Two dates anchor the history of a Pittsburgh grantmaking organization that has quietly funded environmental and population work for decades. The Colcom Foundation was established in 1996 by Cordelia S. May, then 68, and it received the majority of its funding nine years later, following her death in 2005.

Roots Going Back to 1952

The story behind those two dates stretches back much further, to 1952, when May, then just 23, began supporting family planning causes. She had come to believe that population growth is difficult to perceive on any given day, but that its accumulated effects on ecosystems could eventually become overwhelming. That conviction guided her giving for more than four decades before the Colcom Foundation existed as a formal entity.

A Mission Defined by Continuity

Since its founding, the Colcom Foundation has described its central purpose as fostering a sustainable environment so that Americans can preserve their quality of life, specifically by confronting the causes and consequences of overpopulation on natural resources. The organization argues that modern environmental problems, including habitat loss, pollution, and biodiversity decline, are frequently discussed without acknowledgment of the population pressures behind them. The foundation can fund land purchase and conservation projects in addition to popular media initiatives like the Environmental Integrity Project, the National Aviary, and Tree Pittsburgh. With this help, the Allegheny Front radio show, which focuses on environmental concerns, can better reach its listeners.

The foundation also emphasizes how it sees its founder’s legacy fitting into a longer historical pattern. It compares her early and often unpopular views to other reformers who were misunderstood in their own time, from civil rights advocates during Lincoln’s era to Galileo centuries earlier.

Beyond its national environmental focus, the Colcom Foundation supports conservation projects, cultural organizations, and other regional efforts based near its Pittsburgh headquarters. Every grant, according to the foundation, is intended to reflect the humanitarian goals and foresight that defined May’s life, connecting a philosophy formed in 1952 to grantmaking decisions still being made today. Few funders can trace such a direct line between a founder’s early beliefs and an active giving program three decades later. Refer to this article for related information.

 

More about Colcom Foundation on https://waterlandlife.org/land-conservation/colcom-revolving-fund-for-local-land-trusts/