Pittsburgh’s Heinz Endowments to dole out $10M to Western Pa.’s Black arts, cultural groups

Pittsburgh is among seven U.S. metropolitan areas set to get a multimillion-dollar infusion to support arts and cultural groups that represent people of color.

A new pot of $10 million in grant money will be up for grabs this fall, thanks to $5 million from the Ford Foundation as part of its new America’s Cultural Treasures initiative and a matching $5 million from The Heinz Endowments.

Some local grant awards could range from $500,000 to $1 million, though award options and details still are being worked out, foundation officials said.

The Heinz Endowments — a grant-making giant headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh that doles out money to support nonprofits and innovation across a wide swath of Western Pennsylvania — was one of 10 foundations selected by the Ford Foundation to host the program.

“We do not take lightly this generous opportunity to make a transformative impact on our region’s cultural landscape,” said Grant Oliphant, CEO and president of The Heinz Endowments. “Our staff has been working collaboratively with our partners in the community and the field to develop a program celebrating organizations that too often have not received the attention that they deserve and the investment so urgently needed for sustaining and expanding their work.”

The aim is “not only to address extensive financial hardships and funding shortfalls of many Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American and other cultural groups, exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to provide the incentive for more significant investment in a diverse range of organizations,” the foundation said in a news release announcing the funding.

The Pittsburgh’s Cultural Treasures program is slated to run for three to five years.

To start, the focus will be on Black cultural organizations.

The grant money may be used for significant immediate needs as well as long-term operating support.

The multi-year grants are intended “to enable the organizations not only to survive the recent economic downturn due to the pandemic, but also to flourish in the future,” the foundation said.

For more information about the Pittsburgh’s Cultural Treasures initiative, go to the program web page and nomination form on Endowments’ website. Additional information can be found in the story “Hidden Treasures” in the latest issue of the foundation’s magazine.