Envisioning Pittsburgh’s nonprofit sector as innovative, informed, engaged and effective, The Forbes Funds advances capacity building within and among the region’s nonprofit organizations.

As we pursue our vision, we endeavor to respect our values and operating philosophy:

• To engage in activities in which we have distinctive competencies and to seek other organizational partners whenever appropriate;
• To promote continuous learning and capacity building in the organizations we serve and to discourage long-term dependence on outside technical assistance;
• To evaluate our own activities so that we improve the quality and relevance of our portfolio of programs and services;
• To be mindful that efficient management is not an end in itself but rather a means to a better accomplishment of the social and charitable missions of the organizations we serve; and
• To adhere to the highest standards of professional ethics and accountability in all that we do.

The mission of The Forbes Fund is to strengthen the management and policymaking capacity of the nonprofit sector by providing the support, resources and knowledge needed for high performing nonprofits.

We pursue our mission by helping philanthropists to become better grant makers and providers to better serve the needs of their communities.

We accomplish our mission through grantmaking, applied research and sector leadership activities.

The Forbes Funds operates through several guiding principles:

• Our role is to support philanthropy’s goal of good grantmaking while enabling providers to serve well those in need;
• We remain focused on our core competency in the area of grantmaking: diagnostic, clearly defined scope of work, well articulated outcomes and third party support;
• We give leverage grants and enable funders to leverage our core competency around issue specific needs in the community.

Forbes is a familiar and historical name in the Pittsburgh region. General John Forbes commanded the British and Colonial troops who captured Fort Duquesne from the French in November 1758. The fort, situated where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio River, was renamed Fort Pitt, in honor of the British Prime Minister William Pitt. The City of Pittsburgh now stands where Fort Pitt once guarded America’s frontier.

In an address entitled “Early Landmarks and Names of Old Pittsburgh,” delivered at the Carnegie Institute before the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on November 30, 1923, Anne Clark Miller described the name Forbes:

“General Forbes could have honored, or had himself honored, by giving to this city the name Forbesburgh. The whole British nation would have applauded such an act. But he chose to honor one of the world’s greatest men. The name of one of the six main east and west thoroughfares is Pittsburgh’s memorial to General Forbes. One of our largest public schools bears his name — and the tablet at the old Block House, erected by the Daughters in 1915, commemorating the British occupation of Fort Duquesne, is a tribute to his brilliant leadership. ‘Forbes Field,’ at the Forbes Street entrance of Schenley Park, is acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful athletic fields in this country.”

Across Pittsburgh, the Forbes name is as familiar now as it was in 1923 or even in 1758. The Forbes Funds’ name connects us to the region we serve, the region we call home.