The Sprout Fund has invested more than $4.1 million in 481 community projects since 2001. Browse the project list to discover more about supported projects, organizations, and inititatives.
Funded Project supported by grant of $3,200 on October 14, 2011
In the Wake is a printed newspaper-style catalogue for the upcoming photography exhibition In the Wake. The work from this series focuses on documenting the people, towns, landscapes, and industrial sites of the Monongahela Valley and the realities of the American Dream. The newspaper will be used to show the photographs in an accessible way in the communities the images document. Newspapers will be distributed in stands, stores, restaurants and public buildings in the 14 cities and towns that In the Wake has documented.
Funded Project of Handmade Arcade supported by grant of $4,000 on October 14, 2011
Hands-On Handmade is a newly created participatory component to Handmade Arcade providing an opportunity for partnerships with local artists and nonprofit arts organizations, augmenting the already popular and award-winning event, which takes place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. Situated on-site, the Hands-on Handmade area offers a variety of short and day-long drop-in interactive programs.
Funded Project of Toonseum supported by grant of $7,500 on October 14, 2011
The Pittsburgh Comics Reading Room and Comics Courtyard will be a publicly accessible courtyard in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District at 945 Liberty Avenue. The courtyard identified by its iconic Jazz Musician statues will feature café tables, outdoor exhibition space, audio, a mini café, a stage for comics reading events and performances, and access to more than 1,000 comics, manga and comic-related research materials. A space within the ToonSeum will be dedicated to that library and provide year-round access to comics and cartoon research. There also will be a special section dedicated to local comic creators.
Funded Project of Thomas Merton Center supported by grant of $1,000 on September 15, 2011
The Book ’Em Branch Out! Project, a collaborative art, fundraising, and public engagement initiative will create dialogue among local residents about how high levels of incarceration are affecting communities, and contribute to building a sustained community driven response. The project aims to increase the capacity and sustainability of the Book ‘Em Books-to-Prisoners project by finding allies and community members who are willing to invest in the project’s mission.
Funded Project supported by grant of $1,000 on August 29, 2011
City of Champions Million Steps Challenge was a large-scale public fitness event that challenged participants to accelerate a healthier lifestyle by counting every step as they engaged in a variety of energetic and fun-filled activities. The goal was to collectively total one million steps at this event while motivating participants to continue to make healthier choices in their personal fitness goals. Participants engaged in a variety of fitness activities and tracked the number of steps they took during this event on September 10, 2011 at the YMCA Homewood.
Funded Project of Big Idea Bookstore supported by grant of $4,940 on August 12, 2011
As a part of the transition to a new location and into a worker-owned cooperative, the Big Idea Bookstore plans to create community curated sections as a way of reaching out and establishing formal connections with other local activist organizations, as well as providing educational resources and events that better fill the needs of their supporters. The Community Curation Program will spread the word about other local organizations doing good work, while continuing to promote ideas of community and social justice as they have for the past decade.
Funded Project supported by grant of $4,500 on August 12, 2011
Musicians With A Mission is a project to encourage talented musicians to share their gifts with patients and their caregivers. One of the main goals of the project is to improve the quality of life of the elderly, who are living longer lives than ever before, but often in loneliness and isolation. Musicians with a Mission seeks to take two large groups that often spend significant time in isolation – musicians and the elderly – and encourage them to enjoy mutual companionship in the context of good music.
Funded Project of The Saxifrage School supported by grant of $5,500 on August 12, 2011
The Nomadic College Design Headquarters from The Saxifrage School will expand the organization’s work envisioning an affordable new college in Pittsburgh by setting up roaming headquarters in the three neighborhoods they are assessing as potential campuses (Millvale, Lower Northside, and the East End). They will set up shop in a donated, vacant space which will serve multiple purposes. The Headquarters will be part office, part public art, and part classroom. In accordance with the school’s philosophy of productive inquiry, there will be a balance of making things and considering ideas.
Funded Project supported by grant of $4,900 on August 12, 2011
War Dialogues facilitates a reconciliation process between veterans and refugees of current wars using creative expression to transcend language and cultural boundaries and the unnamed barriers that occur when attempting to express a traumatic experience. Veterans and refugees are connected and meet regularly in pairs to communicate about their experiences on different sides of the same war or wars using different types of creative expression. As artwork is created, it will be displayed periodically in an attempt to engage a larger local audience, reminding them that we are present in their communities.
Funded Project of playpower.org supported by grant of $25,000 on July 22, 2011
Mobile Applications for Kids from playpower.org is developing new mobile applications that engage, educate and empower young children through a portfolio of creative applications designed to support participatory play and learning between parents and children.
Children’s Innovation Project from CREATE Lab is producing a kit of electric circuitry components designed for young hands to engage young children in broad interdisciplinary learning, with a focus on creative exploration, expression and innovation with technology. Using the kit to hack and remix familiar electrical devices, Children will make connections to objects in their world through disassembling toys, identifying and then re-purposing and reconfiguring their internal components into new inventions.
MakeShop Media from The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a series of digital shows made by and for kids under the direction of Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and The Schmutz Company, with support from the Arts Education Collaborative, Pittsburgh Community Television and other creative partners. MakeShop Media is the first children’s media program to invite children into the vibrant “maker” culture, a growing national movement of tinkerers, inventors, creators and innovators inspired by Make Magazine and Maker Faire.
Funded Project of Greene Arc Inc. supported by grant of $3,500 on July 15, 2011
A collaborative project with Greene County artist Kyle Hallam, Green Arc Green Art engages developmentally disabled adults in art projects that utilize recyclable trash. Designed to improve Greene Arc clients’ sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, the artistic creations will be sold at the recycling center in Ruff Creek, PA, as well as in local galleries and at regional festivals. Larger wall assemblages will be displayed at the GARC facility, in Ryerson State Park, and at the welcome center on Interstate 79 to educate the public about creative uses of recycled materials and sustainability practices.
The Upper Mon River Towns Public Art Program is an initiative to encourage communities along the Monongahela River to relate to the river in a new way and to provide a welcoming element for visitors. The effort will install two new public art projects in the towns of Point Marion (Fayette County) and Greensboro (Greene County). Regional artists will be selected by the host communities on the basis of their creativity in capturing the region’s transforming relationship-from industrial to recreational-with the river.
To promote an increase in trail user traffic in the city of Connellsville, an unused caboose at the northern trailhead will be converted into a welcome center. The project involves the restoration of the caboose façade, the conversion of the interior into an informational area, and the creation of a welcome sign mural. The completed Connellsville Welcome Center will allow trail users to take respite in a welcoming space and will provide access to essential information about dining, lodging, and other businesses and amenities in the city.
