The Pittsburgh Promise

A major new fund has been created at The Pittsburgh Foundation to support The Pittsburgh Promise, a program designed to help students and families of the Pittsburgh Public Schools plan, prepare and pay for education beyond high school at an accredited post-secondary institution within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh Promise serves to inspire and motivate Pittsburgh Public Schools students to “Dream Big” and “Work Hard” in order to improve the prospects for their future.

The fund has been established with a $100 million commitment from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center including an initial $10 million to mobilize The Pittsburgh Promise in time to support 2008 graduates of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The remaining $90 million is a challenge grant intended to spur a community-wide campaign to raise a total of $250 million to create a permanent endowment which will fund future generations of graduates from the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The new fund will operate as a Supporting Organization at The Pittsburgh Foundation, which will have the primary tasks of administering grants and continued fundraising. The Foundation will provide full financial and administrative oversight, support and processing for the fund. Supporting Organization will have a seven-member Board of Directors, and an Advisory Committee.

For more information on the Pittsburgh Promise, please visit www.pittsburghpromise.org.