McAuley Ministries Awards 15 Grants Totaling Over $1.8 Million & Announces Call for Sister Susan Welsh Good Neighbor Award Nominations

PITTSBURGH (March 31, 2022) – McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy’s grant-making foundation, announces 15 new grants totaling over $1.8 million to support education, health and wellness, and capacity building in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities. McAuley Ministries responded to the emergency in Western Kentucky created by devastating tornadoes by granting $10,000 in emergency disaster funds to assist in relief efforts.

In addition to announcing the grants, the McAuley Ministries Board of Directors announces a call for nominations for the 2022 Sister Susan Welsh Good Neighbor Award.  Created in 2019, the Sister Susan Welsh Good Neighbor Award recognizes a resident of the Hill District, Uptown, or West Oakland, the three neighborhoods McAuley Ministries serves.  The award celebrates individuals who exemplify the ideals of a “good neighbor” – a person who is compassionate, friendly, and helpful; a willing volunteer; an organizer of neighborhood events; and devotes time, talents and resources to make their neighborhood a better place to live. The award is named in honor of Sister Susan Welsh, RSM, former president and CEO of Pittsburgh Mercy, a founding board member, and a current board member of the McAuley Ministries Foundation.  The recipient of the Good Neighbor Award will receive $5,000.  Nominees must live in the Hill District, Uptown, or West Oakland.  Nominations must be received in writing by Friday, May 6, 2022, at 5 p.m.  To learn more about the eligibility criteria and award submission process, please visit https://mcauleyministries.org/what-we-fund/good-neighbor-award/.

Since its founding by the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy in 2008, McAuley Ministries has awarded 880 grants and community support totaling $40,300,258 to nonprofit organizations that advance its grant-making priorities. The West Oakland-based, grant-making foundation awards approximately $3.5 million in grants annually, making it one of the region’s largest philanthropic foundations. View grants awarded by year at https://mcauleyministries.org/.

Grouped by grant-making priorities, the recipients of the most recent grants are as follows. For further description of each grant, please visit grants awarded.

 Capacity Building

• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh: $53,522 for phase 4 of the window replacement project at St. Joseph House of Hospitality.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh: $50,000 to provide operational support for St. Joseph House of Hospitality case management services.
• Friendship Community Presbyterian Church: $210,000 payable over 2 years to support a capital improvement project of restoring The Corner facility following a 2020 fire.
• Hill District Federal Credit Union (HDFCU): $500,000 to support a capital improvement project to expand and improve the facility and will strengthen financial services for low-income residents.
• Jubilee Association: $30,000 to bridge operating funding gaps at the John Heinz Child Development Center.
• Mercy Life Center Corporation: $197,494 for a capital improvement project, supporting individuals in Pittsburgh Mercy’s Glen Hazel Extended Acute Care facility.
• Uptown Partners: $182,400 payable over 3 years to promote community revitalization by tackling blighted and vacant properties in the Eco-Innovation District of the Uptown community.

Education

• Allegheny Intermediate Unit: $150,000 payable over 2 years for general operating support for the Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) program.
• Carlow University: $200,000 for the Social Justice Training Institute Fellowship Program, Justice-Oriented Art Initiative, and Intergroup Discussion.
• Carlow University: $80,150 to provide support to the Community Literacy Engagement Project offered by the Campus Lab School.
• Pittsburgh Public School District: $5,250 to support a field trip by students from Pittsburgh Milliones University Preparatory School to the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
• SLB Radio: $90,000 payable over 2 years to expand the Girl Talk pilot project, which connects teen girls with strong, successful women through deliberate, transformative conversations.
• Tickets for Kids Foundation: $30,000 payable over 3 years to support its Cultural Access Program.

Emergency Disaster Relief

• Diocese of Owensboro, KY: $10,000 to assist in the relief efforts following devastating tornadoes that impacted Western Kentucky.

Health & Wellness

• Pittsburgh Green Innovators: $50,000 to support the E.A.T. Initiative’s Third Meal Program, which empowers hungry communities by providing hot meals, fresh produce, and meal preparation education.

About McAuley Ministries

Named in honor of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, McAuley Ministries is the grant-making foundation of Pittsburgh Mercy. McAuley Ministries serves as a catalyst for change, committing resources and working collaboratively to promote healthy, safe, and vibrant communities. Grant-making priorities include health and wellness, community and economic development, education, and capacity-building initiatives for nonprofit organizations which focus on the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland, communities historically served by the Sisters of Mercy. McAuley Ministries also provides support to organizations that are sponsored by and/or affiliated with the Sisters. Since its founding by the Sisters of Mercy in 2008, McAuley Ministries has awarded 880 grants and community support totaling more than $40 million. It awards approximately $3.5 million in grants annually, making it one of the largest philanthropic foundations in Southwestern Pennsylvania. To learn more about McAuley Ministries and the initiatives it supports, visit www.mcauleyministries.org.

About Pittsburgh Mercy

Pittsburgh Mercy is a person-centered, population-based, trauma-informed community health and wellness provider. It is the region’s only Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) and Integrated Care & Wellness Clinic (ICWC). We reach out and offer help – and hope – to some of our community’s most vulnerable populations: people who have physical and behavioral health challenges; people with intellectual disabilities; and people who are experiencing addiction, homelessness, abuse, and other forms of trauma. Our mission is to be a compassionate and transforming, healing presence within our communities. Pittsburgh Mercy is a member of Trinity Health and serves in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy. With annual operating revenue of $112 million, Pittsburgh Mercy is one of the largest health and human service nonprofit organizations and employers in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

We serve more than 33,000 people annually in 60+ locations and employ 1,200 colleagues. For more information or to make a donation in support of our mission, visit https://www.pittsburghmercy.org/.

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