Elsie H. Hillman Foundation Grant

The Elsie H. Hillman Foundation Grant aims to enhance the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania by focusing on community empowerment and support for underrepresented groups. It provides funding for programs that foster dialogue, health initiatives, and cultural revitalization, while prioritizing organizations that align with its mission and operate within the Pittsburgh region.

The Elsie H. Hillman Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania for all residents, with a focus on strengthening neighborhoods and encouraging young civic leaders.
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation was formed in 2006 to support the organizations and causes that mattered most to her. During the nine years Elsie Hillman chaired the Foundation, she supported a broad range of interests, with a particular focus on helping and promoting women and minorities.
Strategic Priorities
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation prioritizes investments that promote the well-being and increase the regional opportunities available to women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ residents. Current priorities are focused on programs that:
Help all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, participate fully in the region’s improving quality of life and be as successful and happy as possiblePromote equity and build bridges among Pittsburgh’s different populations – helping the region’s citizens to better understand each other’s needs, wants, goals, and dreamsFacilitate community dialogue through arts and culture projects that explore issues of concern or note to the regionSow seeds for community revitalization through creating or supporting cultural gathering spaces in disadvantaged neighborhoodsPromote a regional culture of health, focused on addressing social determinants of health and prevention initiatives for at-risk mothers and their childrenEngage young people from throughout the region and from diverse backgrounds in civic leadership and public affairsProvide opportunities to lend a timely and neighborly helping hand when that is what is most needed

Eligibility

The geographic focus of the Foundation’s grantmaking program is the Pittsburgh region (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the surrounding 10-county southwestern Pennsylvania region).Applicant organizations must be classified as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and as public charities under Section 509(a) of that code.Organizations and government entities that are federally tax-exempt for other reasons can also apply for funding.Requests must align with the mission, priorities, and geographic focus of the Elsie H. Hillman Foundation.

Ineligibility

The Foundations do not encourage requests for:Organizations based outside of the United States
Support for organizations that are not a 501(c)(3) or government agency, and therefore require a fiscal sponsorship, unless the sponsorship is a temporary situation and/or the sponsorship arrangement meets rigorous criteria for oversight and support