POISE Foundation’s Community Impact Grants

The POISE Foundation's Community Impact Grants are designed to support the Black community in achieving self-sustaining practices through strategic leadership, collective giving, grantmaking, and advocacy. This aligns directly with the foundation's mission to empower and uplift the Black community. The program offers small grants, typically between $1,000-$5,000, to nonprofit organizations in the Pittsburgh Region. These grants are generally for one-year durations and are specifically targeted at Black-led, Black-serving organizations. The target beneficiaries of these grants are nonprofit organizations serving the Black community in the Pittsburgh Region, with a focus on programs that lead to empowerment and self-sufficiency. The impact goals are broad, aiming to foster pathways from poverty to prosperity, advance educational achievement, create and develop Black businesses, support the well-being of young ladies, and strengthen Black families. This is achieved by investing in programs that build capacity, engage in civic participation, make decisions, and advocate for the well-being of Black communities and residents. The program prioritizes several key areas: Community & Economic Development, Education, Entrepreneurial Activities, Young Ladies, and Strengthening Black Families. Within these areas, there's a strong focus on community engagement, understanding issues, and promoting economic, social, environmental, political, and psychological well-being. For Strengthening Black Families, specific priorities include being family-driven, building family development, increasing family interaction, being culturally responsive, assisting with support networks, providing advocacy tools, and promoting family healing and wellness. Expected outcomes include increased civic participation, improved educational achievement for Black youth, growth in Black businesses and cooperatives, enhanced well-being for young ladies, and the restoration of the Black family as a core, thriving institution in Pittsburgh. While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed in terms of quantifiable metrics, the foundation's theory of change is evident in its investment in programs that provide direct services and seek to bring about change that leads to empowerment and self-sufficiency within the Black community. The preference for Black-led organizations further demonstrates their strategic priority of empowering community-driven solutions.