McAuley Ministries awards $967,550 in grants to 22 nonprofit organizations

PITTSBURGH – McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy’s grant-making foundation, has awarded 24 Fall 2017 grants totaling $967,550 to 22 nonprofit organizations to expand outreach initiatives to vulnerable populations.

The grants support affordable housing, capacity-building, community and economic development, education, health and wellness, out-of-school time, and workforce development initiatives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities; ministries that serve in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh; and emergency disaster relief funds.

Since 2008, McAuley Ministries has awarded 609 grants totaling more than $25.8 million to nonprofit organizations. The grant-making foundation awards approximately $3 million in grants annually.

Grouped by category, the recipients of the outreach grant awards are:

Capacity Building

Bethlehem Haven of Pittsburgh

$200,000 to support pre-development expenses for the expansion of affordable housing in Uptown.

Hill District Consensus Group

$50,000 to support the organization’s education and advocacy initiatives.

Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE)

$60,050 to provide executive coaching to a third cohort of 12 nonprofit leaders.

The Door Campaign

$3,000 for four individual organizations to plan a shared services model to increase organizational capacity.

Community & Economic Development

Hill District Consensus Group

$46,500, payable over three years, for initiatives to beautify Centre Avenue in the Hill District.

Neighborhood Allies

$75,000, payable over two years, to support Fund My Future, an initiative designed to encourage Hill District families to save for their children’s future by making saving fun and easy. Every deposit made earns a chance to win prizes. Studies show that children with savings accounts are more likely to attend college and graduate. The program will reach 150 children at the end of the two-year pilot.

Small Seeds Development

$37,500 to continue Mother to Son, a program providing social support, education, training, and mentoring to single mothers and their sons.

Education

MDRC

$25,000 for a six-week, kindergarten-readiness program for preschool children who will be attending a Pittsburgh Public School kindergarten classroom in the fall of 2018. The content of the program is focused on academic and social-emotional learning.

Emergency Disaster Relief

American National Red Cross

$10,000 for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief in Houston, Texas.

Catholic Charities USA

$10,000 for Caritas de Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria disaster relief.

Catholic Relief Services

$10,000 for Hurricane Irma relief for families in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and the Caribbean Islands.

Health & Wellness

Conservation Consultants Inc. (CCI)

$25,000 for Grassroots Green Homes initiative in Uptown and West Oakland, providing in-home energy audits; weatherization; and mold, lead, and radon testing. CCI will identify safety hazards, and assist residents to secure resources for needed improvements and repairs.

FOCUS Pittsburgh

$72,000, payable over two years, for a weekend meal program that will reach 300 students who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches at Hill District schools. FOCUS will also pilot a food pantry in the middle/high school.

Pittsburgh Mercy

$50,000 for River to Home, an initiative of Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net®, to transition 35 individuals who are living on the streets to permanent supportive housing.

Out-of-School Time

Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania

$25,000 to offer curriculum-based journey experiences to girls who live in the Hill District. Working with paid facilitators, girls will participate in after-school activities and events during the school year as well as week-long and weekend camping excursions during the summer months, focusing on healthy living and leadership skills.

Ozanam Inc.

$33,500 to strengthen educational and enrichment programming for the elementary after-school program.

United Way of Southwestern PA

$50,000 for Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST), a partnership of funders, intermediary organizations, and out-of-school time providers, dedicated to building quality after-school, weekend, and summer programs; and $50,000 for the Hill Youth Partnership for Enrichment (HYPE). HYPE is a grassroots collaborative effort of Hill District youth service providers that focuses on engaging more youth from kindergarten through 12th grade in high- quality, after-school and summer programs.

Workforce Development

Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, Energy Innovation Center Institute, Pittsburgh A. Philip Randolph Institute, and Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh

$12,000 to each organization to help workforce clients secure driver’s licenses, often a requirement for construction jobs and/or for convenient access to employment that may not be on a bus line. This pilot will determine whether securing a driver’s license has a positive impact on training, employment, and retention.

Traveler’s Aid Society of Pittsburgh

$75,000 to provide transportation support for workforce training and employment.

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. Established in 2008, 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. McAuley Ministries is one the largest philanthropic foundations in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Since 2008, it has awarded 609 grants and community support totaling more than $25.8 million. It awards approximately $3 million in grants annually. View a list of grants awarded by year at 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, Mercy Behavioral Health, Mercy Community Health, Mercy Intellectual Disabilities Services, the Pittsburgh Mercy Parish Nurse and Health Ministry Program, Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net®, and Pittsburgh Mercy Family Health Center. Together, these Pittsburgh Mercy programs and their 1,700 employees serve more than 33,000 individuals annually at 60+ 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.