Carnegie Mellon University announced it will give the City of Pittsburgh $3 million over the next five years, becoming the latest major nonprofit to pledge multimillion dollar commitments during the first six months of Mayor Corey O’Connor’s term.

A press release posted to CMU’s website Tuesday says the money will go toward the city’s “Rec2Tech” programming, which increases access to technology for city children, and enhancing green spaces and pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle infrastructure in the city.

“I’d like to thank CMU for this generous donation and investment in the future of Pittsburgh,” O’Connor said in a written statement. “CMU has long been a great partner and a great neighbor.”

CMU President Farnam Jahanian said in a press release that the university and city have “always been deeply intertwined.” 

“We’re excited to extend CMU’s record of supporting communities across the City of Pittsburgh and to continue doing our part to build an even brighter future together,” Jahanian said. 

Pittsburgh mayors have sought for years to obtain greater financial contributions from major universities and healthcare providers, which are largely exempt from property taxes under state law but own a large percentage of city property.

O’Connor said during his 2025 campaign for mayor he would change tact and ask organizations for money to fund specific projects rather than seeking a lump sum. 

UPMC, the city’s largest tax-exempt property owner, made a one-time gift of $10 million for new ambulances in late January. In March, the University of Pittsburgh committed $5 million over five years for parks, business corridors and public safety.

PNC Bank also gave a $2 million gift to the city through its charitable foundation, which O’Connor said at the time of the January announcement will cover the cost of 15 Public Works vehicles.

The city’s large foundations have also offered support for the administration’s priorities. The Heinz Endowments contributed $750,000 to fund the city’s comprehensive plan. And the Richard King Mellon Foundation gave $1.9 million for the city’s Learn & Earn program, Mellon Square upgrades and the Independence Day celebration.

The long-running mayoral quest for nonprofit donations took on new urgency last December when a budget deficit compelled council members to raise taxes, and again this year when new revelations about city spending prompted O’Connor to amend the budget to dig deeper into the city’s rainy day fund.

Without fanfare, the city’s law department pulled the plug on former Mayor Ed Gainey’s legal effort to challenge certain properties’ tax exemptions. The challenges, some of which were levied against properties owned by UPMC, Pitt and other major nonprofits, were largely unsuccessful and drew criticism from O’Connor and other political opponents.

The contribution CMU announced Tuesday averages $600,000 per year over the next five years. The university owned tax-exempt property in the city valued at about $440 million as of a 2022 report by the city and county controllers. If that amount were taxed, the controllers found, CMU would owe the city $3.5 million annually, with another $6.5 million owed to the county and school district. 

Other cities, including major education and healthcare centers like Boston and Providence, and nearby cities Altoona and Erie, have struck deals with nonprofits to voluntarily pay a percentage of the tax exemption, such as 25% or 50%. The $600,000 CMU will pay amounts to 17% of the annual exempt taxes on CMU’s property.

Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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CMU to give Pittsburgh $3 million over five years

by Charlie Wolfson, Pittsburgh's Public Source
June 16, 2026

<h1>CMU to give Pittsburgh $3 million over five years</h1> <p class="byline">by Charlie Wolfson, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />June 16, 2026</p> <p>Carnegie Mellon University announced it will give the City of Pittsburgh $3 million over the next five years, becoming the latest major nonprofit to pledge multimillion dollar commitments during the first six months of Mayor Corey O’Connor’s term.</p> <p>A press release posted to CMU’s website Tuesday says the money will go toward the city’s “Rec2Tech” programming, which increases access to technology for city children, and enhancing green spaces and pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle infrastructure in the city.</p> <p>“I’d like to thank CMU for this generous donation and investment in the future of Pittsburgh,” O’Connor said in a written statement. “CMU has long been a great partner and a great neighbor.”</p> <p>CMU President Farnam Jahanian said in a press release that the university and city have “always been deeply intertwined.”&nbsp;</p> <p>“We’re excited to extend CMU’s record of supporting communities across the City of Pittsburgh and to continue doing our part to build an even brighter future together,” Jahanian said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Pittsburgh mayors have sought for years to obtain greater financial contributions from major universities and healthcare providers, which are largely exempt from property taxes under state law but own a large percentage of city property.</p> <p>O’Connor said during his 2025 campaign for mayor he would change tact and ask organizations for money to fund specific projects rather than seeking a lump sum.&nbsp;</p> <p>UPMC, the city’s largest tax-exempt property owner, made <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/upmc-gifts-pittsburgh-millions-new-ambulances/">a one-time gift of $10 million</a> for new ambulances in late January. In March, the University of Pittsburgh <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/university-pittsburgh-pitt-contribution-city/">committed $5 million over five years</a> for parks, business corridors and public safety.</p> <p>PNC Bank also gave a $2 million gift to the city through its charitable foundation, which O’Connor said at the time of the January announcement will cover the cost of 15 Public Works vehicles.</p> <p>The city’s large foundations have also offered support for the administration’s priorities. The Heinz Endowments contributed $750,000 to fund the city’s comprehensive plan. And the Richard King Mellon Foundation gave $1.9 million for the city’s Learn &amp; Earn program, Mellon Square upgrades and the Independence Day celebration.</p> <p>The long-running mayoral quest for nonprofit donations took on new urgency last December when a budget deficit <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-council-property-tax-budget-vote/">compelled council members to raise taxes</a>, and again this year when new revelations about city spending prompted O’Connor to amend the budget to <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-budget-deficit-overhaul-mayor/">dig deeper into the city’s rainy day fund</a>.</p> <p>Without fanfare, the city’s law department <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2026/06/10/pittsburgh-tax-exempt-properties-oconnor/stories/202606100049">pulled the plug</a> on former Mayor Ed Gainey’s legal effort to challenge certain properties’ tax exemptions. The challenges, some of which were levied against properties owned by UPMC, Pitt and other major nonprofits, were largely unsuccessful and drew criticism from O’Connor and other political opponents.</p> <p>The contribution CMU announced Tuesday averages $600,000 per year over the next five years. The university owned tax-exempt property in the city valued at about $440 million as of a <a href="https://www.pittsburghpa.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/controller/documents/20827_tax-exempt_properties_special_report_1.pdf">2022 report by the city and county controllers</a>. If that amount were taxed, the controllers found, CMU would owe the city $3.5 million annually, with another $6.5 million owed to the county and school district.&nbsp;</p> <p>Other cities, including major education and healthcare centers like Boston and Providence, and nearby cities Altoona and Erie, have struck deals with nonprofits to voluntarily pay a percentage of the tax exemption, such as 25% or 50%. The $600,000 CMU will pay amounts to 17% of the annual exempt taxes on CMU’s property.</p> <p><em>Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.</em></p></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/cmu-pittsburgh-3-million-contribution/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1333956&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/cmu-pittsburgh-3-million-contribution/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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