arts Excursions Unlimited. Grant Funds will grow food access by sharing food resource information with Greater Hazelwood community members and others in the county through activities like online and print publications, interviews, an art exhibition, and a collaborative public artwork. Arts Excursions Unlimited is a community arts organization located in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Hazelwood. Their main focus is to foster creative self-determination through arts and cultural excursions, increase arts engagement via workshops, events, and activities, and to design and fabricate temporary art.
Open Hand Ministries ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Open Hand Ministries works to increase wealth for Black families in Pittsburgh by empowering marginalized people through a village built on education, financial wellness, and affordable homeownership.
Organization of Chinese Americans Inc – Pittsburgh Chapter ($10,000), acting as fiscal sponsor to support the work of JADED. JADED is a collective of women and queer cultural organizers uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) art, representation, and history in Western Pennsylvania. Grant funds will provide flexible, general operating support for core team members.
Pennsylvania Prison Society ($7,500) to support the Pennsylvania Prison Society’s expansion of reentry programming in the Pittsburgh region by strengthening Building Connection, a relationship-based program that empowers people returning from incarceration, repairs the harms of incarceration, and advances social and racial justice in communities disproportionately impacted by imprisonment.
The Pennsylvania Prison Society protects the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated Pennsylvanians and their families.
Peoples Oakland ($10,000) to support the Bridging the Gap program, which provides immediate, coordinated mental health treatment and reentry support for individuals with serious mental illness returning to the community from incarceration, reducing gaps in care and the risk of recidivism. Peoples Oakland strives to be a premier recovery and wellness center, and is committed to holistic, comprehensive, member-driven recovery.
Pittsburgh Arts and Media ($10,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support B Kleymeyer’s public presentation of As Others Have Before, a performance based on Greer Lankton’s archive. B Kleymeyer makes community-driven theatre that forges intimacy, promotes civic engagement, and encourages our imagination to envision a better world. Through developing new plays, adapting classical texts, and staging community archives, B builds hyper-local performances that resonate beyond their neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation (PHDC) ($10,000) to support the Employment Initiative and Business Incubator. These programs support the Latino community in attaining economic independence and financial stability by helping individuals obtain employment, advance their careers, and launch and accelerate small local businesses. PHDC is a community development corporation focused on racial equity in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. They are dedicated to improving the lives of Hispanics in the region, increasing the Hispanic population, supporting existing and new Hispanic businesses, and increasing Hispanic investment in the region.
PICT Classic Theatre ($6,500) to support PICT 2026-2027 programming support for two world premieres: “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi and “The Shakespeare Cafe” by PICT’s Artistic Director, Elizabeth Elias Huffman. PICT engages with, entertains, and serves the Pittsburgh community by examining current social issues through the lens of classic text.
Pittsburgh Public Media’s WZUM ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grant funds will support WZUM’s ongoing and growing services, reach, and community-building efforts. WZUM, also known as “the Pittsburgh Jazz Channel,” works with performers, educators, institutions and music lovers throughout the region to help build and sustain a community that supports and embraces this great American and Pittsburgh treasure of jazz.
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks ($15,000) to support Pittsburgh city parks performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks provides free and accessible outdoor Shakespeare and classical theatre to the residents of Pittsburgh in public parks and outdoor spaces. As a free outdoor Shakespeare company, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks expands knowledge and appreciation of Shakespeare, develops and trains actors in the milieus of classical and outdoor theatre, and fosters the enjoyment of outdoor public spaces and parks.
Points of Distribution ($5,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support The Autonomous Body Shop’s Caravan Fund, which removes financial and logistical barriers for Pennsylvanians seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion, gender-affirming care, and perinatal services. These funds build power within communities most impacted by healthcare inequities. The Autonomous Body Shop empowers individuals to serve as trusted community resources for sexual and reproductive health, abortion care, and harm reduction through free information, supplies, advocacy, and support services.
Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE) ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support to support PACE’s general operations and sustain their core capacity-building programs, Intensive Services and Leadership Development. PACE’s mission is to advance a more equitable community by increasing the capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations that challenge injustice.
Public Source ($20,000 over two years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support. Public Source informs and inspires the Pittsburgh region through the power of deep, independent journalism and community-driven storytelling. High-quality local journalism elevates the voices of Allegheny County residents, holds power to account, and investigates underlying issues that promote or inhibit an equitable region.
Radiant Hall ($45,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support as it launches and sustains a new Downtown location with artist studios and public-facing artist programming. Radiant Hall empowers artists to sustain thriving studio practices by creating and preserving access to space, shared resources, programs, and a supportive community of peers. Their artist-led model provides and preserves affordable studio space across Pittsburgh. Radiant Hall stewards more than 50,000 square feet of creative workspace across three neighborhoods.
RentHelpPGH ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support, including support for contracting a Hiring and Onboarding consultant to facilitate the search for and onboarding of a new Operations Manager. RentHelpPGH works to build a just and stable housing ecosystem for Allegheny County tenants by connecting residents to eviction prevention and supportive services, rental assistance programs, and supportive housing resources.
Sankofa Village for the Arts ($15,000) to provide flexible, general operating support for the delivery and expansion of culturally responsive arts programming that promotes youth development, mental wellness, and community healing, while strengthening organizational capacity through staff hiring. Sankofa Village for the Arts provides a community space for the exploration of African diasporic cultures and traditions.
Shiftworks Community + Public Arts ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grant funds will support core operating capacity, including sustaining their work with artists and communities to shape public spaces grounded in local knowledge, care, and creativity. Shiftworks envisions a region in which the creative practices of artists are fully engaged to collaboratively shape the public realm and catalyze community-led change. They build capacity for this work through civically engaged public art, artist services, education, and technical assistance.
