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We Are Letting This Moment Change Us

By opportunity-fund
June 18, 2020
Arts,Opportunity Fund,Social and Economic Justice

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.

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $638,500 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, 917-613-1509, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, June 12, 2020 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $638,500 in its ninth cycle of funding. The Board of Directors, along with two community panels and a panel of advisors, funded 53 out of 103 requests that were seeking a total of $1,512,418. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

Including the current grant cycle, the foundation has awarded 524 grants totaling over $6.5 million since its inception in 2015. Grant cycles take place twice a year. Letter of Inquiry deadlines are around January 15 and July 15 each year. Full information about applying for grants is available in the “For Applicants” area of our website.

Honoring Our Commitments to You

By opportunity-fund
April 30, 2020
Arts,COVID-19,Opportunity Fund,Social and Economic Justice

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?

2020 COVID-19 RESPONSE GRANTS

By opportunity-fund
April 30, 2020
Arts,COVID-19,Opportunity Fund,Social and Economic Justice

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.

Our Commitments to You

To Our Community,

COVID-19 is already affecting all of our lives, some more profoundly than others. This is a time for foundations to listen, to remove barriers, to increase support, and to act quickly.

Along with hundreds of other funders across the nation, we have made our general commitments public. But more specifically, the Opportunity Fund is accountable to you. While we are still actively determining much of our COVID-19 strategy, we want to share with you some of the preliminary commitments we are making:

COVID-19 Message to Grantees

TO ALL ACTIVE GRANTEES: as we all work to determine the precautionary measures we wish to take to guard against COVID-19 (the coronavirus), we wanted to make sure you saw our message to you:

The work you do is vital. It is life-saving, life-giving, visionary. We are proud to be actively supporting a portion of the work you currently do.

We are also aware–as you surely are, yourselves–that COVID-19 is quickly spreading across the world. We take the sober view that COVID-19 will soon make its way to Pittsburgh or wherever else you live and do your work, if it has not already.

OPPORTUNITY FUND PARTNERS TO SUPPORT INVESTING IN PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS

By Tiffany Wilhelm
December 23, 2019
Arts,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.

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $896,200 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

By Tiffany Wilhelm
December 3, 2019
Opportunity Fund

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, 412-362-1300, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, December 11, 2019 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $896,200 in its eighth cycle of funding. The Board of Directors funded 68 out of 137 requests that were seeking a total of $2,390,524. A portion of the grants were based on the recommendations of a panel of seven community members. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

Including the current grant cycle, the foundation has awarded 421 grants totaling over $5.3 million since its inception in 2015. Grant cycles take place twice a year. Letter of Inquiry deadlines are around January 15 and July 15 each year. Full information about applying for grants is available in the “For Applicants” area of our website.

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $726,550 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONTACT: Jake Goodman, Executive Director, 412-362-1300, jgoodman [at] theopportunityfund.org

PITTSBURGH, PA, June 3, 2019 — The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $726,550 in its seventh cycle of funding. The Board of Directors funded 57 out of 88 requests that were seeking a total of $1,848,981. A portion of the grants were based on the recommendations of a panel of six community members. A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

Including the current grant cycle, the foundation has awarded 346 grants totaling over $4.3 million since its inception in 2015. Grant cycles take place twice a year. Letter of Inquiry deadlines are January 15 and July 15. Full information about applying for grants is available in the “For Applicants” area of our website.

OPPORTUNITY FUND PROVIDES $736,000 IN GRANTS TO THE ARTS AND SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

By Tiffany Wilhelm
December 20, 2018
Opportunity Fund

PITTSBURGH, PA, December 20, 2018—The Opportunity Fund announces support totaling $736,000 in its sixth cycle of funding. The Board of Directors funded 53 out of 134 requests that were seeking a total of $2,155,839. Including the current grant cycle, the foundation has awarded 286 grants totaling over $3.6 million since its inception in 2015.

A complete list of awarded grants can be found below.

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