Solomon Mendel & Sylvia Charitable Trust
Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 25-6271818. Reported 72 grants totalling $1,005,252 to 68 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Solomon Mendel & Sylvia Charitable Trust did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $13,667. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $15,372; the smallest was $4,190 and the largest $35,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classrooms Without Borders | Pittsburgh, PA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kidsvoice | Pittsburgh, PA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| United Way of Sw Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Maya Organization | Swissvale, PA | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Allegheny Council to Improve Our Neighborhoods - Housing Incorporated | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Outreach Teen & Family Services | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Riverlife | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bike Pittsburgh Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Childrens Hospital Pittsburgh Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Community Kitchen Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Human Services Center | Turtle Creek, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| North Hills Affordable Housing | Glenside, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pennsylvania Trolley Museum | Washington, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Riverview Childrens Center | Verona, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Somerset County Mobile Food Bank | Somerset, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vintage Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| World Affairs Council of Pitts | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Butler County | Hamilton, OH | $19,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Westmoreland County Community College | Youngwood, PA | $17,084 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewish Family & Childrens Service | Pittsburgh, PA | $16,888 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Upmc | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,372 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Asset Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Carnegie Institute | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| FORTYX80 Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Grow Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Healing Hunger Beaver County | Aliquippa, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hosanna House Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Association on Aging | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Magee Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation | Philadelphia, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mainstay Life Services | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pressley Ridge | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Reading Ready Pittsburgh | Homestead, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Blessing Board | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Frick Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Young Adult Survivors United | Wexford, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $14,560 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Crawford County Mental Health Awareness Program | Meadville, PA | $14,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Westmoreland County Food Bank | Delmont, PA | $13,889 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon | Pittsburgh, PA | $13,445 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Robins Home Inc | Butler, PA | $13,135 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Inspired Hearts and Hands Inc | Gibsonia, PA | $12,643 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| City Mission-Living Stones Inc | Uniontown, PA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership | Pittsburgh, PA | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Clarion Universiy Foundation Inc | Clarion, PA | $10,852 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Auberle | Mckeesport, PA | $10,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kids Innovation Playground | Slippery Rock, PA | $10,400 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Assets Lancaster | Lancaster, PA | $10,315 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Doors Open Pittsburgh Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Food Moxie | Philadelphia, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Handmade Arcade | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jeremiahs Place - Pittsburgh Relief Nurs | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Literacy Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Sun Rising | Millvale, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pa Women Work An Affiliate of the National Network for Womens | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneu | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| York Fresh Food Farms | York, PA | $9,468 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Common Threads | Austin, TX | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Student Conservation Association Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Womens Services Inc | Meadville, PA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| YWCA Tri-County Area | Pottstown, PA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Upmc Presbyterian Shadyside | Pittsburgh, PA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Open Up Association | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,509 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Watson Institute | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,265 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bringing Hope Home Inc | Malvern, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Project Destiny Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $4,237 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Aliquippa Impact | Aliquippa, PA | $4,190 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
4 of 68 (6%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 0%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Kidsvoice
KIDSVOICE BOOTSTRAP PROJECT - Mainstay Life Services
TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES THAT - Grow Pittsburgh
GROW PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY - Kids Innovation Playground
AFTER-SCHOOL TECH TINKERING - First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh
ENHANCED VIDEO SURVEILLANCE - Womens Services Inc
HOPE MEMORIAL AND COMMUNITY
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 55 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | $253,558 | $10,500 |
| 2022 | 18 | $258,406 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 17 | $234,695 | $13,135 |
| 2024 | 18 | $258,593 | $14,750 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
97% of its giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $13,667. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Pennsylvania.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Solomon Mendel & Sylvia Charitable Trust's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 500 First Ave P7-Pfsc-03-Z, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 25-6271818 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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