Grant Opportunities
Our Grant Cycle
A Community Foundation grant can support your work and our shared vision for a just, prosperous, and unified region where every person is empowered to reach their full potential. Grants are open to nonprofits serving Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, and St. Clair Counties.
The Community Foundation has two grantmaking cycles during which we accept applications in our Priority Areas: Thriving Communities, Regional Cooperation, Economic Opportunity for All, Overcoming Persistent Poverty, and Equity and Inclusion. The grant cycle is a two-stage proposal process with a brief proposal stage and a full proposal stage. Site visits are then scheduled with all applicants advancing to the full proposal stage.
Spring 2026 Grant Cycle
Applications are now closed. Spring 2026 grants can be found here. The Fall 2026 Grant Cycle opens July 27.
Learn more: Our Competitive Grantmaking Guidelines.
For more information: Nicole Standridge at nstandridge@cfbham.org.
Other Grant Opportunities
The LGBTQ Fund grant cycle is now open with applications due by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, June 30. Visit the LGBTQ Fund to learn more.
The Philip A. Morris Fund for the Design Arts grant cycle will open May 29 with applications due by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, June 30. Visit the Morris Fund to learn more.
2025
2026 Important Dates
May 21: Spring Grants Approved
July 27 – Aug. 14: Fall Competitive Grant Brief Proposals Accepted
Previous Grants
Field of Interest Funds & Giving Circles
Through the generosity of our donors, the Community Foundation offers funds that support organizations or programs addressing specific issues and needs in our community. Each of these funds has its own grant requirement process.
Learn how we can help you make an impact today
Grantee Highlights
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.
Community on the Rise is shifting the narrative for women survivors of homelessness
As executive director of Community on the Rise, a nonprofit and social enterprise dedicated to empowering the unhoused in Birmingham, Ala., Avery Rhodes is all too familiar with the perceptions that some people have of women who are experiencing homelessness.
Libby’s Friends Helps Alabamians with Disabilities Discover New Possibilities
Birmingham-area residents Lane and Kathryn Hagan know firsthand how expensive raising a child with special needs can be. At just 12 days old, while in the NICU, their daughter Libby was mistakenly given an overdose of insulin, causing a catastrophic brain injury that left her with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and other health issues.