The Paul L. and Berta Klopsch Trust is a private foundation located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that funds a handful of organizations, contributing roughly the same amount to the same five or six organizations annually.

The organization has no listed trustees of offices and is in the sole care of PNC Bank, which acts as the trustee, making the history of the organization and its named benefactors unclear. Groups that receive annual funding from the foundation include the American Red Cross, Project Hope, and left-of-center criminal-justice think tank Evident Change. ^{1 2}

Background

The Paul L. and Berta Klopsch Trust has been in the sole trusteeship of PNC bank since at least 2001, and since that time the giving amounts, organizations funded, and total assets of the organization have remained relatively unchanged. The history of the organization’s named benefactors and whether the bank is carrying out their giving plans is not publicly known. ³

The foundation’s assets have ranged from $1 million to $1.5 million since 2001 and it has provided grants to mostly the same organizations since that time with grants ranging from $4,000 to $20,000 annually, depending on the organization and the year. ⁴

Funding

In 2022, the foundation’s grantees include Evident Change (formerly the National Council on Crime and Delinquency), Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), United Way of Passaic County, the American Red Cross, and Project Hope. ⁵  

Evident Change (formerly the National Council on Crime and Delinquency), a left-of-center criminal justice organization, has received funding from the foundation since at least 2001. The foundation gave just over $10,000 to Evident Change in 2022. ⁶

1. Return of Private Foundation (IRS Form 990). Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/226485688/202210879349100016/full
2. “Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund.” ProPublica. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/226485688
3. Return of Private Foundation (IRS Form 990). Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/226485688/202210879349100016/full
4. Return of Private Foundation (IRS Form 990). Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund. 2001. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/226485688/2002_08_PF%2F22-6485688_990PF_200112
5. Return of Private Foundation (IRS Form 990). Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/226485688/202210879349100016/full
6. Return of Private Foundation (IRS Form 990). Paul L and Berta Klopsch Trust Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/226485688/202210879349100016/full