Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in December 1996 by a group of citizens concerned with the deteriorating conditions of Pittsburgh’s historic city parks.
Colcom Foundation has generously invested in our mission and our efforts to create more accessible, cleaner, and greener parks, including the transformation of Mellon Square Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, the historic revival of the Northside’s Allegheny Commons Park, and the construction of the Frick Environmental Center, which remains one of the world’s only Living Buildings, a welcome center that is free and open to the public, and a hub for environmental education for thousands of children and their families. Colcom’s ongoing support has been instrumental toward creating a world-class park system for all to experience, learn from, interact with, and enjoy.
Catherine Qureshi, President and CEO
Friends of the Riverfront builds safe, clean, and accessible riverfront trails.
Colcom Foundation has provided invaluable support for Friends of the Riverfront for years – support that has allowed our organization to continue to build and maintain the economic, environmental and quality of life assets that are the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and the Water Trail and ensure more people can access and benefit from them. We have been able to expand our volunteer workforce, plant more trees, remove invasive plants and litter from the trails, and continue to build our regional trail network, as well as engage more people than ever, with 1.3 million trips on the trails in 2023. Work to extend our trails and keep them in good repair benefits our entire region not just for now, but for decades to come, and Friends is fortunate that the Colcom Foundation has seen the importance of investing in that vision.