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The Mellon family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Thomas Mellon. It is estimated to have a net worth of $14.1 billion as of 2024.[1]

Background

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The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential family originally of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., and its vicinity. In addition to their foundation of BNY Mellon, they were also principal investors or majority owners of companies such as Alcoa, Gulf Oil, Koppers, Westinghouse, with major influence in Credit Suisse First Boston, General Motors, H.J. Heinz, Newsweek, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and U.S. Steel. The Mellon family created trolly amusement parks in the late 1800s along their railway lines for public use. Both Kennywood and Idlewild Park remain in existence.[2][3]

The family has also been known for using its wealth to support philanthropic work in the arts, education and conservation through various nonprofit organizations. It founded the National Gallery of Art and is a major patron to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia. Individual members of the Mellon family have created private foundations and donated to museums and protected areas.[4]

Foundations

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The Richard King Mellon Foundation was created by Richard King Mellon in 1947. It primarily works in Pennsylvania to preserve and restore the area's natural environment.[5] In 2001 the foundation donated two tracts of land, totaling 61,633 acres, to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for the Maurepas Swamp WMA. Between 2001 and 2011 another 12,000 acres were gained through purchases and donations. In 2012 another 29,630 acres (The MC Davis Tract) was acquired from The Conservation Fund. Subsequent acquisitions of the Rathborne, Boyce, and Crusel tracts gave the WMA 122,098 acres.[6] The foundation was reported to have $3.4 billion in net assets as of 2022 and is considered one of the 50 largest foundations in the world.[7]

Laurel Foundation is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1951 by Cordelia Scaife May. The foundation's website lists its principal funding areas as "arts and culture, environment and conservation, vocational education, and community development/beautification".[8] In 2003, the Laurel Foundation allocated $750,000 to acquire a George Washington manuscript at auction as well as a set of orders signed by British Major-General Edward Braddock. The foundation had also contributed to the PBS miniseries, The War that Made America around that time.[9]

The Colcom Foundation was established by Cordelia Scaife May in 1996, where she was its chairman. Her philanthropic work centered around the intersection environmentalism and population growth in the United States. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and "supports conservation, environmental projects, and cultural assets" in the area. According to the organization, it is also "the most important foundation donors to immigration-control organizations".[10][11][12][13][14][15]

Scaife Foundations

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The Allegheny Foundation was established by Richard Mellon Scaife as a grant-making organization for "historic preservation, civic development and education".[16] After his death, $364 million was left to the Allegheny Foundation. Its donations have gone to Point Park University for the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Saint Vincent College and the Extra Mile Education Foundation, among others.[17] The organization is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[18]

The Scaife Family Foundation was created by Jennie Scaife which is "almost exclusively a supporter of animal welfare and other humanitarian issues."[19] It was previously known for funding conservative groups and was among the largest contributors to the climate change denial movement from 2003 to 2010.[20][21][22] It has also donated significant sums to the University of Pittsburgh.[23]

The Sarah Scaife Foundation funds politically conservative organizations and think tanks at the national and international level in areas such as economics and public policy. It has awarded more than $235 million to organizations such as the George C. Marshall Institute, Project for the New American Century, the Institute for Humane Studies,[24] Reason Foundation,[25] and Judicial Watch. The Carthage Foundation, which worked to influence public discourse and contribute to policy development with limited government, merged with the Sarah Scaife Foundation in 2014.[26] It does not award grants to individuals.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Cappiello, Emily. "Mellon family". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  2. ^ "Life Magazine, May 14, 1956 - Gainsborough look, fashion". oldlifemagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  3. ^ "How BNY Mellon Became A Towering Pillar Of Global Finance - Maxim". www.maxim.com. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  4. ^ "The Mellon Family And The Start Of The National Gallery Of Art". NPR. 2016-06-07.
  5. ^ Daparma, Ron (August 31, 2007), "Master developer sought for Hazelwood", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, PA
  6. ^ Maurepas Swamp WMA - Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Retrieved 2016-08-07
  7. ^ MacBride, Elizabeth. "The Son Of A Single Mom, He Rose From Poverty To Lead One Of The World's Largest Foundations". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  8. ^ "Laurel Foundation". laurelfdn.org. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ Pitz, Marylynne (February 10, 2003). "Laurel Foundation funds purchase of documents". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  10. ^ "About". Colcom Foundation. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  11. ^ Brown, Abram (July 21, 2014). "175 Years Later, The Mellons Have Never Been Richer. How'd They Do It?". Forbes.
  12. ^ Keefer, Marsha. "Pittsburgh Fred Rogers statue restored by local volunteers". Beaver County Times. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  13. ^ "Mellon Heiress Bequeaths Most of Estate to Foundations, Conservation Groups". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  14. ^ "Cordelia May, 76". The Washington Post. 2005-01-27.
  15. ^ "Pittsburgh's Colcom Foundation plays major role in immigration-control debate". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  16. ^ "Allegheny Foundation". Foundation Directory Online. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. ^ Lord, Rich (January 14, 2017). "Enlarged Allegheny Foundation gushes with grants". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Allegheny Foundation". Scaife Foundations. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  19. ^ David Callahan, Ghost of the Past? Hardly: Scaife's Philanthropic Empire Is Thriving, Inside Philanthropy (June 9, 2014).
  20. ^ Isaac Stanley-Becker & Craig Timberg, Trump's allies turned to online campaign in quest to unmask Ukraine whistleblower, Washington Post (November 7, 2019).
  21. ^ Howard Kurtz, Reason's Altered Rationale, Washington Post (November 5, 2001).
  22. ^ Schultz, Colin (23 December 2013). "Meet the Money Behind the Climate Denial Movement". Smithsonian. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  23. ^ Ade Adeniji, A Look at the Sarah Scaife Foundation's Higher Ed Grantmaking, Inside Philanthropy (April 21, 2015).
  24. ^ "Sarah Scaife Foundation Annual Report" (PDF). 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  25. ^ Stewart, James B. (13 June 2012). "How Broccoli Landed on Supreme Court Menu". The New York Times.
  26. ^ "The Carthage Foundation". Scaife Foundations.
  27. ^ Lord, Rich (25 October 2014). "Scaife-related foundations poised to take bigger stage". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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