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The Heinz Endowments are among the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States.
Based in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the Heinz Endowments consist of two private foundations, the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, and its monies originate from the Heinz family, founders of H. J. Heinz Company. It is led by Teresa Heinz, wife of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
Its mission is "to help southwestern Pennsylvania thrive as a whole community—economically, ecologically, educationally, and culturally—while advancing the state of knowledge and practice in the fields in which we work."
The Heinz Endowments grant more than $60 million annually to nonprofit organizations.
There is no connection between the Heinz Endowments and the H.J Heinz Company.
In 2014, former Pittsburgh Foundation president and CEO Grant Oliphant became president of the Endowments. [1] He had been associated with the Heinz family since joining the staff of U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III in 1988 and had served the Heinz Endowments in management roles before helming the Pittsburgh Foundation.
One of the Heinz Endowments' mandates is increase environmental protection through "promot[ing] environmentally responsible land use, site development and building practices...[and] encourag[ing] greater public- and private-sector involvement in environmental protection and health" [2]. In recent years, the Heinz Endowments have increasingly provided grants to projects scrutinizing natural gas drilling [3]. Through grants to organizations like the Clean Water Action, which aims to "remedy the power imbalance favoring polluters", the Heintz foundation funds initiatives seeking stricter drilling regulations [4].