Prototype PGH was founded by E.Louise Larson and Erin Gatz in January 2017 with grant support from the Sprout Fund. Over the course of the year, we engaged over 500 participants in our free workshops and events. We also partnered with the Mayor’s Office on Inclusive Innovation Week, hosted a residency for students from the Ontario College of Art and Design, participated in the AS220 artist residency in Rhode Island, presented at the annual Google design conference, and participated in the Full Circle nonprofit accelerator through Social Venture Partners.

In 2018 we received a grant from Google to engage 1,000 participants in free workshops, incubate 5 emerging organizations, and hire a part-time staff person. We also received a grant from the BNY Mellon Foundation to engage and compensate 100 women of color as educators and participants in technology and entrepreneurial workshops. During our first two years of operations, we were fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising and we benefitted immensely from their Grow Residency program.

In April 2019 we became an official 501(c)(3) non profit organization and offered city-wide workshops in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Manufacturing Assistance Center (Pitt MAC) in Homewood. We also received a grant from Opportunity Fund to support the growth of our incubator. In the summer of 2019, we presented our work at the Nation of Makers Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee as well as the Annual Hackers & Designers Summer Academy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In 2022 and beyond we are continuing to grow our incubator, host workshops in our space, and foster partnerships across Pittsburgh. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the outstanding guidance we receive from Marlene van Nelson at Trellis Legal and Simone Quinerly at Quinerly Financial Group.