Mac Miller Fund grants will connect youth to the arts
The Mac Miller Fund supports young musicians with resources to help realize their full potential through exploration, expression and community. (Photo credit: Karen Meyers).
A total of $135,000 for 10 local arts and community-building programs. Support also goes to Los Angeles-based center for homeless youth.
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 16, 2022…Girls Rock! Pittsburgh, Steel City Arts Initiative and Afro-American Music Institute are among the organizations receiving operating-support grants from the Mac Miller Fund.
Established at The Pittsburgh Foundation by the family of the world-famous musician following his death in 2018, the fund’s mission is to carry on Miller's artistic and creative legacy, primarily by supporting programs that help youth from underserved communities recognize their full potential.
“We are proud to support these incredible organizations in honor of Malcolm's dedication to art and making communities kinder places,” family members said in a statement. “They are doing groundbreaking work by giving access and opportunities to young people in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles—two places central to his life. The fund is made possible by Malcolm's fans, so together we can support work in honor of his heartful spirit.”
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 were awarded to the following local organizations for general operating support:
- 1Hood Media: building liberated communities through art, education and social justice.
- Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation: supporting its Boom Concepts program. The organization is dedicated to developing artists and creative entrepreneurs who represent marginalized voices.
- Afro-American Music Institute: nurturing thousands of musicians’ talents through its programs, which center curriculum on music of the African Diaspora.
- Assemble: envisioning diverse neighborhoods of empowered people who create, connect, learn and transform together. The mission is to unite communities of artists, technologists, makers and learners.
- Girls Rock! Pittsburgh: Using music programming to empower female youth of all identities, abilities and backgrounds to develop self-confidence, creative expression, independent thinking, mutual respect and cooperation while cultivating a supportive and inclusive community of peers and mentors.
- Manchester Bidwell Corporation: combining seemingly disparate elements – adult career training, jazz presentation and youth arts education – into a whole, serving a wide range of people in the Pittsburgh region.
- Pittsburgh Youth Chorus: empowering and inspiring leaders of the future through singing programs for youth in grades one through 12.
- SLB Radio Productions Inc.: building community through radio and other audio-based programming to amplify voices of youth and others in marginalized communities to achieve social change.
- Steel City Arts Initiative: providing school-aged children and their families with the cultural, artistic and educational tools necessary to become positive and active members of society.
- Sweetwater Arts Center: helping artists of all ages and backgrounds reach their full potential. The organization partners and collaborates with schools and community groups to provide affordable, accessible and high-quality arts learning.
In keeping with another facet of the Miller Fund’s mission – supporting organizations that directly assist youth aged 27 and under in need of a range of essential human services, including addiction-recovery treatment – a $20,000 grant will go to Los Angeles-based Safe Place for Youth.
The funding will support programs that offer young people facing homelessness opportunities to thrive by providing lasting, community-driven solutions that address racial and social inequities.
The Mac Miller Fund was established at The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2018 by the family of the late Malcolm McCormick (Mac Miller) to honor the Pittsburgh native and internationally celebrated music artist and producer. The Fund is managed through the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy. It is one of only a few programs in the country offering expertise to donors to help them determine how to meet philanthropic goals through grantmaking and nonprofit management, personalized education sessions and guidance on multi-generational giving.