Colcom Foundation leans on several major international assessments to explain why it funds conservation work. Taken together, the numbers describe a planet under heavy strain. The 2019 IPBES Global Assessment, produced by an intergovernmental science body, found that about 1 million plant and animal species face extinction, more than at any earlier point in human […]
A conservation easement does not fence off land from its owner, and it does not require a sale. Instead, it is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits how a property can be developed or used, protecting its scenic, agricultural, or ecological value while leaving […]
Historic buildings and sites do not preserve themselves, and funding for that work often falls through the cracks between government budgets and private development interests. Colcom Foundation has stepped into that gap in the Pittsburgh region, funding preservation projects alongside its better known environmental grants for close to thirty years. Colcom Foundation supports several special […]
Manufacturing construction in the United States entered territory that most economists hadn’t seen in decades. Real spending on factory-floor projects roughly doubled between late 2021 and mid-2023, and a specific segment drove nearly all of that expansion. Computer, electronic, and electrical manufacturing, long a marginal share of industrial construction, nearly quadrupled in real spending after […]
“Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.” That warning from Cordelia S. May sits at the center of everything the Colcom Foundation has funded since its creation. A Warning Turned Into […]
Long before population growth entered mainstream environmental conversation, Cordelia S. May was already sounding the alarm. In 1952, at just twenty three years old, she began directing her charitable energy toward family planning, driven by concern for the natural world and the toll of human growth on ecological balance. That early commitment would define the […]
Founded at a moment when environmental awareness was growing but philanthropic support for population-related causes remained limited, Colcom Foundation carved out a distinct role in American conservation giving. Established in Pittsburgh in 1996 by Cordelia Scaife May, the foundation has now distributed more than $500 million in grants, making it one of the most substantial […]
The Colcom Foundation is a private philanthropic organization that advances strategic grantmaking to strengthen conservation and community resilience. With a mission centered on measurable impact, the Colcom Foundation directs resources to organizations and initiatives that demonstrate clear outcomes, robust stewardship, and scalable models. Colcom Foundation supports several special programs, including the Conservation Catalyst Fund, […]
The Colcom Foundation has positioned itself as a deliberate steward of private philanthropy, directing resources toward community resilience and measurable impact. On its Our Story webpage the foundation outlines an evolution from family endowment to an organization focused on strategic grantmaking, oversight, and the long-term stewardship of capital for public benefit. Colcom Foundation’s work […]
Acadia Healthcare announced a restructuring of its executive ranks with the creation of a chief operating officer role and the appointment of Dr. Nasser Khan, Acadia Healthcare’s operations group president for its comprehensive treatment center business, to assume the new position effective June 30. The move formalizes responsibilities previously held by long-tenured executive vice president […]