City of Pittsburgh Charity Challenges: FAQs
Q: What Happened to the One PGH Fund?
In 2022, Mayor Ed Gainey chose to sever ties with the One PGH fund, a privately incorporated non-profit entity, governed by a self-appointing board. As such, the board was not accountable to the public, and the finances of the organization were not subject to the public scrutiny that is otherwise required of government agencies. Mayor Gainey believes that any funds received from the City’s large non-profit institutions must be administered in the same fashion as regular tax dollars and must be subject to the appropriations process established by the City Charter and City Code.
No contributions from Pittsburgh’s major non-profit entities had been made to the One PGH fund at the time that the City severed ties. The fund had applied for and been awarded a small number of philanthropic grants, some of which were completed and others of which were cancelled as they were not ultimately viable.
One PGH had received grant funding to complete a greenspace management project in Hazelwood, which was completed, and a grant to conduct a Universal Basic Income pilot program, which was cancelled due to flaws in the program design that presented serious legal challenges. The City is not aware of the status of any programs or contracts undertaken by the One PGH Fund after ties were severed.
Q: What is the current status of the City’s non-profit tax challenges?
Approximately one third of all city property is currently untaxed. To ensure tax fairness, Mayor Gainey undertook a comprehensive property review to ensure that tax-exempt entities were fulfilling their obligations as purely public charities. Since 2023, the City has filed challenges against 402 properties. After unacceptable delays in the review process, the City took action against the County Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review to compel it to begin making determinations, which either party can appeal in court, where more robust arguments about charitable status and the HUP test can be heard. At present 263 properties remain to be determined by the County. Of those that have been reviewed, 34 have lost their tax-exempt status. These numbers may change as the City or property owners appeal to the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review (BPAAR) and/or the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
To execute on the review initiative, the City has predominantly used its in-house attorneys to challenge tax-exempt properties. The City acquired outside counsel to assure that the City’s review and challenge of tax-exempt properties is in compliance with the legal landscape. The City has spent $247,436.54 on outside counsel since 2023. Appeals won during this period will generate approximately $94,000.00/yr every year, an amount that will cover the cost of the outside counsel within three years.
Q: Where do discussions with the Big 4 stand?
The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Finance estimates that without its status as a purely public charity UPMC would owe the city alone approximately $35,000,000 each year. In other cities where UPMC has PILOT agreements they pay between 40% and 50% of what their obligation would be where they taxable. After discussing a $12.5M annual contribution to the City, UPMC abruptly modified their proposal, saying that the $12.5M contribution would need to be divided between the City and County. Mayor Gainey informed UPMC representatives that that proposal was insufficient, and discussions broke off.
In January 2025, Mayor Gainey called on the leaders of the “Big 4” (Highmark, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University) to meet with him before the end of the month to “finalize an agreement for predictable, proportional financial support for the core services provided by city government.
UPMC withdrew from a scheduled meeting in the fall of 2024 and has declined to meet with the Administration in 2025. No meetings have occurred in 2025, as representatives of UPMC have declined to participate. However, Highmark indicated in their statement to the mayor that they are prepared to reach a contribution agreement, but only if the other Big 4 institutions participate. UPMC has declined to engage in further discussions this year.
Does the City have any payment in lieu of taxes agreements in place and if so how much has the city collected?
The City of Pittsburgh currently has 23 active PILOT agreements, the vast majority of which are with subsidized housing providers operating on land owned by the Housing Authority. These include:
| Paying Entity |
Year Initiated |
| Addison Terrace Phase 1 |
1998 |
| Addison Terrace Phase 2 |
1998 |
| Addison Terrace Phase 3 |
1998 |
| Addison Terrace Phase 4 |
1988 |
| Allequippa Terrace (1C) |
1988 |
| Allequippa Terrace (1E) |
1988 |
| Allequippa Terrace LP (1A) |
1988 |
| Allequippa Terrace LP II (1B) |
1988 |
| Allequippa Terrace LP IV (1D) |
1988 |
| Bedford Dwellings |
1988 |
| Duquesne University (Palumbo Center) |
1976 (amended 1991) |
| East End (Silverlake) Senior Housing |
1988 |
| Fairmont Apts. |
1988 |
| Forward Housing |
1995 |
| Garfield Common / Heights |
1988 |
| Glen Hazel |
1988 |
| Housing Authority (HUD) |
1998 |
| Lou Mason |
2005 |
| NCSC/USA |
2003 |
| North Aiken Commons |
1988 |
| Residential Resources |
2005 |
| St. Justin’s Plaza |
2017 |
| Sweetbriar |
2013 |
Since 2020, the City has collected in PILOTs:
| Year |
PILOT Revenue |
| 2020 |
$482,221.68 |
| 2021 |
$530,718.38 |
| 2022 |
$333,356.00 |
| 2023 |
$421,575.23 |
| 2024 |
$689,805.83 |
| 2025 |
$238,889.28 (YTD, collections ongoing) |
| Total |
$2,696,566.40 |