Richard King Mellon Foundation: Grants for Pennsylvania

OVERVIEW: The Richard King Mellon Foundation supports conservation, education, human services, nonprofit capacity building, and economic development in Southwestern, Pennsylvania.

IP TAKE: The Richard King Mellon Foundation is a powerful environmental funder in Pennsylvania and one with a sizable amount of money to spend to keep local nonprofits afloat. It has an accessible application process and is fairly transparent about where its money goes. This is a good funder for local groups in Southwestern Pennsylvania to know.

PROFILE: Established in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is a private foundation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mellon was the president and chairman of Mellon Bank, as well as a conservationist and civic leader in Pennsylvania. He was a Pittsburgh native, served in both World Wars, involved in many local ventures, and passed away in 1970. The Mellon Foundation seeks to “strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.” It funds local efforts for conservation, education, human services, economic development, and nonprofit capacity building.

Grants for Environment

According to its website, the foundation has committed more than $1 billion toward conservation efforts in its home state and throughout the country. The Conservation program supports habitat conservation, land stewardship, economic development in rural communities adjacent to conserved land, and improving the livability, sustainability, and environmental quality. Previous grantees in this space include the Appalachian Mountain Club, Allegheny Land Trust, and The Foundation for Sustainable Forests.  It has also given tens of millions to the Conservation Fund over the years, including over $20 million in 2023.

Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity, and Education

The Richard King Mellon Foundation’s Economic Mobility and Development programs primarily focus on Southwestern Pennsylvania, but occasional grants are made in other geographies. Combined, the two programs address the needs of PA’s workforce from birth to retirement.

The Economic Development program focuses on three areas of support. The talent development area works to provide access to education, workforce training, and skills development for adults in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania. The employment opportunities area works to increase access to “jobs in the new economy, foster entrepreneurism, and support workers in the gig economy.” Community building “focuses on transformational efforts that improve the quality of life in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties,” including arts and culture, innovative districts, and infrastructure and transportation.

The Economic Mobility program is focused on children and young adults in low-income communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Its priority areas include educational attainment, the future of work, supportive living environments, and places of opportunity.

Previous grantees in these areas include The Pittsburgh Promise, which received $2 million in 2023, Almono LP, which received $1.8 million, and Valley School of Ligonier and The Advanced Leadership Institute, both of which were given $1 million. The foundation also supported African Cultural Center of Buffalo in Buffalo, NY, and Gridwise in Delaware.

Grants for Public Health and Access

The foundation takes a holistic view to health and its approach “is rooted in a conceptual framework called the ‘social determinants of health,’ which “holds that many factors influence whether an individual, community or society thrives and flourishes.” Accordingly, the Health & Well-Being program focuses on three components of health: healthy people, which addresses traditional notions of health: chronic conditions, mental and behavioral health, and maternal and child health; healthy communities, which works to provide access to healthy food, parks and playgrounds, affordable and safe housing, and pollution and toxin free neighborhoods; and science research, which investigates “the relationship between the environment and health and well-being.”

Grantees in the health and well-being space include Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, Primary Care Health Services, and Mutual Aid Ambulance Service.

Grants for Community Development and Arts and Culture

The foundation does not have a dedicated program that supports arts and culture groups; however, it does fund these organizations through the Community Building priority area under its Economic Development program, which states the arts are a “core element of economic development,” which “enhance the region’s vitality and livability.” The King Mellon Foundation seeks to help make Southwest, PA “an international arts destination.” It invests in both arts and culture organizations and individual artists, though it does not distinguish between groups and individuals on its application documents.

Past arts grantees include over $5 million each to The Pittsburgh Trust for Cultural Resources and Carnegie Institute, and over $2 million to Riverlife. Other grantees include Frick Art & Historical Center, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Touchstone Center for Crafts, and the African American Cultural Center.

Other Grant Opportunities

In addition to its four core program areas, the foundation also provides two other specialized sources of funding. The Organizational Effectiveness program supports current or recent foundation grantees in the areas of leadership and governance, human capital management, strategy and learning, and communications.  

The Social Impact Investments program works through the foundation’s four programs (Conservation, Economic Development, Economic Mobility and Health & Well-Being) to “pursue promising opportunities for charitable purposes” with businesses and capital markets.

 

Important Grant Details

The Richard King Mellon Foundation makes around 180 grants and program-related investments each year. Grants range between about $10,000 and $2 million, although the most common amount is about $250,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving on the visionaries section and grantees page on the funder’s website. Grantmaking focuses on Southwestern Pennsylvania. It discourages grant requests from organizations outside of Pennsylvania.

This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits throughout the year. Nonprofits should contact the information and grants manager, Lisa Reed, to discuss a project idea before submitting any paperwork. Direct general questions to the staff at lreed@rkmf.org or 412-392-2800.

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

LINKS: