PITTSBURGH, PA, JUNE 24, 2020 – Investing in Professional Artists, a joint grant-making program of The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowments and the Opportunity Fund, has awarded $170,000 to individual artists and art programs for the initiative’s 2020 cycle.
To Our Community,
The thing about a moment is that it comes and goes. We have seen moments when the hope of racial justice seemed within reach and, every time, we have seen them go.
We are now in a precious moment of potential. The racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness that is baked and caked in/onto American life—and that results in an ever-evolving but systemic devaluation of Black life, meant to protect and grow the standing of white people—is, for growing masses of us, exposed. And vulnerable.
To Our Community,
Just as we were beginning to get a sense of how profoundly COVID-19 would disrupt our lives, we wrote to you. We said, “This is a time for foundations to listen, to remove barriers, to increase support, and to act quickly.” We said we were accountable to you. We made commitments to you.
A month has passed. What have we done to honor our commitments?
CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, 412-362-1300, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org
PITTSBURGH, PA; APRIL 30, 2020 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $515,300 to-date as part of its strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, the Opportunity Fund signed a national pledge, publicized its commitments, and created a $500,000 COVID-19 Response Fund to provide (1) general operating support for small and mid-sized arts organizations and (2) flexible funds for grassroots entities organizing toward social/economic justice and emergency response.
“This is a time for foundations to step deeper into our roles as community partners by removing barriers, increasing support, and acting quickly,” said Jake Goodman, Executive Director of the Opportunity Fund.
Sponsored by The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Opportunity Fund, the Investing in Professional Artists: The Pittsburgh Region Artists Program (IPA) is guided by a shared belief in artistic excellence, creative development, and the need for continuous career advancement. Professional artists’ self-directed pursuit of new ideas, opportunities, and skills are essential to the region’s cultural vitality. This program provides resources to professional artists for the breadth of the creative process, from concept to completion. While the program does not require presentation of a fully realized work, it challenges artists to seek to produce the artworks that will define our times, our region and our lives.
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Repair the World Workshop
6022 Broad Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
The Opportunity Fund awards grants to organizations and initiatives that advance the arts, and social and economic justice. Letters of inquiry for the Spring 2018 cycle are due on February 1, 2018. In advance of that deadline, join us to meet the folks at the Opportunity Fund, learn about our focus areas (see more below) and process, hear insights about how to prepare a strong application, and ask any questions you have. The same information will be shared at both events.
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