Pittsburgh Foundation Economic Mobility Grants: Career Advancement

The Pittsburgh Foundation's Economic Mobility Grants focus on enhancing career advancement opportunities for low-income families and communities. With funding ranging from $10,000 to $150,000, the foundation seeks to support initiatives that provide technology training, foster partnerships for curriculum development, and promote collaboration in career readiness. These efforts aim to address the projected worker shortfall and improve economic mobility through targeted educational and training programs in Allegheny County.

NOTE: For 2026, applications in this area will be accepted by invitation-only. If you are not a current grantee but are interested in funding under our Economic Mobility/Career Advancement focus area, please complete the grantmaking interest form on the funder webpage.
Foundation-Directed Grantmaking
The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.
Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.
Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.
Both programmatic- and policy-level interventions are needed for low-income families and communities to build financial security and increase economic mobility. Access to post-secondary education, homeownership, career advancement and entrepreneurship are grantmaking areas that The Pittsburgh Foundation will support to improve economic mobility in our community.
A 2018 report by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development predicted a potential worker shortfall of 80,000 by 2025 due to retirements and slow job creation. These projections intensify the need to focus on systemic changes in career preparation in the K-12 educational system, and to target training opportunities to incumbent workers who have persistently lower median yearly earnings and higher levels of unemployment. Technology is reshaping virtually every occupation at a rapid rate, changing the skills students must have and driving the need for continuous upskilling of incumbent workers. Additionally, all workers will need to increase their digital fluency and acquire "soft" skills such as communications, problem-solving and customer service.
Offer entry-level and advanced technology training with career potential.Support partnerships where employers have helped develop training curriculum and industry recognized credentials, are invested in and committed to training and hiring for a variety of occupations, and provide career advancement support and opportunity.Support collaboration between the public workforce system, industry partners and school districts to update and implement state mandated K-12 career readiness standards and curriculum.

Eligibility

To qualify for a grant, your nonprofit organization must be:
Located within Allegheny County and/or primarily serve Allegheny County residents (unless otherwise specified in the grant criteria).Designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity. (If your organization does not have 501(c)(3) status, you may apply utilizing a fiscal sponsor.)

Ineligibility

What We Do Not Fund
The Pittsburgh Foundation does not make grants to any organization not listed in Internal Revenue Code Section 170(b)(1)(A), including private non-operating foundations or any “disqualified supporting organizations” as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 4966(d) (4).Organizational start-up support.Statewide or national organizations, unless they have an established local office or chapter that meets the above eligibility criteria and priorities.Projects that expressly advocate for or endorse a specific candidate for elected office.Annual appeals or event sponsorships.Episodic and/or one-time programs and events.Capital expenses and/or campaigns.Direct funding for individuals (except individual artists).Payments on organizational debt.Costs and activities that are completed before a requested grant has received a decision from our board.University overhead costs.Single-disease support organizations.Educational scholarships. Academic research.