Alcoa Foundation Announces Request for Proposals for Literacy, Employment Programs on the Northside; Allegheny Works Initiative Enters Its Fifth Year.

Business Editors

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2003

Alcoa Foundation announced today that it is seeking proposals from Northside (Pittsburgh) nonprofit organizations as part of its Allegheny Works initiative, a five-year, $1 million program to enhance literacy, workforce development and employment opportunities on the Northside.

The announcement comes at the start of the fifth year of Allegheny Works. In the program's first four years, Alcoa Foundation awarded more than $800,000 in grants to Northside organizations with the input of a panel of Northside community leaders.

The Foundation has opened an Allegheny Works Hotline at 412-553-4000 for information on how to apply for funding. The following timetable can guide organizations seeking funds:

May 7, 2003           Grant application workshop

May 30, 2003          Grant applications due to Alcoa Foundation

June 2003             Review of applications by Northside community
                        panel and Alcoa Foundation

September 2003        Programs begin

Northside organizations with a 501 (c) 3 status are eligible to apply for funding.

Past grantees' projects have ranged from Providence Family Support Center's after-school enrichment program for children with working parents, to Manchester Youth Development Center's adult classes in computer literacy and General Equivalency Diploma preparation. A project through Sharry Everett Scholarship Fund provides stipends to Northside students who are pursuing their education after high school.

In 2002, 13 organizations received grants. In addition, Alcoa Foundation funded a grant through the Tides Center for a Community Coordinator. Over the next year, the Coordinator will assist Northside organizations with the grant application process, serve as a resource to grantees as they develop their capacities and programs, and organize opportunities for grantees and other organizations to meet about issues of common interest.

"Through Allegheny Works and with the Community Panel, Alcoa Foundation has benefited from a more informed approach to our grantmaking on the Northside," said Kathleen W. Buechel, president of Alcoa Foundation. "As we enter into the final year of Allegheny Works grantmaking, we look forward to funding new organizations with one-year grants, and to exploring non-grant opportunities to leverage the rich experience that we have gained through Allegheny Works."

"Over the last four years, Allegheny Works has been the conduit for grants to organizations with emerging programs in literacy, workforce development and employment," said Saleem Ghubril, executive director, Pittsburgh Project, and chair of the Allegheny Works community panel. "Many of these organizations had their first experience with funding from a foundation and reporting about activities and outcomes tied to the funding through Allegheny Works."

Community Design

Allegheny Works is a collaboration between Alcoa Foundation and Northside community, religious, youth and education leaders that began in 1998. At the heart of it is a unique panel made up in part by leaders of Northside organizations, who advise Alcoa Foundation on the community's needs, and how best to respond to those needs. The panel evaluates grant proposals and recommends grantees to Alcoa Foundation's board of directors.

Panelists include:

Brack M. Barr, Jr.    -- Extension Agent, Penn State Cooperative
                         Extension

Ronell Guy            -- Founder and Co-chairperson,
                         Northside Coalition for Fair Housing

Audrey Murrell        -- Professor, University of Pittsburgh,
                         Katz School of Business

Juana Roman           -- Student Development Coordinator,
                         Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

The Rev. John Cochran -- Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church

Saleem Ghubril        -- Executive Director, The Pittsburgh Project

Michelle A. Jones     -- Executive Director, Healthy Start, Inc.

Scott Hudson          -- Senior Grants Analyst, Alcoa Foundation

About Alcoa Foundation

Established in 1952, Alcoa Foundation is a global resource that actively invests in improving the quality of life in more than 29 countries around the world where Alcoa operates. The Foundation's grants address global and local need in Areas of Excellence that include: Conservation and Sustainability, Global Education and Workplace Skills, Business and Community Partnerships and Safe and Healthy Children and Families. For more information about Alcoa Foundation, visit www.alcoa.com , under Community.

Nonprofit organizations can address correspondence to the Foundation at:

Allegheny Works

Alcoa Foundation

201 Isabella Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5858