The Rev. Ricky Burgess yesterday announced he is donating all of his City Council district's discretionary funds to a philanthropic agency founded by African-Americans.

Mr. Burgess, who represents his Homewood neighborhood and other eastern communities, announced at a news conference yesterday that $146,000 is being given toward a "Hope Fund" to be administered by the POISE Foundation.

"For more than 27 years, the POISE Foundation has been supporting programs that add value to the quality of life of black Pittsburgh and the region as a whole," he said.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time this has ever occurred. I'm excited about the possibilities and what it can mean for this community."

He said he will introduce legislation in council tomorrow to establish the Hope Fund with discretionary money from District 9's Neighborhood Needs Account. The $146,000 is what remains of a $1 million allocation 12 years ago by then Mayor Tom Murphy to each council district.

Each council district also gets $75,000 a year in Community Development Block Grants. Mr. Burgess said his district's annual $75,000 allocation will be given to the Hope Fund.

He said such disbursements will serve as seed money to attract other contributors who might not want to be the first or only providers for a given project.

Mr. Burgess said he has pledged to donate the funds each year to POISE for the duration of his tenure on council.