As a fifth philanthropy announced a gift to the Pittsburgh Promise, the scholarship program yesterday said a campaign for corporate donations will begin in earnest early next year.

The Grable Foundation, Downtown, pledged $5 million to the Promise over five years. That would be the 32-year-old foundation's largest gift ever.

The Promise provides college scholarships to students of the Pittsburgh Public Schools and city charter schools who meet certain academic and enrollment requirements. For those graduating from high school through 2011, the maximum total scholarship is $20,000 per person. For those graduating in 2012 and later, the maximum is set at $40,000 per person.

Individual scholarship amounts vary for various reasons, including the cost of attending a given postsecondary institution. The money may be used at any of about 100 approved colleges, universities and trade schools.

"The Grable Foundation is pleased to support an initiative that we believe will improve student achievement and see an increasing number of people move into the city," Gregg Behr, the foundation's executive director, said in a statement.

City school board member Bill Isler is on Grable's board of directors.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and school Superintendent Mark Roosevelt announced the Promise in December 2006, saying it would encourage middle-class families to move into, or stay in, the city. The program awarded its first scholarships to about 750 students who graduated in June.

The biggest donor has been the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which last December announced a $10 million grant and $90 million challenge grant. To leverage the $90 million, Promise officials must raise $135 million from various sources within a decade.

So far, the city's philanthropic community, long involved in school district improvement efforts, has led the match effort, pledging $25 million over about 10 years.

On Oct. 21, the Pittsburgh Foundation announced an immediate $3 million grant and said it planned to give another $2 million over the next four years and $5 million in the five years after that,

The same day, the Buhl Foundation said it would give $3 million over 10 years. The Heinz Endowments announced Oct. 28 that it would give $6 million over three years, and the Massey Charitable Trust has given $1 million.

By spreading their gifts over a period of years, the philanthropies will help the Promise meet annual fundraising goals for the UPMC challenge.

To leverage the initial $10 million of the UPMC challenge, the Promise must raise $15 million this school year. So far, it's raised about $8 million, thanks to the first round of foundation gifts; only $1,200 has come from corporations.

John Ellis, spokesman for the Pittsburgh Foundation, which administers the Promise, said the foundation community was the logical starting place for fundraising because of the philanthropies' history of support for city schools. He said approaches to the corporate sector are high on the Promise's agenda.

"Those have begun initially, but I think you'll see a greater focus on that as the new year swings in," he said.