Both The Post-Gazette and The Tribune-Review are reporting William Trueheart's retirement from his post as President and CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
It brings to mind that The Pittsburgh Foundation did respond to my request for a comment on The Pittsburgh Promise, though the answer didn't arrive until the day after my story aired.
Here's what spokesman John Ellis wrote via e-mail on August 30th:
Bob:
Regarding our conversation about the Pittsburgh Promise, The Pittsburgh Foundation’s position is that we look forward to seeing the detailed plans for this initiative that are currently being formulated by Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Mayor and that we would consider any funding opportunities at that time. I would just add that The Pittsburgh Foundation has been a consistently strong supporter of the School District, and of Supt Mark Roosevelt’s reform agenda.
Please let me know if you need anything more.
Kindest regards,
John
The Pittsburgh Foundation response strikes me as similar to that from The Heinz Endowments, though without the underlying cautious tone of the latter. See my last blog post to compare.
A question that comes to mind is whether the transition in the leadership at The Pittsburgh Foundation will delay its consideration of support for the Pittsburgh Promise.
Friday, September 7, 2007
The Pittsburgh Foundation & The Pittsburgh Promise
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2 comments:
"A question that comes to mind is whether the transition in the leadership at The Pittsburgh Foundation will delay its consideration of support for the Pittsburgh Promise."
I'd say it's equally likely that the transition will SPEED the consideration. Which is to say, I think it's most likely to make no difference at all.
The subtext of both of those letters is, "Gee, if you figure out what you want us to do, exactly, we'll start thinking about whether or not we want to do it."
They both might conceivably ALSO be saying, "No, we'd rather not do the research and heavy-lifting for you pro-bono, we have better things to do."
Bram,
The question I raised is whether factors unrelated to the merits of The Pittsburgh Promise could delay its endorsement by this one foundation. Those factors might include whether the foundation's decision-making process is driven by the executive, by the board, or by the staff. Is a new CEO already in line or must one be recruited? (See Link.) How quickly will that person be up to speed to endorse a decision?
"A question that comes to mind" isn't a coy way of saying "it is the case". It's an unknown, and the answer will be based on the impact of specific variables that aren't known to us right now. The fact that there are two possibilities subject to unknown variables don't make both possibilities "equally likely". The answer could already be a sure thing, either way. Have you heard anything to suggest that Trueheart's departure will "speed the consideration"?
Whatever the answer proves to be for The Pittsburgh Foundation, it's just one of a number of foundations, non-profits, corporations, or individuals being asked to support the Pittsburgh Promise.
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