We are thrilled to invest in five RISE HIGH Grantee-Partners with $15,000 Growth Grants and a commitment to continued partnership that fuels long-term, community-defined impact!
We recently had the opportunity to meet with each of our new partners to hold a special check presentation and hear firsthand about the meaningful, transformative work they’re leading. Learn more about our partners below!
ReMix Science and Care
ReMix Science and Care is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to careers in science, healthcare, and research for students from historically underrepresented and economically marginalized communities. Through microgrants, mentorship, and resource access, ReMix works to remove financial and structural barriers that often prevent talented students from pursuing and sustaining pathways in STEM and healthcare fields. With this grant, ReMix plans to serve students through a combination of microgrant support and mentorship engagement. Microgrants will help students cover costs associated with standardized testing, professional and graduate school applications, academic materials, technology access, and career-related travel or professional attire. In addition to financial support, the program will host several educational and mentorship events designed to help students navigate complex academic and career pathways. These may include mentorship networking sessions, professional development workshops, and informational discussions with professionals working in healthcare, research, and STEM fields.
SisTers PGH
SisTers PGH is a Black and trans-led nonprofit founded in 2013 by Ciora Thomas, a Black trans woman who experienced homelessness in Pittsburgh. The organization was built directly in response to the gaps and harms Ciora encountered, such as the absence of safe, affirming, non-carceral spaces for Black trans people navigating the housing crisis. Over the past decade, SisTers PGH has grown into a trusted, community-embedded organization serving hundreds of transgender and nonbinary people of color through direct services, housing programs, mutual aid, and policy advocacy. Their work is rooted in abolitionist principles, healing justice, and economic justice, and their leadership and staff are predominantly Black trans women and trans people of color with both lived and professional expertise in housing navigation, case management, harm reduction, and advocacy. Today, SisTers PGH operates three interconnected housing and stabilization programs: The Stonewall Inn Drop-In Center, Project T, and Monica Roberts Place, forming a continuum of care that moves people from immediate crisis toward long-term stability and economic empowerment.
With this grant, SisTers will create a leadership cohort made up of 8-12 BIPOC trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive Pennsylvanians, with a focus on those in or connected to Allegheny County, who are actively engaged in community, movement, or organizational work and ready to grow into formal leadership.
Slappers N Bangers
Slappers N Bangers (SNB) is a Pittsburgh-based cultural platform that builds community grounded in freedom of expression, joy, and safety by honoring Hip Hop culture and Black music. Founded by artists and entrepreneurs rooted in Pittsburgh’s East End and Northside, SNB has grown into one of the city’s most impactful independent cultural experiences, serving over 8,000 attendees across events in the past year alone. SNB creates inclusive, intergenerational spaces that bring together diverse communities while centering Black creativity, local DJs, and emerging artists. Their events function as modern “third spaces”—places outside of home and work where people gather, connect, and build relationships. These spaces are critical in a city where access to culturally relevant, safe, and affirming environments remains uneven.
This funding will support SNB’s overall operations, with a focus on creating greater organizational capacity through implementation of formal operational systems to improve efficiency, communication, and execution.
UWeb TV: Youth Matters
UwebTV is a Pittsburgh‑based media education organization committed to empowering youth through storytelling, digital literacy, and hands‑on creative production. They partner with schools, community centers, and youth‑serving organizations to ensure that young people—especially those in under‑resourced neighborhoods—have access to high‑quality, culturally responsive learning experiences. Youth Matters closes the opportunity gap by providing a structured, production‑based learning experience where teens learn podcasting, talk‑show hosting, interviewing, editing, research, and collaborative storytelling. Participants work with professional teaching artists who reflect their lived experiences and create culturally grounded spaces where youth feel valued and capable. The program centers youth voice in curriculum design, and integrates supports that foster confidence, belonging, and long‑term well‑being. Flexible delivery models—9‑day intensives, 9‑week sessions, and 18‑week extended programs—allow us to meet youth where they are and serve 60–120 participants annually with more than 20 hours of hands‑on training. This funding will allow them to increase their impact, serving ever greater numbers of young people.
Women Against Abusive Relationships (WAAR)
Women Against Abusive Relationships (WAAR) is a survivor-led, community-based organization that provides trauma-informed education, peer support, and resource navigation for individuals impacted by unhealthy and abusive relationships. For more than 20 years, WAAR has worked alongside survivors to help them heal, rebuild, and move toward lives marked by safety, stability, and self-sufficiency. WAAR’s mission is to help individuals thrive beyond abuse by providing tools, knowledge, and supportive connections that promote long-term stability and independence. Its vision is a future in which individuals and families live free from violence and have equitable access to the resources, support systems, and opportunities needed to achieve safety, healing, and economic self-sufficiency. WAAR’s goals are to increase awareness of unhealthy and healthy relationship dynamics, provide accessible education and mental wellness support, strengthen community connections, and advance pathways to economic mobility for survivors. With this funding, WAAR plans to deliver10 structured workshops focused on financial empowerment, trauma-informed decision-making, resource navigation, economic stability, and emotional wellness to a cohort of 30-40 individuals.
