Cultivating novel solutions to city-wide, systemic challenges

Economic opportunity isn’t distributed equally in Pittsburgh. While the region earns national acclaim for innovation and livability, the inclusiveness of Pittsburgh’s job growth lags far behind that of other American cities.

Through the generous support of the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, The Sprout Fund developed the 2018 Seed Award for Economic Opportunity in an effort to expand economic opportunity through new collaborative approaches that expand economic opportunity for all.

In response to a call for proposals, Sprout received 23 received applications proposing collaborative activities among more than 90 local nonprofit and community organizations. From this diverse set of applications, 3 proposals best captured the spirit, intention, and opportunity of the program. These working groups then spent 2 months refining each of these approaches to create compelling opportunities for residents to contribute to the economic vitality of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

The working groups presented their approaches at the Pittsburgh Economic Opportunity Forum, a public event that featured dynamic speakers and interactive activities to explore the state of economic opportunity in the region. A month later, the working groups submitted their refined approaches for consideration in a community-advised decision-making process that determined which group would receive funding support to implement their proposed project.

Finally, a community advisory committee selected one project, The City As Our Maker Space, to receive full implementation support.

Program In Brief