Endowment Appeal

The Community Foundation of Upper St. Clair has been a vital part of our community since its formation in 1993. We have funded many new initiatives and projects in our community.

We have been successful in supporting the Arts, sponsoring Celebrating the Arts, bringing the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to our community on many occasions, and making this the South Hills home of the River City Brass Band concerts. We have financed the development of the Oral History of Upper St. Clair and Quest for Life Long Learning. We have sponsored science and technology fairs, and led the development of our technologically connected community with our website www.mainstreetusc.com and lead an initiative to raise over $175,000 in private monies for technology in our schools. We have published our bi-annual newsletter that reports our activities, communicates our grant giving and thanks our donors.

In addition to funding smaller grant requests, we are currently supporting four major initiatives. The placement of defibrillators in some of our public buildings, the development of an Environmental Education Center on the Boyce-Mayview property, the purchase of an acoustical shell for the high school theatre, and the enlargement of our own endowment.

The project with the defibrillators involves the purchase of equipment for our schools and public buildings. It is being coordinated with the state and their commitment of matching funds. The approximate cost of each defibrillator is $1,500. The Foundation has agreed to purchase two defibrillators, in addition a local company, Vista Resources, purchasing one defibrillator. See our press release on defibrillators for more details.

The project of the Environmental Education Center is being coordinated with the Project Development Committee as appointed by the Township Commissioners. Initial funding of two million dollars has been received from the State of Pennsylvania through the efforts of Senator Tim Murphy. Many local environmental agencies have been contacted and have expressed interest in partnering with this project. Several Pittsburgh foundations have been approached and are working with us. It still remains essential to have local monies to support such a project. The overall project cost is anticipated to be ten million dollars. A fundraising committee and capital campaign committee will be put into place.

The acoustical shell for the high school theatre is an enhancement for the vocal and musical groups that perform in the theatre. The band parents and choral parents have made a commitment to help raise funds and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Community Outreach Concert on May 31, 2002 will donate all funds from the concert to this project. The total cost of the project will be in the neighborhood of $100,000. We are looking to secure an underwriter or commitment of matching funds for this project.

The cause for increasing our own endowment should speak for itself. We need to be able to maintain our office, publish a newsletter, maintain the website, and give grants that fund those community projects that meet our grant criteria. Currently, we work with volunteers, we will try to keep it that way, but we must maintain an office and the ability to communicate. Please consider making a gift to the Endowment Fund. If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can downlaod and print the Donor Form (8KB) and return it to the Community Foundation via U.S. mail.

We would ask that our residents consider making a financial donation to express your interest in our community and in supporting these projects. If you would like more details, I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you and share about the projects. Please feel free to contact me at 412-257-5682 and we can plan a time to meet. I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Celeste Acinapura, Executive Director

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