Blog : Opportunity Fund

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,380,500 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,380,500 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Opportunity Fund Executive Director 
jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, November 20, 2024 — Opportunity Fund announces grantmaking support in the total amount of $1,380,500 in the second half of 2024. The foundation reviewed 176 requests for funding, requesting nearly $3.2 million. This cycle, 70 full applications were reviewed by one of the following: an arts community panel, a social & economic justice community panel, or Opportunity Fund’s Board of Directors.

Opportunity Fund’s aspiration is to nurture reciprocal relationships with its partners and community members. Part of this is providing general operating support which is funding that is unrestricted and allows organizations to use it as they best see fit to meet their goals. The majority of this cycle’s grant funding, 72%, provides unrestricted general operating support. Black-led organizations make up 43% of this cycle’s total grant partners, 29% are white-led, and 19% have Asian, Latino/a/e, or multiracial leadership teams. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

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OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $867,750 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, May 21, 2024 — Opportunity Fund announces grantmaking support in the total amount of $867,750 through 60 grants in the first half of 2024. The foundation reviewed 153 requests for funding, requesting over $2.48 million. This cycle, each of the 70 full applications were reviewed by one of the following: an arts community panel, a social & economic justice community panel, or the Opportunity Fund’s Board of Directors.

Opportunity Fund’s aspiration is to nurture reciprocal relationships with its partners and community members. Trust is key to building strong relationships and, in turn, being in community. General operating support is a type of funding that is unrestricted and allows organizations to use it as they best see fit to meet their goals. The majority of this cycle’s grant funding, 82%, provides unrestricted general operating support. Black-led organizations make up 29% of this cycle’s total grant partners, 47% are white-led, and 24% have Asian or multiracial leadership teams. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

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OPPORTUNITY FUND ANNOUNCES ANNUAL REPORT, A PROCESS BOOK

OPPORTUNITY FUND ANNOUNCES ANNUAL REPORT, A PROCESS BOOK

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Opportunity Fund Executive Director, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, January 11, 2024 — Opportunity Fund announces the launch of its “Process Book,” a new type of annual report. This Process Book titled “Building on Trust” is intended to tell the story of the last nine years of work at Opportunity Fund and where the organization is heading. A theme of this journey as documented in the book is the profound importance of building trust, especially as Opportunity Fund looks toward the future. 

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OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,340,501 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Opportunity Fund Executive Director, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, November 22, 2023 — Opportunity Fund announces grantmaking support in the total amount of $1,340,501 through 71 grants in the second half of the foundation’s ninth year. The foundation reviewed 147 requests for funding, requesting a total of $3,024,397. This cycle, each of the 70 full applications were reviewed by one of the following: an arts community panel, a social & economic justice community panel, or the Opportunity Fund’s Board of Directors who review both arts and social & economic justice applications.

Opportunity Fund’s aspiration is to nurture reciprocal relationships with its partners and community members. Trust is key to building strong relationships and, in turn, being in community. General operating support is a type of funding that is unrestricted and allows organizations to use it as they best see fit to meet their goals. The majority of this year’s grant funding, 82%, is unrestricted general operating support. Black-led organizations make up 51% of this year’s total grant partners, 32% are white-led, and 17% have Asian, Latinx, and/or Native leadership teams. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

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Exposure Artists Program

Exposure Artists Program

Sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation and Opportunity Fund, the Exposure Artists Program is guided by a shared belief in the need to support creative practice, to cultivate and fund diversity, and to advocate for racial justice in the arts community.

Exposure aims to elevate the work of artists through activities that create/generate/enhance visibility for the creative process, artwork and societal issues of our time.

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OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,040,750 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,040,750 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, May 25, 2023 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $1,040,750 in its ninth year of grantmaking. The Board of Directors and two community panels funded 62 out of 152 requests, plus 3 discretionary grants, that were seeking a total of $2,527,971. 31% of the dollars are for the arts and 69% for social and economic justice. The majority of this funding, 77%, is for unrestricted general operating support that can be used flexibly. 75% of grant partners are BIPOC-led organizations or organizations with multi-racial leadership teams; 66% are Black-led organizations. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

Including this current grant cycle, the foundation has awarded 980 grants totaling nearly $14 million since its inception in 2015. Grant cycles take place twice a year. Letter of Inquiry deadlines are January 15 and July 15 each year. Full information about applying for grants is available in the “For Applicants” area of our website.

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OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,447,000 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $1,447,000 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, December 7, 2022 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $1,447,000 in the second half of its eighth year of grantmaking. The Board of Directors, along with two community panels, funded 79 out of 145 requests that were seeking a total of $2,350,536. The majority of this funding, 77%, is for unrestricted general operating support that can be used flexibly as needed. 64% of grant partners are BIPOC-led organizations or organizations with multi-racial leadership teams; 50% are Black-led organizations. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

Since its inception in 2015, the foundation has awarded 914 grants totaling over $12.8 million. Grant cycles take place twice a year. Letter of Inquiry deadlines are January 15 and July 15 each year. Full information about applying for grants is available in the “For Applicants” area of our website.

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Respite for Black Women: A New Opportunity Fund Initiative

Respite for Black Women: A New Opportunity Fund Initiative

“I believe that shifting culture is necessary for systems change. Rest results in strength. Healing creates energy. Joy sparks creativity. Connection creates community. Dreaming leads to transformation. This is where the potential lies.”

Maria De La Cruz

Respite for Black Women (#r4Blw), a new Opportunity Fund initiative, has been underway since spring of 2022.  Inspired by local activists, Opportunity Fund board and staff invited a multiracial, multicultural, intergenerational group of local, national, and international individuals to ask questions, explore, and dream with Opportunity Fund about what it could mean for philanthropy to provide resources that fund the “right to rest” to Black women, in the full gender expression of that term. A flurry of questions emerged—from what does it mean for Black women to be funded to create a way of being that is accessible and considers the whole person? What does it mean to rest? Where does one go to rest? How do we in all of our complexities begin to visualize spaces for Black women and their families to simply rest and just be in their bodies? 

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Support Black-Led Organizations

Support Black-Led Organizations

Many of us want to support groups who are rising up to meet this moment in powerful ways — but don’t know where to look. Or who to trust. Below is a list of Black-led groups who know what this moment demands of us. We encourage you to flow your resources to them as we do.

Please note that some of the entities listed below are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and some are not.

Performing Arts | Multidisciplinary and Visual Arts | Black-led Movement Work
Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Human Rights | Reproductive Freedom | Economic Independence
Healthcare | Housing | Social Services | Tangible Aid | Other

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What does trust mean to us? Click to find out in our new Process Book, a fresh take on the annual report.

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