PG series didn’t give a complete picture of nonprofits’ role

I was saddened to see that the Post-Gazette’s series on the role of nonprofits in our city (“Untaxed Power,” Sept. 10-13) failed to truly characterize the colossal work that philanthropy over decades has provided our region as a backstop to what would have inevitably been social and economic decay.

Our nonprofit sector has done and still does a magnificent job. But it cannot be evaluated simply as a single all-encompassing sector, by giving equal comparison between major organizations, such as our medical institutions and universities, and the vast majority of nonprofits, many of which struggle day in and day out to deliver critical services and to make our community a better place to live.

Most important, there is nothing new about Pittsburgh’s tradition of publicprivate economic development partnerships. It was my friend Jack Heinz (H.J. Heinz II), then head of the H.J. Heinz Co., who partnered with mayors Pete Flaherty and Richard Caliguiri in the 1970s and 1980s along with other foundation leaders to develop an ambitious vision for a revitalizationof Downtown.

Jack Heinz’s vision focused on what we now call the Cultural District: then an area of derelict buildings known for crime and prostitution and now transformed into a jewel in Pittsburgh’s Downtown. And the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, for which I was honored to be founding president, managed significant foundation investments in streetscaping, parks, land acquisition and public art while maintaining an infrastructure of core facilities and institutions to sustain the venture.

For the Heinz family, this progressive model of collaboration continued after the death of Jack Heinz in 1987 under the caring leadership of Sen. John Heinz and then Teresa Heinz as chairs of The Heinz Endowments. Among her many contributions to our city, Teresa Heinz was instrumental in orchestrating the revival of Pittsburgh’s riverfronts with the creation of the Riverlife Task Force. Coincidentally, the Post-Gazette’s former editor John Craig served as a founding board member of Riverlife.

I am convinced that we would not have a Downtown to be proud of without the PittsburghCultural Trust and Riverlife. Indeed Pittsburgh’s Downtown resurgence is the envy of cities across the country. Far from celebrating the pivotal role of nonprofits in our region, as employers and as sources of vibrant transformation in our communities, the PG’s stories are unfortunatelydisappointing. CAROL R. BROWN

Oakland