01 Welcome

Visionaries Wanted

Since 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation has funded visionaries with bold ideas to advance prosperity in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and environmental conservation across the United States.

What does the Foundation fund?

The Foundation has six funding programs: Conservation; Economic Development; Economic Mobility; Health & Well-Being; Organizational Effectiveness; and Social-Impact Investments. Our Funding Programs

Who has the Foundation funded?

The Foundation has awarded over 8,000 grants to more than 1,800 different organizations since its founding. Grants & Program-Related Investments

How do I apply?

Our application portal is always open. And be sure to review our four pending Requests for Proposals. Learn How to Apply
02 Our Strategic Plan 2021-2030

Look to the future, and tell us what you see.

Our Strategic Plan is our 2021-2030 roadmap to award more than $1.2 billion in grants and program-related investments. Every application is reviewed for its potential to advance our Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan
03 2023 Annual Report

Read our 2023 Annual Report

04 About Us

The History of the Foundation

Go to the History Page
The first pillar of the Foundation’s success is great ideas – yours, not ours. Your great ideas are our lifeblood, the currency of our philanthropy. We crave your great ideas – the bolder the better.
– Sam Reiman, Director & Trustee, Richard King Mellon Foundation
05 Follow Us on LinkedIn

The deadline for applications to the Foundation’s next Social-Impact Pitch Competition is this Monday, December 30. The Foundation stands ready to award combined investments of up to $1.5 million to the three winners. Such investments can make all the difference to startups focused on social good. Just ask Cara Jones, founder of Marinus Analytics, a company dedicated to using artificial intelligence to help law enforcement to thwart human trafficking. Marinus Analytics won a $400,000 investment from the Foundation in the last Pitch Competition. “Receiving this investment from the Richard King Mellon Foundation … will allow us to expand our software for the benefit of child-welfare organizations and broaden our positive impact on the fight against human trafficking and online harm,” Jones said in the interview. Thank you to Unite.AI for publishing this Q&A. Pitch-competition applications can be submitted through our website, where there also is more information on both the Pitch Competition, and the Foundation’s Social-Impact Investment program. #philanthropy #socialimpactinvestments #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #crimevictims #humantrafficking #artificialintelligence #AI https://lnkd.in/esQpcSzk

Thank you to Pittsburgh Startup News for this engaging and informative Q&A with Destenie Nock, PhD, the founder and CEO of Peoples Energy Analytics. Peoples Energy Analytics won the Foundation’s most recent Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition. Destenie Nock offers valuable advice for social-impact entrepreneurs – including those we hope are applying for the Foundation’s next Pitch Competition. We have up to $1.5 million available for the three winners of our next competition. Applications are due Dec. 30 at noon, and can be submitted through our website. #philanthropy #entrepreneurs #socialimpactinvestment https://lnkd.in/eCUcppxa

Downtown Pittsburgh performing-arts organizations want to make it even easier for people to enjoy their shows. Thank you to Pittsburgh Magazine for highlighting one such effort - on-site certified child-care services, to enable parents of young children to go to the Pittsburgh Opera. The Foundation is pleased to encourage such creative solutions, as performing-arts organizations across the nation seek to overcome COVID-era attendance declines. #philanthropy #performingarts #Covid #economicdevelopment #artsandculture https://lnkd.in/eyskgjYA

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