PITTSBURGH, August 27, 2008 — The BNY Mellon Charitable Foundation has approved a slate of new grants totaling more than $380,000 to benefit six Pittsburgh-area nonprofit organizations. The BNY Mellon Charitable Foundation is the major vehicle through which BNY Mellon channels contributions to nonprofit organizations in western Pennsylvania.

"We see philanthropy as an investment that improves the overall quality of life within our region," said James P. McDonald, president, BNY Mellon Charitable Foundation. "These contributions are designed to help the nonprofit community address a range of critical community needs from economic development and education to children's health and wellness."

The current grant recipients are:

African American Chamber of Commerce — $30,000 for its Business Institute, which provides coaching, leadership development, workshops and training programs to small and minority-owned businesses through a network of local and national experts. According to the United States Small Business Administration, small businesses are responsible for three-quarters of the nation's new jobs and employ half of all private sector employees.

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation — $170,000 for its Family Care Connection Centers (FCC) located in Rankin, Braddock, Wilkinsburg, Turtle Creek/East Pittsburgh, Hilltop and Lawrenceville; and to support Ronald McDonald Care Mobile upgrades. The FCCs serve neighborhoods with the highest incidents of poverty, infant mortality and poor prenatal care in Allegheny County, offering preventative pediatric prevention, medical and behavioral health services for up to 1,000 at-risk families annually. This grant will also support vehicle maintenance and upgrades to the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, in service since 2001. This 40-foot, 26,000 pound vehicle was built specifically for delivering pediatric health care and includes two patient examination rooms, a laboratory, reception and medical records area.

Homeless Children's Education Fund (HCEF) — $30,000 to underwrite the permanent relocation costs associated with moving its Learning Center to a new homeless shelter facility in East Liberty. Annually, HCEF serves 2,000 area children, most of which are survivors of or witnesses to domestic violence, drug and/or alcohol abuse, eviction and extreme poverty. The educational needs of homeless children are often times superseded by the pressing needs of a guardian, such as housing, food, employment and transportation. Created with the intent of allowing children to stay current with their peers, HCEF's Learning Centers contain state-of-the-art computer technology, printers, and educational software, as well as professionally-selected resource Libraries with resource materials for children, parents and care providers.

Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania — $32,500 to support the Center's recruitment efforts and marketing plan, attracting new mentors and raising awareness. The Center plans to establish a new corporate identity, brand strategy and messaging, and to design and launch a new Web site. Since 1995, the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern PA has led the movement to connect young people with caring adults; with 25,000 youths participating in local mentoring programs and approximately 1,000 waiting to be matched with a mentor.

Mon Valley Initiative (MVI) — $50,000 in support of MVI's affordable housing and real estate development programs which includes newly constructed for-sale homes and owner-occupied rehabilitation projects, as well as residential and commercial rental properties. Communities such as Braddock, Rankin and Duquesne hit hardest with the loss of domestic manufacturing and metal-based industries benefit from the MVI's combination of real estate and economic development activity, infrastructure investment and financing. Through its Rehab for Sale program which this grant supports, MVI and its CDC member have completed 309 units of housing, with 41 more fully-financed units currently under construction and another 35 units planned.

Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development (PPND) — $70,000 directed to capacity-building programs. The Partnership's Regional Capacity Program, which assists Community Development Corporations (CDCs) throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania with the revitalization of distressed neighborhoods, is leading an effort to establish more formal collaboration structure within the community development system for the benefit of CDCs, technical assistance providers, agencies and funders. With a regional approach, PPND's goal is to transform community development throughout the 10-county Southwestern Pennsylvania Region and tie that development to a larger, comprehensive economic development strategy. Established in 1983, BNY Mellon's predecessor company, Mellon Bank, was among the PPND's first funders.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $23 trillion in assets under custody and administration, more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management and services $12 trillion in outstanding debt. Additional information is available at bnymellon.com.