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Hit hard by the economic recession and the 2008 stock market crash that battered their investment funds, most local foundations gave less in 2009.
It was a scenario not limited to Pittsburgh's foundations.
Nationwide, foundation giving was expected to decline by between 8 and 13 percent last year, according to a survey by the Foundation Center, a New York-based organization that tracks philanthropy and nonprofits.
Among some of the largest Pittsburgh-based foundations, giving declined significantly.
The Heinz Endowments, for instance, gave a total $54.6 million, down nearly 28 percent from 2008 levels. The Richard King Mellon Foundation gave $58.3 million in grants last year, a decline of nearly 12 percent from 2008.
"Clearly the endowments -- the value of the investments foundations make from their assets -- are down," said Todd Cohen, editor and publisher of the Philanthropy Journal based at the Institute for Nonprofits at North Carolina State University. "Clearly it's tougher. There's less money to make grants."
PDFThe economic downturn has forced many foundations to trim staff and administrative expenses and find creative ways to maintain their contributions to nonprofits, Mr. Cohen said.
"Maybe they're making fewer grants but they are larger [amounts] and strategically targeted at a particular issue ... they're spending a lot more time thinking about the kind of investments they're making related to what their mission is."
One local foundation that handed out more last year was the PNC Foundation.
The huge jump in what the foundation gave -- from about $20 million in 2008 to $37 million last year -- was largely the result of its merger with National City Corp. of Cleveland and the integration of that company's foundation with PNC's.
"Obviously our foundation and our giving increased because of the combination," said Eva Tansky Blum, president and chair of the PNC Foundation.
Prior to the merger, there was "a lot of synergy" between the PNC and National City foundations in terms of supporting communities where the financial institutions had branch banks and other operations, said Ms. Blum.
Going forward, the foundation will continue PNC's longtime strategy of focusing its giving on early childhood eduction and community and economic development, she said.
PNC's Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million commitment to pre-school programs that was announced in 2003, will be implemented in former National City markets about six months after those branch banks are converted to the PNC brand.
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