Hillman Family Foundations

The Hillman Family Foundations operates as an administrative and programmatic umbrella for 18 individual foundations associated with the extended Hillman family of Pittsburgh. This federated structure is unusual in philanthropy — each foundation retains its own grantmaking focus, eligibility criteria, and decision-making autonomy, while sharing back-office operations, investment management, and strategic coordination. The Henry L. Hillman Foundation, the largest entity within the umbrella, focuses on arts and culture (particularly visual arts), health and medicine research, higher education, economic development, human services, conservation, and technology. Other entities have distinct niches: the Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation prioritizes women and children; the Hillman Foundation supports progressive social justice journalism through its Sidney Award; and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation concentrates on arts and culture. This multi-foundation structure allows the Hillman family to maintain diverse philanthropic interests while achieving operational efficiencies, and applicants must navigate to the correct entity for their focus area. The foundations collectively emphasize place-based impact in southwestern Pennsylvania, with a growing commitment to affordable housing and homelessness prevention as critical community needs.

The Hillman Family Foundations collectively distributed $88.8 million across 796 awards in 2024 and $89M+ across 843 awards in 2023, reflecting consistent high-volume grantmaking. Individual grants range dramatically from $50 to $7.5 million, though most fall in the $25,000-$500,000 range. The Henry L. Hillman Foundation has made several transformative investments: $11.23 million dedicated to affordable housing initiatives, $5.41 million for homelessness prevention (targeting transitional housing and wraparound services), $10 million to Cinnaire Lending Corporation for a revolving affordable housing fund, $6.2 million to Action-Housing Inc., $5 million to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for streetscape improvements, and $1.75 million to Highmark Health for senior technology navigation. Arts and culture receives significant attention with $1 million to Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The geographic distribution is heavily concentrated in Pennsylvania, with secondary funding streams to Oregon, New York, and 25+ other states. Funding is distributed across education, human services, arts/culture/humanities, community engagement, and philanthropy/voluntarism categories.

The Hillman Family Foundations ranks among Pittsburgh largest philanthropic entities, sitting alongside the Heinz Endowments and Pittsburgh Foundation in terms of asset size, though behind the Richard King Mellon Foundation. What distinguishes the Hillman Family Foundations is its multi-entity federated structure — 18 individual foundations under one administrative umbrella — compared to peers that operate as single entities. This structure enables the Hillman family to address a broader range of focus areas than most single foundations, from progressive social justice journalism (Hillman Foundation Sidney Award) to conservative economic development (Henry L. Hillman Foundation). The recent $11.23M affordable housing commitment and $5.41M homelessness prevention investment position the foundations as a leading force in Pittsburgh housing stability ecosystem, an area where they exceed most regional peers in targeted commitment.

In 2025, the Henry L. Hillman Foundation awarded $1.75 million to Highmark Health for the SUPPORT for Seniors initiative helping older adults navigate health technology, paired with $150,000 to eiNetwork for library network infrastructure in Allegheny County. The foundation committed $5.41 million to homelessness prevention, targeting organizations building or preserving transitional housing with wraparound support services. In the affordable housing sector, transformative grants included $10 million to Cinnaire Lending Corporation for a revolving fund, $6.2 million to Action-Housing Inc., $4 million to Rising Tide Partners, and $3 million each to Hill Renaissance Development Corporation and City of Bridges CLT, totaling $11.23 million in regional housing investment. Arts grants included $1 million to Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and $5 million to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for streetscape and open space improvements. The Hillman Foundation continued its Sidney Award for investigative journalism highlighting social justice issues. In total, the 18 affiliated foundations maintained strong giving levels with 796 awards in 2024 compared to 843 in 2023.

To successfully approach the Hillman Family Foundations: (1) Identify the correct individual foundation for your focus area — the 18 entities have distinct missions, and submitting to the wrong one wastes time. Henry L. Hillman Foundation for arts/health/education/economic development; Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation for women and children; Hillman Foundation for social justice; Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation for arts; (2) Geographic alignment is critical — organizations based in or serving Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and the nine surrounding SW Pennsylvania counties have the strongest positioning. Individual foundations may also consider Portland OR, New York, Santa Barbara CA, and New Hampshire; (3) Demonstrate community-level impact in the region rather than broad national programs; (4) For housing and homelessness proposals, show how your project addresses transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or wraparound services — this is a current funding priority; (5) Arts organizations should demonstrate public benefit and community engagement; (6) The foundations award 800+ grants annually, meaning smaller organizations have genuine opportunity — grants start as low as $50; (7) Address inquiries to the main office at 310 Grant Street, Suite 2020, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Visit hillmanfamilyfoundations.org for individual foundation pages and application details. Leadership: Juliet L. Hillman Simonds (Chairperson), David K. Roger (President).