One of Pittsburgh’s biggest grant-making organizations is shifting its approach to arts and culture funding.
The Heinz Endowments announced this week it would move away from directly funding artists and programming. Instead, it will support organizations it sees as helping to lift the region’s greater arts and culture community.
Heinz Endowments arts and culture managing director Jasmin DeForrest says the five-year strategic plan, which resulted from 18 months of planning, is aimed at facing post-pandemic financial challenges seen by struggling arts organizations and artists nationwide.
“We know since covid, [audience behavior] has swiftly changed over the past six to 10 years — the way that we are engaging in arts and entertainment,” said DeForrest. “And we have to be able to now step back and say, ‘What do we need to adapt?’ ”
“This is about hunkering down and thinking about ‘How can we be more resilient?’ ”
Under one pillar of the new criteria, the Heinz Endowments will support applications that help create long-term financial and employment growth or provide resource and research support across multiple artistic endeavors. They also want to deliver grants that expand access to arts exposure for all walks of life and provide pathways for residents to attain creative jobs through training programs, apprenticeships and industry partnerships.
The new emphasis applies to all new applicants and renewal processes, with one-on-one transitional aid in place and Q&A sessions planned for those moving through the latter.
“Anyone and everyone is open to apply,” said DeForrest.
Grant applications are approved by a board of trustees at three annual meetings in the spring, the fall and after the new year. In 2026, the Heinz Endowments expects to give $14 million toward arts and culture efforts, according to a press release from the organization.
“We have not received any signals that that funding level will change,” said DeForrest.
Last year, the arts and culture wing of Heinz executed 95 grants for entities ranging from small performance groups to venues. DeForrest expects to execute a “similar” number by year’s end, depending on applications.
“We don’t know what we don’t know. So, over time, next year, that could look different,” said DeForrest. “It could look a little less [total grants], but we may be making deeper investments.”
Prior to the pandemic, in 2017, the creative arts in Allegheny County generated $115 million in tax revenue and $641 million in household income, spanning more than 32,000 full-time equivalent jobs, according to a study through the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.
In a survey of 47 Pittsburgh arts organizations, GPAC found that, in 2024, just 37% of participants reported attendance as being back to or above pre-pandemic levels. That number had hit 52% in 2023 before dropping down again. Additionally, 27% of respondents indicated they were “unsure” when attendance would fully rebound.
Around 34% of organizations reported seeing decreased revenue as compared to 2022. About 54% reported operating at normal or increased capacity as compared to 2019.
Rising cost of salaries, physical space and utilities, as well as general purchases, topped the organizations’ list of cost concerns. And a full 94% indicated they would be affected by funding cuts or changes at the federal level.
About 50% of respondents found hiring “somewhat” or “very” difficult.
Shanna Carrick, executive director of Film Pittsburgh, said she welcomes the Heinz Endowments’ shift in strategy.
“That actually aligns more with what we do at the Three Rivers Film Festival, since the festival supports independent filmmakers who are artists,” she said. “It is a very important part of their careers, especially our local filmmakers and it’s part of the economy, too. So it’s only a boon to the local film industry for us.”
Film Pittsburgh received $45,000 in October from the Heinz Endowments to support expanding the scope and reach of Three Rivers Film Festival, as well as technological improvements. Though Carrick described her organization as financially healthy, she knows plenty are strapped.
“There’s been an overall change in the funding landscape, especially with critical needs — needing support with the economic downturn,” said Carrick. “But I am very happy to see that the Heinz Endowments recognize that arts jobs are jobs and they are part of the economy.”
In a sign of the current climate, the boards of Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO approved a merger in March that will take effect in 2027. In May, Pittsburgh Public Theater canceled its fall season and laid off its staff.
Local artists are struggling too.
According to a 2024 survey of “hundreds” of Allegheny County artists also through GPAC, the rate of poverty (earning less than $15,000 a year) among those responding was more than twice that seen in the county population.
In that survey, the highest ranking barrier to responding artists’ career advancement was securing grants, fellowships and donations. Among respondents, 23.5% said they receive some level of funding from grants. Artists reported applying for 2.5 grants annually, with 69% of those funded. Black artists applied for 4.2 on average, with 30% of them funded.
GPAC CEO Patrick Fisher praised Pittsburgh’s philanthropic community, calling it “the primary source of capital sustaining the sector” while also expressing how the shift in strategy might affect those he represents.
“In my view, the majority of arts organizations will be able to make a case for how their work aligns with these priorities,” said Fisher. “In some instances, organizations may simply benefit from the support of an external thought partner, like the Arts Council, to help frame and articulate their work in ways that clearly demonstrate that alignment and strengthen their case for support.”
“What I do think is true, however, is that time-based, place-based, or issue-based one-off projects are increasingly likely to find themselves outside current funding strategies, not just with the Heinz Endowments, but more broadly across philanthropy and public funding. Pathways to support for that kind of work have become narrower over time, and I think that reality is creating understandable anxiety for some people in the field.”
Fisher also believes the change will compound with fallout from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts’ move away from funding individual artists’ projects and smaller organizations last year. Artists, he said, are also already grappling with numerous cuts and policy moves at the national level under the Trump administration.
One artist previously funded by Heinz Endowments, who spoke anonymously, said he believes the shift will divert funds away from free public projects and more “unusual” projects not driven by commerce.
DeForrest believes that by strengthening artist infrastructure, individual artists and projects of all varieties will ultimately benefit.
“We believe that sector infrastructure benefits arts organizations and artists by making the resources more available to be shared,” said DeForrest. “And also when there are cracks within infrastructure and within the foundation of a sector, we felt that it would be important to kind of refresh our strategy to focus on how can we think about strengthening those support structures for artists, for arts and cultural organizations, for arts leaders.”
“We think about who are these organizations who are making resources more available to be shared, studio space, exhibit space, materials, equipment, training, professional development, technical assistance. All of that is a part of infrastructure.”
DeForrest cited Carnegie Museum of Art as an organization that is expanding access or removing barriers. The museum, which receives funding from Heinz, has public arts programs that provide free admission to Pennsylvania students age 13-18.
She touched on Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s serving not only as a stage, but a supporter of emerging artists with project planning and mentorship support, studio space, affordable apartment rentals for artists, lighting and sound expertise as an example of an effort that helps sustain the greater arts community.
“So when we see Kelly Strayhorn, we don’t see them as just performing arts — you go to a venue and you buy a ticket to a program — we really see them as an ecosystem amplifier, who are a part of strengthening the infrastructure here,” said DeForrest.
In highlighting work in creating career pathways, Heinz points to Mt. Oliver-based Tech25, which hosts 600 youth and adults for free or pay-what-you-want vocational training, apprenticeships and certification programs in the entertainment technology field and collaborates with more than 20 community partners.
In conjunction with the move, Heinz Endowments’ Learning Evaluation and Research team will conduct multiple studies in the coming years to examine changing demographics and barriers perceived and tangible to potential arts patrons in Western Pennsylvania. It will also work to map gaps and trends in the arts and culture ecosystem in Pittsburgh.
“One of the important next steps for the Arts Council, in partnership with philanthropic and civic leaders, will be undertaking a comprehensive landscape analysis to better understand where gaps in support currently exist across the arts ecosystem,” said Fisher. “That includes examining support available for artists developing new work in the studio, as well as resources for time-based, place-based, or issue-based projects and smaller organizations built around a limited number of annual events or performances.”