Like many nonprofit leaders around the world, Susanne Cole was initially baffled by an email she received in 2022 stating that her organization, Pressley Ridge, had been awarded $10 million by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
But once she verified that the unsolicited funding was indeed a valid gift, Ms. Cole and her team at the McCandless-based nonprofit embarked on “deep-dive strategy planning” to determine how best to use the money, she says.
“We were fortunate enough to be in a position that we didn’t need it for operations,” says Cole, president and chief executive of Pressley Ridge, which provides foster care and supportive programs for at-risk children and families.
The $10 million Scott grant is positioned as the “catalyst” for an ambitious $25 million fundraising campaign to renovate one of the schools at Pressley Ridge’s main campus on Marshall Avenue, North Side, and help broaden its reach to serve at least 2,000 more children by 2029.
Pressley Ridge traces its roots to the Protestant Orphan Asylum, founded in 1832 on the North Side.
That institution later became the Protestant Home for Children and in the 1960s, merged with Pressley House — formerly the Pittsburgh and Allegheny Home for the Friendless — to become the Pressley Ridge School.
In addition to foster care and adoption services, it now operates five schools in Pennsylvania for children with behavioral challenges, a school for children who are deaf or diagnosed with autism, and offers residential, in-home and outpatient programs for mental health treatment and counseling in a total of seven states, says Cole.
With annual revenues of $120 million, the agency serves approximately 8,600 children and families and employs about 1,100 full-time workers, she says.
In its five-year strategic plan unveiled last year, Pressley Ridge aims to expand its clientele by providing child welfare services and training nationwide.
It expects key growth through initiatives like its subsidiary, Texas Family Care Network, established after Texas lawmakers in 2017 shifted responsibility for foster care and related initiatives to the private sector.
“It’s about repositioning the responsibility of taking care of kids and families through private agencies vs. the state government,” says Cole.
“We think that is the future of child welfare across the U.S.”
In Texas and other states where it operates, “We hire local people to do the services and we provide the resources and administration,” says Cole.
Its strategic plan also calls for Pressley Ridge to address racial diversity, equity and disability inclusion as it expands its services.
Cole does not shy away from those terms despite current political controversy surrounding DEI initiatives.
“People need to understand that there are a disproportionate number of children of color in the foster care system who are unable to reach [permanent homes] or adoption,” says Cole.
Pressley Ridge is using data “to drive our interventions,” she says.
Among the research it cites is a study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation that said in 2021, Black children represented 14% of the total child population in the U.S. but accounted for 22% of all children in foster care. aecf.org/blog/us-foster-care-population-by-race-and-ethnicity↗
Pressley Ridge does not receive any direct funding from the federal government that could be in danger of cuts by the Trump administration over DEI initiatives, Cole says.
However, it could experience reductions if the federal government cuts funding to state programs that benefit Pressley Ridge clients, especially Medicaid benefits, says Cole.
“We serve Medicaid clients so that’s our biggest concern,” she says.
Its fundraising effort, “We R … The Campaign for Pressley Ridge” to date has raised $14.8 million.
Of the total $25 million goal, $17 million is targeted for renovations to a 60-year-old school at its Marshall Avenue site that serves children with emotional and behavioral challenges.
Besides Scott’s gift, it has generated donations from local philanthropies including $750,000 from the Allegheny Foundation; $250,000 from the Hillman Family Foundations; $175,000 from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust; and $50,000 from the Massey Charitable Trust.
It also received a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
On May 6, Pressley Ridge held its first day of giving, “Home is Where Hope Grows,” featuring flower-planting activities at its Marshall Avenue campus.
The event, which coincided with National Foster Care Awareness Day, raised nearly $13,000 from more than 100 donors.
“The ceremonial planting reminds us that small actions, rooted in care, can grow into something monumental,” Matt Millet, vice president of development at Pressley Ridge, said in a statement.
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