First-place prize will be more than $500,000. Up to four prizes will be awarded, with total investments of up to $1.5 million.
The Foundation so far has invested $23 million in 67 companies through its Social-Impact Investment program, making the Foundation one of the most active early-stage funders in the region
PITTSBURGH – (October 31, 2025) – The Richard King Mellon Foundation today announced it is launching another Social-Impact Pitch Competition, offering significant startup funding to company founders who seek to use their businesses to create positive social impact.
Applications are due by Dec. 19, and the winners will be announced early in 2026. The first-place winner will receive an investment of more than $500,000. The Foundation anticipates up to four prizes will be awarded, with total investments of up to $1.5 million.
The pitch competition is part of the Foundation’s Social-Impact Investment (SII) Program. The Foundation utilizes its SII program to invest in for-profit companies seeking to create positive social impacts that mesh with the philanthropic priorities of the Foundation’s Strategic Plan. The four primary program areas of that plan are Conservation; Economic Development; Economic Mobility; and Health & Well-Being.
Since the inception of the SII program in 2021, the Foundation so far has invested more than $23 million in 67 social-impact startup companies, making the Foundation one of the most active early-stage funders in the region. The Foundation anticipates it will invest at least $50 million by 2030.
“Pittsburgh has incredible potential to be a national hotbed for socially-minded startups,” said Dr. Destenie Nock, Founder and CEO of Peoples Energy Analytics, the winner of the 2024 SII Pitch Competition. “But the missing piece in launching my company was an investor willing to bet on a founder whose company is guided by a strong social mission. The Foundation has stepped into that void and become one of Pittsburgh’s leading early-stage funders. And because of this our communities are the beneficiaries.”
Applications for the Pitch Competition should be submitted through the Apply page on the Foundation’s website. Additional information on the Social-Impact Investment Program, and the Pitch Competition, can be found here.
This will be the Foundation’s fifth Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition.
Earlier this month, the Foundation announced the four winners of the most recent Pitch Competition. Four social-mission startups received a combined $1.46 million in funding. The $515,000 first-place prize went to Untapped Solutions.
In August 2024, the Foundation awarded four social-impact companies a combined $1.4 million in investments. Peoples Energy Analytics, founded by Nock, won the $500,000 first-place prize.
In February 2023, the Foundation awarded four social-impact companies a combined $1.35 million in investments. The $500,000 first-place prize was won by Resilient Lifescience
The winners of the Foundation’s first Pitch Competition were announced in January 2022. Three companies won a combined $1.05 million in investments. The $500,000 first-place prize was won by Fabric Health.
All told, 15 startups have received investments of more than $5.25 million through the four Pitch Competitions.
While the Pitch Competitions are an important tool in the Foundation’s SII program, most of the Foundation’s SII investments – more than $17 million – have been made outside of the competitions.
The Foundation’s portfolio of SII companies includes meaningful success stories – startups that have utilized their initial Foundation investment to achieve noteworthy business and social-impact successes.
Among these ventures are Peptilogics, which recently closed a $78 million funding round; Module, which was awarded $3 million through the national Affordable Breakthrough Challenge; Optimus Technologies, which closed a $17.8 million Series A round; and Korion Health, which won $1 million through the prestigious Hult Prize competition in London.
Companies applying for an SII investment can be located anywhere in the United States – but the positive social impact generated by the Foundation’s investment must accrue to the benefit of communities in Allegheny and/or Westmoreland counties. The one exception is for startups aligned with the Foundation’s Conservation program, which is national in scope. The positive impacts from conservation-focused startups can be anywhere in the United States.
The Foundation prioritizes startups ranging from pre-seed to Series A. In all instances, the proposed positive social impact should be clear and central to the business plan. Investments are in the form of convertible notes or SAFEs.
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About the Richard King Mellon Foundation: Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s 2024 year-end net assets were $3.1 billion, and its Trustees in 2024 disbursed more than $155 million in grants and program-related investments. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.