Richard King Mellon Foundation

Pittsburgh has attracted more than 200 film and television productions since 1990, generating some $2 billion in economic activity. But the region has the potential to be even more of a filmmaking center. The Foundation in 2023 awarded $3 million in funding to help to accelerate that growth. The Foundation awarded $2.5 million to Pittsburgh Pictures, headed by Pittsburgh natives turned Hollywood producers Jimmy Miller and Eric Gold, to produce horror films here, building on the legacy of the late director George Romero. Another $500,000 was awarded to Partner4Work Pittsburgh to help to cultivate a new generation of production-crew members in Pittsburgh. “There are people who are really interested in the creative economy who need to know there is a place for them right now,” said Robert Cherry, the CEO of Partner4Work. You can read about the efforts of Miller, Gold and Cherry to make Pittsburgh a more vibrant film and television production destination in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, now available on our website. #philanthropy #economicdevelopment #filmindustry #creativeeconomy #horrormovies

Saleem Ghubril considers himself a “poster child for second chances.” Thrown out of high school for behavioral problems, and then expelled from college for academic reasons, he knows first-hand that kids with early challenges still can go on to contribute meaningfully to society, if they are given opportunity. Ghubril has helped to enable the life-changing opportunities of higher education to thousands of young people in Pittsburgh, as Executive Director of the The Pittsburgh Promise. Nearing its 21-year end, the Pittsburgh Promise has awarded some $170 million in higher-education scholarships to 12,000 students from low-income Pittsburgh families. The Pittsburgh Promise has relied upon generous community funding to do its important work, including a $100 million initial investment from UPMC. The Foundation has supported the effort too, with a combined $13.6 million in funding, including its final grant of $2 million in 2023. You can read about Ghubril and the Pittsburgh Promise in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, now available on our website. #philanthropy #economicdevelopment #highereducation #opportunity #scholarships

As part of your pre-game reading for the Pittsburgh Steelers final exhibition game tomorrow – be sure to read about the Steelers exciting plans for a new Steelers youth community field at Hazelwood Green, opening next year. The Foundation was pleased to commit $10 million in 2023 for construction of the community field. The community field will help to advance health and well-being for young people in our communities. And it is another important component of the Almono Partnership’s ongoing efforts to ensure a deep and positive connection between Hazelwood Green and the broader Hazelwood community. You can read about the Steelers plans in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, now available on our website. #philanthropy #healthandwellbeing #economicdevelopment #communitydevelopment #youthsports #recreation Tishman Speyer Daniel Rooney

Emerging industries are taking root and starting to grow across the Greater Pittsburgh region – creating meaningful new job opportunities for area residents, including for people who do not have a college education. But, to secure those good new jobs, specialized education and job training must be readily available, to give people the precise skills they will need to work in Pittsburgh’s emerging industries. The Foundation is seeking proposals from educational, economic-development and job-training organizations that are eager to work in partnership, and with Pittsburgh’s emerging industries, to make these opportunities reality for people. Thank you to Patty Tascarella and the Pittsburgh Business Times for shining a light on this important matter, which the Foundation regards to be of critical importance for the area’s ongoing economic growth and prosperity. #philanthropy #economicdevelopment #jobtraining #workforcedevelopment #communitycolleges? https://lnkd.in/eCx_qWyn

Brenda Costa, Executive Director of the FRENCH CREEK VALLEY CONSERVANCY, in Meadville, Crawford County, is dedicated to protecting the French Creek watershed, and also to engaging the community in outdoor activities on French Creek. She sees that engagement work as central to her role in protecting French Creek, which is one of the most biologically diverse watersheds in the nation. “We can’t buy all the land,” Costa said. “We can’t protect all the land in the watershed. So if we can reach people through recreation – paddling or hiking or birdwatching – we engage a broader audience and help more people identify as stakeholders.” The Foundation was proud to support the French Creek Valley Conservancy’s work with a $400,000 grant in 2023. You can read about Costa’s vision for French Creek – and her avocation as a “Hellbender Defender” – in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, now available on our website. #philanthropy #conservation #watersheds #outdoorrecreation

Congratulations to the four winners of the Foundation’s third Social Impact Pitch Competition: First-place winner Peoples Energy Analytics and its Founder and CEO, Destenie Nock, PhD, as well as fellow winners Marinus Analytics, Troutwood and Korion Health. These for-profit companies have social missions at their core, and the Foundation is proud to invest in them, through our Social-Impact Investment program. As Anna Li, CEO of Korion Health, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The funds from the Richard King Mellon Foundation allow us to stay ultra mission-driven. [We can] really value people first, and then profit as a way to impact more people, as opposed to vice versa.” Since launching the Social-Impact Investment program in 2021, the Foundation so far has invested more than $17 million in 60 companies. #philanthropy #socialimpactinvesting #entrepreneurship #capital #socialgood https://lnkd.in/etrr9Ckn

I am deeply grateful and honored to announce Troutwood's first outside investment. Thank you to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for your confidence in our people, our product and our company's vision to build a world where 100% of individuals have a financial plan, equal access to financial information <> and the informed decision making that comes with having both. This investment is a reflection of our team, our capabilities and our commitment to moving the needle on ?? household financial well-being. A good friend frequently reminds me, "no one has solved the problem Troutwood is trying to solve (yet)." When I reflect on this journey, our vision and the effort it's taken over the past 5-years, it's our team and the people at Troutwood that I'm most proud of. Great people make great products. Great products make great companies. #strongertogether #thankful #pittsburghstartup

BioHybrid Solutions in Sharpsburg believes it’s on the verge of a breakthrough in the fight against cancer. The company is deploying its advanced chemistry platform to create injectable drugs that target only cancer cells – sparing healthy cells, and thus creating fewer side effects. “This could be a game changer,” says company President and CEO Laura E. Benjamin To help advance the company’s important work, the Foundation in 2023 invested $250,000 in BioHybrid Solutions, through the Foundation’s Social-Impact Investment program, where the Foundation invests in for-profit companies with a social mission that aligns with the Foundation’s philanthropy. Helping scientists and physicians to fight diseases has been one of the Foundation’s goals since its founding. You can read about the important work underway at BioHybrid Solutions in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, now available on the Foundation website. #philanthropy #healthandwellbeing #cancer #socialimpactinvesting

Fifteen years ago, Robert Hamilton, MPPM, was a 20-year-old military veteran suffering from substance-use disorder. Addicted to opioids, he was living on the streets – and under a Derry Township bridge. Today, Hamilton is director of the Westmoreland County Department of Human Services, overseeing a $300 million budget. Hamilton’s inspiring life story gives him a unique empathy for the people his department serves. And has motivated him to make its services as effective and efficient as possible. The Foundation awarded Hamilton’s department a $350,000 Organizational Effectiveness grant in 2023, to implement a shared-data system between the complex department’s various divisions. You can read Hamilton’s inspiring personal story, and the equally important tale of his work to elevate human services in Westmoreland County, in the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report, available on our website. #philanthropy #organizationaleffectiveness #humanservices #opioids #leadership