Increased awareness and engagement with the Pittsburgh region’s rivers and riverfronts through activities, stewardship and expansion of water and land trails.

For over a decade, Friends of the Riverfront has been on the ground and in the water, working to protect and restore our region’s priceless rivers and riverfronts. We are a pioneering organization that has been involved in creating nearly all of the trails you see as you bike, hike, rollerblade or paddle along our beautiful shores. Through intense collaboration with community partners, government officials, and diverse volunteer base, our rivers and riverfronts have been transformed from industrial wastelands to international examples of environmental renewal.

Friends of the Riverfront was incorporated on February 14th, 1991 to reclaim the city's riverfronts for public access and greenway/recreational use. Now, nearly 20 years later, Friends of the Riverfront is continuing to fulfill our mission. Read on about our history and plans for the future below.

> A brief history of Friends of the Riverfront
> Three-Year Strategic Plan, 2006-2009

THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, 2006-2009
SUMMARY

Supported by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Friends of the Riverfront (FOR) began the process of examining its mission and activities in June of 2005. Kate Dewy of Dewy & Kaye was brought on board to guide the strategic planning process and help the organization listen to its constituents, board of directors and key staff. The result of this six month effort is a relevant, achievable and measurable strategic plan – one that positions FOR for the future.

The planning process explored aspects of the organization from multiple viewpoints and its continuing vital role in the community. In other words, it was critical to come to understand the organization from stakeholders at all levels from all organizations involved. Stakeholders participated in a series of phone and face-to-face interviews, used as input for a draft. Dewey and Kaye worked with the FOR Board to develop a strategic plan based on core principles and a focused mission. The FOR Board adopted the strategic plan on February 22, 2006.

While FOR continues to fine-tune the strategies to meet its new goals and objectives under each program area, it is undertaking projects in three areas: Stewardship, Land Trail Development and Usage, and River Trail Development and Usage.

Strategic planning partners included:

  • Alcoa Corporation
  • Allegheny County Council
  • Allegheny County Department of Economic Development
  • Allegheny Trail Alliance
  • City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning
  • Forest City EnterprisesHeinz Endowments
  • Laurel Foundation
  • PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
  • Pitt-Ohio Express
  • Port of Pittsburgh Commission
  • Riverlife Task Force
  • RK Mellon FoundationSeagate Technology
  • Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
  • Steel Industry Heritage Corporation
  • The Western PA Watershed Protection Program