Richard King Mellon Foundation Gives Another $100 Million for Pittsburgh Tech Hub

Here are notable new grant awards compiled by the Chronicle:

Richard King Mellon Foundation

$100 million to the University of Pittsburgh to create the University of Pittsburgh BioForge, a bioresearch and development facility at Hazelwood Green, a former steel mill near downtown Pittsburgh that will become the city’s hub for life sciences and technology innovation.

This is the foundation’s second major grant this year for economic development at Hazelwood Green. In May, the foundation gave $75 million to Carnegie Mellon University for additional development projects in robotics and advanced materials and manufacturing at Hazelwood Green.

Bezos Day 1 Families Fund

$96.2 million to 32 nonprofit groups to advance policy, advocacy, racial equity, child welfare, and services that aim to prevent homelessness among U.S. families.

Bayer AG and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

$71.3 million over four years to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to expand the Challenge Initiative, which advances sexual and reproductive health for poor women and girls in Africa and Asia. The program is housed within the university’s Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.

Of the total, $36.3 million came from Bayer AG and $35 million is from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Robert W. Woodruff Foundation

$15 million commitment to the University of Georgia to renovate the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, a historic facility that was named for Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the university’s first African American students.

Rockefeller Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies

$10 million over three years to create the Mercury Project, which will correct misconceptions and disinformation on social media about public health.

The grant is coming through the Social Science Research Council, which received $7.5 million from the Rockefeller Foundation, $2 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and $500,000 from Craig Newmark Philanthropies.

Warren Alpert Foundation

$9.5 million to Penn Medicine for the Alliance to Increase Diversity in Genetic Counseling, an effort to recruit more genetic counselors from underrepresented backgrounds.

Henry Luce Foundation

$8.8 million to 12 universities through its Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM to support 85 women who are pursuing degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Overdeck Family Foundation

$6.4 million to 17 recipients in education. The largest grant of $5 million over three years went to the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund to identify and scale program models that are successfully advancing academic achievement for low-income students in New York City.

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

$5.5 million to 22 nonprofit organizations that serve needs of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. The focus of the grants is combating anti-Asian discrimination and violence, amplifying the stories of Asian communities, and supporting advocacy on immigration and civil rights.

The Hewlett Foundation is a financial supporter of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Wayne Duddlesten Foundation

$5 million to the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business to endow two scholarships for students who are studying entrepreneurship and real estate.

JPB Foundation and JPMorgan Chase

$3.8 million to Equal Justice Works to continue its program to prevent unlawful evictions and housing discrimination in Virginia.

Liberty Mutual Foundation

$3.4 million to support nonprofit groups and create a campaign to raise awareness about youth homelessness.

The campaign comes as part of $17 million in grants the insurance company has given to address youth homelessness since 2018.

Astellas Global Health Foundation

$1.9 million to five organizations to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines, bolster health, and build community resilience among vulnerable people in Nepal, Honduras, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Venezuela.

The five recipients are CARE, the END Fund, Evidence Action, International Medical Corps, and World Vision.

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

$1.5 million to the Rhythm Foundation to upgrade technology that will enhance programs and performances at the North Beach Bandshell, a historical outdoor venue in Miami Beach for live music and the arts.

Ploughshares Fund

$1.3 million to 19 organizations that are working to eliminate existing nuclear weapons, prevent new nuclear weapons programs internationally, and promote peace and global security.

Google.org

$1 million to 20 food banks, pantries, and other hunger-relief organizations in the United States to bolster food assistance in vulnerable communities.

The technology company is also giving $1 million in search-engine advertising credit to help the charities connect with people in need of their services.

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

$1 million to the American Hotel and Lodging Foundation to expand its Empowering Youth program in Los Angeles and New Orleans. The program aims to recruit and train young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to work in the hospitality industry.

Sony Global Social Justice Fund

$1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to support its four focus areas that seek to advance racial justice: political participation, criminal justice, economic justice, and education equity.

Send grant announcements to grants.editor@philanthropy.com.

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