Pittsburgh just landed a seven-figure boost for its public safety pipeline, with city officials announcing Friday that the Ross and Carol Nese Foundation has awarded a $1 million grant to expand recruitment for police, fire and emergency medical services. The money will be presented to Pittsburgh City Council for consideration.
In a post on the City of Pittsburgh, officials said the foundation's board approved the $1,000,000 award and that the funds will fund staffing and operations for recruitment efforts for the city's public safety bureaus. Mayor Corey O'Connor added that the grant will help invest in staffing, attract public safety talent, recruit a diverse workforce, and create job opportunities for veterans, according to the bulletin.
The City has received a $1 million grant from the Ross and Carol Nese Foundation to invest in expanding recruitment efforts for future @PghPublicSafety first responders.
— City of Pittsburgh (@Pittsburgh) July 17, 2026
Learn more: https://t.co/AkLQqrGDtp pic.twitter.com/HCpZwpsaHe
About the donor
The Ross and Carol Nese Foundation is a Pittsburgh-based private foundation that reported roughly $17.7 million in net assets on its most recent federal filings, according to ProPublica. The Ross and Carol Nese Foundation highlights support for veteran workforce programs and first-responder training efforts, and foundation records show recent giving tied to programs that build pathways for veterans and other residents into public-safety careers.
Part of a broader funding push
The Nese gift comes as part of a broader wave of public and private investments aimed at reinforcing Pittsburgh's first-responder ranks. In late June, Highmark and UPMC announced a combined $45 million investment to support first responders, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. The O'Connor administration also recently secured $800,000 to expand unhoused outreach, per a City of Pittsburgh press release.
Next steps
The $1 million grant will be formally presented to Pittsburgh City Council for consideration. If approved, the city says it will use the funds to hire recruitment staff, run outreach campaigns and build hiring pipelines. Officials say outreach will prioritize veterans and applicants from neighborhoods that are underrepresented in the city's public-safety workforce.
