Creating Economic Opportunity for All
While we are all equal in value, not all have equal access to the opportunities that are necessary for people to thrive.
The Community Foundation is dedicated to creating wide, smooth pathways to economic opportunity for everyone. That includes the student who is preparing for the next level of learning, the worker who wants to advance her career, the entrepreneur who has ambitions to grow a business, and anyone who has been left behind in a chance for economic success.
What We Believe
We believe our region has untapped workforce and small business assets that if invested in could become our greatest strength. Birmingham must grow from within, building on existing businesses and existing population. Small and mid-sized firms that are the engine of job creation need more support to start up and grow. We should focus more on traded sector firms that sell products and services beyond the region and can grow our region’s wealth. As a whole, our local workforce is under-skilled and disconnected from quality job opportunities. Systemic exclusion often leaves vast segments of the population on the sidelines, limiting both their access to jobs and opportunities to attain entrepreneurial success. If we strategically address these challenges, our diverse, highly trained local workforce and growing, job-creating businesses could make our region a model for inclusive growth.
The Impact We Seek
With a focus on those who have often been under-served or left out of economic opportunity, we are looking to support efforts to:
- Prepare more people for in-demand, high-quality jobs of today and tomorrow
- Create more high-quality jobs and successful businesses
- Increase access to jobs by addressing structural inequities and building the physical and social infrastructure that connects people to what they need to succeed
Learn More About Our Priorities
Grantee Stories
Community Foundation Awards $1.6 Million in Grants
The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has awarded more than $1.6 million in grants to 66 area nonprofits serving Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker counties. These grants are focused on the five priorities identified in our 10-year strategic plan: Thriving Communities, Regional Cooperation, Overcoming Persistent Poverty, Equity and Inclusion, and Economic Opportunity for All. (Explore our Priority Areas.)
The Philip A Morris Fund for the Design Arts: Building a Better Birmingham
Kathryn Harbert and Philip Morris at Railroad Park Anyone who has ever enjoyed an afternoon with family and friends at Railroad Park, a place often called Birmingham’s living room, has Philip A. Morris to thank for those memorable moments. Though not a trained designer, Morris was a visionary. He not only served on the planning committee for Railroad Park but also for Linn Park and Red Mountain Park. He was chair of Operation New Birmingham (now REV Birmingham), Birmingham Historical Society, and Mountain Brook Villages Design Review Committee. He was co-chair of the Vulcan Park renovation planning committee and served on the boards of the Vulcan Park Foundation, Birmingham Botanical Society, and Friends of Linn Park. He was also a founding board member of Design Alabama and Horizon 280 Association.
Giving Together, Growing Together
Each year, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham receives an increasing number of applications for our spring and fall grant cycles, and existing funds are never enough to cover all the grants approved. So, in 2008, the Giving Together program was born to accompany the grant cycles.
How Innovation and Collaboration Can Empower Students in Walker County and Beyond
Hundreds of high school students in Walker County will soon have access to a state-of-the-art facility offering high-quality career and technical education, equipping them with credentials and skills aligned with Alabama’s workforce needs.