McAuley Ministries Awards 28 New Grants Totaling $961,210
PITTSBURGH (May 12, 2020) – McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy’s grant-making foundation, today announced 28 new grants totaling $961,210 to support capacity building, community and economic development, education, out-of-school time, and health and wellness initiatives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities. McAuley Ministries responded to the COVID-19 emergency by granting $297,500 to 13 community partners so they can continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Since its founding by the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy in 2008, McAuley Ministries has awarded 782 grants and community support totaling $33,547,247 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 www.mcauleyministries.org.
Grouped by grant-making priorities, the recipients of the most recent grants are:
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Acculturation For Justice Access & Peace Outreach (AJAPO)
$15,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Inc.
$15,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 at St. Joseph House of Hospitality to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Center that CARES
$1,500 for transportation for families impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.
Hill District Consensus Group
$10,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Macedonia Family And Community Enrichment Center
$15,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Neighborhood Allies
$20,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to help purchase 200 laptops for students in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland.
Neighborhood Resilience Project
$15,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
Pittsburgh Mercy
$100,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 for personal protective equipment, supplies, and staffing.
Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship and Veteran’s Home
$15,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
The Intersection, Inc.
$10,000 for emergency response to COVID-19 to continue serving vulnerable populations by providing food and other resources.
The Pittsburgh Foundation
$50,000 for the Emergency Response Fund created by local philanthropies.
The POISE Foundation
$25,000 for the Critical Community Needs Fund that provides operating support to Black-led organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ujamaa Collective
$6,000 to produce and distribute 500 protective cloth masks to residents of the Hill District.
ADVOCACY
A+ Schools
$30,000 to engage families, students, educators, and community partners to co-create solutions to the inequities impacting student learning. The approach will highlight examples of successful schools and the lessons learned that will drive policy and practice recommendations.
Just Harvest
$50,000 to reduce barriers to participation in public programs that address hunger and poverty through grassroots organizing and policy advocacy.
PA Coalition for Oral Health
$15,000 for a campaign to restore comprehensive adult dental benefits under Medicaid.
Regional Housing Legal Services
$80,000, payable over two years, to address policy issues in the City of Pittsburgh and prevent the displacement of low-income African-American households from the City; improve housing conditions; and help to close the gap of affordable housing units in the City.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh
$40,000 to pilot a partnership with the Center of CARES to recruit and retain 10 young adults in 12 weeks of culinary training.
Partner4Work (TRWIB)
$50,000 for Learn & Earn, the summer training and employment initiative for low-income youth ages 14-21.
Student Conservation Association
$30,000 to improve trails and restore habitats in the Hill District and Uptown through employment of youth through a partnership with Partner4Work’s Learn & Earn summer employment program.
CAPACITY BUILDING
Mercy Volunteer Corps
$16,320 to place one Mercy volunteer at Acculturation for Justice, Access, and Peace Outreach (AJAPO) to serve as a case manager.
Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise
$72,390 to implement Cohort V of the Pace Coaching Program, providing executive coaching to nine African-American leaders and five next level/next generation leaders.
EDUCATION
ACH Clear Pathways
$100,000, payable over two years, for an arts-focused, out-of-school time program, providing programming in the visual arts, theater, dance, music, digital media, and martial arts.
Center that CARES
$50,000 to provide a structured out-of-school time enrichment programming that reinforces and enhances the leadership skills of youth through global awareness and civic engagement.
Steel City Squash
$3,000 to support a vehicle to transport students to and from the Steel City Squash program.
Tickets for Kids Foundation
$20,000, payable over two years, to provide children and families served by the out-of-school time programs supported by McAuley Ministries to tickets to arts, cultural, educational, and athletic events.
United Way of Southwestern PA
$82,000, payable over five years, to support the City of Pittsburgh’s book-gifting program, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Children, ages 0-5, will receive 12 books per year through the program.
HEALTH and WELLNESS
Pittsburgh Mercy
$25,000 to establish a pharmacy fund for persons served who are unable to pay for vital medications necessary for health and wellness.
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 782 grants and community support totaling more than $33.5 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, a member of Trinity Health, serving in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy, is a person-centered, population-based, trauma-informed community health and wellness provider. Pittsburgh Mercy, home to the region’s only Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, is also one of the largest nonprofit organizations and employers in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Mercy includes Bethlehem Haven, McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health, Pittsburgh Mercy Community Health, Pittsburgh Mercy Intellectual Disabilities Services, the Pittsburgh Mercy Parish Nurse & Health Ministry Program, Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net®, and Pittsburgh Mercy Family Health Center. Together, these
Pittsburgh Mercy programs and their 1,500 colleagues serve more than 33,000 individuals annually at 70+ locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania. To learn more about Pittsburgh Mercy, or to make a donation in support of its important work in the community, visit www.pittsburghmercy.org.