Catapult Greater Pittsburgh has achieved another milestone with the launch of its Next Steps Fund. The program will help Black families cover closing costs and down payments needed for buying a home.

In an article for the Pittsburgh City Paper, Catapult’s executive director, Tammy Thompson, said:

“Having our own closing assistance fund has been on our ‘wish list’ for the past several years. As we built our organization’s homeownership program, D.O.O.R (Development Ownership Opportunities for Residents), we saw the frequency with which our participants either believed that they could never save enough money to cover closing costs or cleaned out retirement funds or emergency savings to close. We knew that we wanted to offer support.”

The criteria for families or individuals interested in receiving assistance from the “Next Steps Fund” are as follows:

  • Must be purchasing a home within Allegheny County
  • Cannot earn more than 115% Area Media Income (AMI)
  • Must be a first-time homebuyer
  • Owner Occupant (Buyer must be a full-time resident of the property)
  • Must participate and earn a First Time Homebuyer Certificate in the Catapult Greater Pittsburgh D.O.O.R program.
  • Buyer must contribute no less than 1% of total purchase price to the transaction.

Learn more by visiting Catapult’s website.


Learn more about the creation of the fund via Pittsburgh City Paper.