The Forbes Funds Announces New GPNP Director

by | March 12, 2021 | News

March 12, 2021

For Immediate Release              Contact: Olivia Benson, COO                                                                                                                            info@Forbesfunds.org    

The Forbes Funds announces new director of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership and plans for 2021 Summit

Pittsburgh, PA: The Forbes Funds, a supporting organization of The Pittsburgh Foundation, announced a new director of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership (GPNP). Colleen Young joins the organization after a year-long strategic alignment process, where more than 200 regional stakeholders shared their vision for the future of the region’s largest nonprofit network.

“Nonprofit organizations are vital to healthy, thriving communities,” said Young, who joined as director of GPNP on March 1st. “The nonprofit sector employs thousands across the region and has been hard hit by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, deeply affecting our ability to serve people and communities. My vision is for GPNP to continue to be a catalyst to unite the sector, leverage much needed resources, advocate for just and equitable policies, and generate cross-sector collaborations that will lead to the revitalization of organizations and communities across the region.”

Young joins The Forbes Funds from the University of Pittsburgh, where she most recently served as the director of community programs at the Office of Child Development. During her tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, Young partnered with nonprofit organizations, community members, schools and government officials to improve the quality of services and advocate for just policies to address critical issues impacting the lives of families and communities. Young is currently the board secretary for Just Harvest and has volunteered on numerous advisory committees for Allegheny County Departments of Human Services and Health, Pittsburgh Public Schools, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Women for a Healthy Environment, among others. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh in 2008, Young lived in Virginia and Washington, DC, where she worked for both 501c(3) and 501c(4) organizations supporting advocacy efforts around women’s retirement and environmental justice.

Young’s appointment reflects a strategic focus to unite the region through grassroots community engagement that fosters a shared vision for moving forward. GPNP will explore optimizing the network through a racial equity lens that honors all people, while building on the core strengths of organizations and leaders to cultivate practices that are agile and iterative. The target audience for GPNP’s 2021 programs are nonprofits with budgets less than $1 million (consisting of 50% of the GPNP network) and organizations led by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQIA+, veteran, immigrant and refugee, and disabled community leaders. Young’s ability to build sustainable coalitions, partnerships and strategic alliances are critical to GPNP’s future.

“The Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership is a premier convenor of nonprofit organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania and serves as a unifying voice on community needs and public policies,” said Fred Brown, president and CEO of The Forbes Funds. “We know that COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the sector, with many nonprofits facing tough new realities and challenges. With Colleen joining The Forbes Funds to lead the GPNP network, we are confident that we have the right person in place to fight for public policies, convene stakeholders and position the sector to be more collaborative and innovative.”

In addition to shaping the 2021 GPNP Summit, Young will lead public policy efforts for the network in collaboration with The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Forbes Funds. The 2019 Summit hosted more than 1,000 attendees from around the world.

Over the past two years, GPNP leadership has been vacant. Hannah Locop, program manager, served as a vital catalyst in the work executed over the past twenty-four months to recalibrate GPNP. The selection of Colleen Young marks a significant milestone for GPNP. Over the aforementioned period, The GPNP Advisory Board, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Forbes Funds have worked together to usher change in the region through Young’s selection.  

For more than three decades, The Forbes Funds has advanced the well-being of western Pennsylvania’s nonprofit sector by helping human services and community development nonprofits build their management, leadership and adaptive capacities. The Forbes Funds supports the region’s nonprofit organizations, big and small, through local, national and international partnerships. Since March 2020, The Forbes Funds has expanded key services to nonprofits struggling in the wake of COVID. To learn more about The Forbes Funds, visit www.forbesfunds.org.

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