PITTSBURGH, December 20, 2011 — BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, announced it awarded more than $3.7 million in grants to Pittsburgh-area nonprofits during 2011 as part of its Powering Potential philanthropic focus.

Through its Powering Potential program, BNY Mellon supports initiatives that make local communities better places to live and work, particularly by targeting organizations that provide food, clothing, energy and housing assistance, and improve access to employment through job training and skills development. Recent Powering Potential grants in the Pittsburgh region include:

• Action Housing - $120,000 for MyPlace, an intensive case management and affordable housing program for youth ages 18-24 who are aging out of the foster care system who are facing eminent homelessness and have no other support networks to rely upon.
• Catholic Charities - $100,000 to support its Free Health Care Center's Dental Program which has a 12-month waiting list and provides non-sectarian care to those who cannot afford private health insurance, do not qualify for government assistance, and whose income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
• United Cerebral Palsy - $100,000 to support both its Assistive Technology Program for people with disabilities and its UCP Kids Vocational Ventures Program, which enables career exploration, as well as increased social networking for low income students with disabilities between the ages of 14 and 18.     
• Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board - $30,000 for WorkReady Pittsburgh, a six-week paid corporate internship program that helps low-income high school students build work history, make connections to mentors and gain exposure to the business world.

In addition to these local contributions, the company's employees around the globe in 2011 have invested 55,000 hours of volunteer service, generating in excess of $14 million in support of the causes they care about most. Volunteer service alone has skyrocketed more than 330% since the inception of the program in 2008.

"We are committed to strengthening the communities in which our employees live and work, with collaborative, effective charitable programs that deliver financial assistance and harness our employee talent to make a difference for those in need," said James P. McDonald, BNY Mellon's global head of philanthropy and employee programs.

BNY Mellon has more than 7,800 employees in the Pittsburgh region.  BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $25.9 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.2 trillion in assets under management, services $11.9 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.