Side Project, Inc. ($15,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Pittsburgh Center for Disability Justice (PCDJ) which advances equity for disabled people by identifying and addressing gaps in social service and disability systems. As the only organization in Pennsylvania in which all decision makers are disabled adults, PCDJ works to elevate disabled voices and empower disabled leaders through inclusive education, policy, community engagement and principles rooted in disability rights movement work and intersectional feminism.
sisTers PGH ($60,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support sustaining and expanding its integrated housing and stabilization continuum, including Monica Roberts Place, the Stonewall Inn Drop-In Center, and Project T, which provide emergency shelter, communal and transitional housing, and wraparound services for Black and Brown transgender individuals in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. sisTers PGH works to dismantle cycles of systemic oppression and marginalization impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) transgender and nonbinary communities through holistic, trans-led, and gender-affirming care.
Take Action Advocacy Group (TAAG) ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support empowering and equipping those experiencing social injustices through grassroots community organizing, political education, and skill-building, and efforts that promote Black Liberation and collective problem-solving.
Texture Contemporary Ballet ($5,000) to provide flexible, general operating support. Grant funds will support Texture Contemporary Ballet’s 2026-2027 season of programming. Texture strives to inspire an appreciation of dance through dynamic and captivating performancesTexture welcomes diversity in ballet, celebrates self expression, embraces the joy of movement, and champions the power of dance to explore important stories and emotions.
The Allignment Chapter Corporation ($7,500) to support The Mom Project, which increases the mental health and stability of single mothers through emergency assistance, financial literacy, and advocacy, and other essential support services. Grant funds will help sustain core operations and programs providing financial counseling, bill assistance, clothing, household items, feminine products, and transportation support for mothers and their families.
The Global Switchboard ($15,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Frontline DIGNITY. Grant funds will support the expansion of Frontline DIGNITY’s rapid response infrastructure, including volunteer programming, shared dispatch and documentation tools, and cross-county resource coordination. Frontline DIGNITY builds community capacity to respond lawfully to federal immigration enforcement through training, local and national partnerships, and the development of neighbors into principled organizers.
The Global Switchboard ($15,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to support the work of Witness PA. Grant funds will support Witness PA’s documentation of immigration detention impacts and community responses through journalism, narrative, and visual storytelling. Witness PA serves as a storytelling collective whose work serves to educate readers, build understanding across cultural divides, and show community options for action.
The Public Interest Law Center ($5,000) to support the Law Center in a class-action lawsuit against convenience store chain Sheetz, challenging its unlawful and racially discriminatory hiring practices that prevent applicants with criminal records unrelated to the job to which they are applying, who are disproportionately Black and Brown, from securing gainful employment. The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to advance the civil, social, and economic rights of communities in the Philadelphia region facing discrimination, inequality, and poverty.
TransYOUniting ($60,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year support for the ongoing operations of TransYOUniting’s QMNTY Continuum, which provides housing, resources, and holistic support for TLGBQIA individuals. TransYOUniting is a mutual aid non-profit providing resources to Pittsburgh’s Transgender, LGBTQIA, and HIV Community. Their work centers Black trans individuals, especially Black trans women, through programs that foster stability, empowerment, and community.
Westend P.O.W.E.R. ($5,000) to support the organization’s urban Freight Farm, a year-round hydroponic growing operation addressing food insecurity, providing hands-on agricultural education, and creating workforce pathways in a neighborhood where 28% of households face food access barriers. Westend P.O.W.E.R. is committed to combating food insecurity and strengthening communities through activism, advocacy, education, aquaculture, equity, and promoting unity.
Willissae’s Agency for Vision and Empowerment (WAVE) ($30,000 over three years) to provide flexible, multi-year, general operating support for housing stabilization and workforce readiness serving renters and at-risk families. WAVES advances housing and economic stability in low-income communities through personal empowerment, skill development, problem solving, and wealth building opportunities.
Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens (YBMKQ) ($15,000), to support Jeremiah’s Hope: A Mental Health Suite, a community-based therapy space providing individual, group, and family mental health services through partnerships with licensed providers. YBMKQ creates safe spaces for Black youth and families across Allegheny County to foster creativity, expression, healing, and community connection.
Zellous Hope Project ($10,000) to provide flexible, general operating support that helps sustain community-based services, outreach, and stabilization efforts for individuals, families, and veterans in the McKees Rocks area. Zellous Hope Project partners with existing organizations to address self-identified community needs, including housing instability and economic hardship.
Discretionary Grants
Arts Midwest ($15,000), to support the MN Arts Rise and Respond Fund, a time-sensitive pooled fund recognizing sixteen Minnesota arts and cultural organizations providing rapid community support in response to ICE activity across the state. Arts Midwest works to build opportunity across the Midwest by advancing creativity.
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh ($5,000), to support the presentation of Be Holding at the Thelma Lovette YMCA during the opening weekend of the 59th Carnegie International. Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh advances art and science as catalysts for personal growth and social advancement in Pittsburgh and beyond.
InterPlay ($5,000), to support Restoring the Well, a space for rest, reconnection, and renewal for BIPOC leaders. InterPlay uses somatic arts practices, storytelling, movement, and creative expression to strengthen resilience, connection, and personal and social transformation. Body Wisdom, Inc. serves as InterPlay’s administrative and organizational entity.
New Sun Rising ($5,000), acting as fiscal sponsor, to provide flexible general operating support for Navushouse. Navushouse was created as a facilitation space for shared experiences that deepen community engagement, belonging, and collective wellbeing.
