Colcom Foundation

Colcom Foundation is an anti-immigration private foundation established in 1996 by Cordelia Scaife May, a Mellon family heiress. It is a major funding source for the anti-immigration movement in the United States,  supporting several organizations designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The foundation also focuses on population control, environmental conservation, and civic and environmental projects, especially in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area where it is based.

History
The Colcom Foundation was founded in 1996 by Cordelia Scaife May, an heiress to the Mellon family. The foundation has stated that their mission is "to promote sustainable immigration that won’t overwhelm the environment or the economy". When May died in 2005, she left close to half of her fortune to the Colcom Foundation, which totaled over $400 million. The foundation is one of the main financial supporters of the anti-immigration movement in the United States,   with 58% of 2016 donations and 80% of 2017 donations going to anti-immigrant groups. Several of the groups funded by the Colcom Foundation have been designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), including American Border Patrol, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

In 2020, immigrant rights activists launched a campaign to discourage Pittsburgh-area civic and environmental groups from accepting money from the Colcom Foundation. Several organizations subsequently severed their ties to the foundation.

Civic and environmental projects
Grants have supported the following projects:
 * Planters throughout Downtown Pittsburgh recycling hard-to-dispose waste for multiple years
 * Conservation of Sycamore Island in the Allegheny River
 * Matching funds to activate Pittsburgh’s downtown streets in the Paris to Pittsburgh Project
 * Water quality studies in the Monongahela River
 * Revolving loan fund enabling land trusts to rapidly consummate vital land conservancy projects
 * Marcellus Environmental Fund to assess and address risks of shale drilling
 * Mt. Washington land conservation
 * Tribute to Children monument honoring Mister Rogers
 * Kids Zone at the Three Rivers Regatta
 * Support for the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh summit
 * Completing a bridge for bicyclists on the Great Allegheny Passage near Pittsburgh
 * Curatorial salaries for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
 * Matching funds to renovate the fountain at historic Point State Park
 * Supporting the conversion of the Brilliant Line into a dedicated bike and pedestrian trail