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Tammy Thompson, Executive Director of Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, which was awarded $1 million from MacKenzie Scott’s charitable foundation.
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MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving awards $6 million to Western Pa. nonprofits

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette archives

MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving awards $6 million to Western Pa. nonprofits

Four Western Pennsylvania, nonprofits received awards from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s charitable organization Yield Giving on Tuesday.

Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, the Hazelwood Initiative, the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation and Women’s Services Inc., were awarded a combined total of $6 million.

East Liberty-based Catapult Greater Pittsburgh — a nonprofit offering resources and programs related to housing, financial counseling and emergency support — was awarded $1 million.

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“We are ecstatic to be awarded this incredible gift,” said Tammy Thompson, executive director of Catapult, in a prepared statement. “It’s not only a huge gift to our organization but to our entire community. Every nonprofit organization dreams of having unrestricted funding to not only create and expand existing programming, but to also invest in the development and implementation of new programs and services.”

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The money will go toward the nonprofit’s daily operations and its programs focused on entrepreneurship, homeownership and asset building in disenfranchised communities, according to Catapult.

Women’s Services Inc., a nonprofit focused on meeting the needs of women and children experiencing sexual abuse and domestic violence, received a $1 million award. The organization was founded in the late 1970s and has locations in Meadville and Titusville.

“This award will enable WSI to continue and expand the trauma-informed community development work underway in Meadville’s 5th Ward into other communities,” said Bruce Harlan, executive director of the organization, in a prepared statement. “It will also help expand and deepen our work with the criminal justice system for prevention and protection with women in-prison to improve their safety and reduce recidivism; and to extend our prevention and education to increase the safety of persons with disabilities, and to raise awareness and prevent local human trafficking.”

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East Liberty-based Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ and HIV health, and the Hazelwood Initiative — a Hazelwood-based nonprofit that offers services related to community development, financial assistance, access to homeownership and advocacy — each received a $2 million award. The nonprofits did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last March, Yield Giving partnered with nonprofit Lever for Change to launch an open call for funding to community-based organizations with missions of uplifting individuals, families and groups who have faced discrimination and other systemic obstacles. Over 6,000 nonprofits applied.

The original plan was to give 250 awards of $1 million each. It was then expanded in the fall of 2023, and ultimately 361 nonprofits were awarded a total of $640 million.

MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in 2019 signed The Giving Pledge, a promise by the world’s wealthiest individuals to dedicate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. The fund has given over $17 billion to over 2,000 nonprofits since it was established in 2022, according to Yield Giving’s website.

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“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, in a prepared statement. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

Ciara McEneany: cmceneany@post-gazette.com

First Published: March 19, 2024, 10:30 p.m.
Updated: March 20, 2024, 2:27 a.m.

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Tammy Thompson, Executive Director of Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, which was awarded $1 million from MacKenzie Scott’s charitable foundation.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette archives)
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