Competitive Grantmaking Guidelines
The Community Foundation has two grantmaking cycles. During each cycle we accept applications in all five of our Priority Areas:
Overcoming Persistent Poverty.
2026 Grants Timeline
Cycle 1 (Spring): Applications closed Jan. 30, 2026. This cycle is now complete.
Cycle 2 (Fall): The Brief Proposal application opens July 27, 2026. The deadline for submitting applications is Aug. 14, 2026, at 11:59 pm. This cycle follows a two-stage process (brief proposal and full proposal stages). For applicants advancing to the full proposal stage, site visits will begin in October, and final decisions will be released in December.
• July 27– Brief proposal opens
• August 14 – Brief proposal deadline, ll:59 pm
• Late September – Full proposal invitations
• October 9 – Full proposal deadline
• October 12-30 – Site visits
• December – Final decisions
Applications must be submitted electronically on the Community Foundation grant website:
Grant Guidelines
Applicant Restrictions
1. Applicants must be currently designated a 50l(c)(3) non-profit organization by the IRS, OR be a 50l(c)(3) exempt religious institution, OR be a government entity. Private nonoperating foundations are not eligible. Applicants may use a fiscal sponsor only if there is a meaningful mission fit and an existing, working relationship between the two
organizations. Please review our fiscal sponsorship guidelines before applying.
2. Applicants must serve Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, and/or St. Clair counties in Alabama.
3. Large organizations with many branches or departments (e.g. colleges, universities, YMCA, public libraries) must submit requests from the president’s office or the development office.
4. Organizations that received a competitive grant from the Community Foundation in the last grant cycle, or that have an open grant, are not eligible to apply.
Proposal Restrictions
Funding Purpose. If eligible, applicants may request a grant in one of the following three categories:
1. Strategic Purpose: These grants can help establish a new program, improve or expand an existing program, increase organizational capacity, meet a new capital need (building, equipment, etc.), restructure due to government funding cuts, and/or launch a policy/systems change effort. Requests should not exceed 25% of the proposed project budget.
2. General Operating for Emerging Organizations: Organizations with documented
revenue under $25,000 (based on previous fiscal year) may request a general operating support grant in this category. General operating support is defined as funding to maintain current programs and/or operations.
3. General Operating Support: Organizations with documented revenue between $25,000-$100,000 (based on previous fiscal year) may request a general operating support grant in this category.
The two general operating categories are the same in substance; they simply give emerging organizations two opportunities to receive general operating support funding as they grow. Eligible organizations (under $25,000 revenue) may receive General Operating for Emerging Organizations funding one time only. Eligible organizations ($25,000-$100,000 revenue) may receive General Operating Support funding one time only. Any grants awarded from 2023 on are counted toward these limits.
Grant Terms
Strategic grants may be requested over a one-, two-, or three-year period based on the scale and schedule of the proposal. General operating grants are limited to one-year terms.
Grant Amounts
• There is no maximum request amount, but in recent years awarded grants have ranged from $5,000 to $75,000. The applicant’s request and project budget should be reasonable in relation to the applicant’s prior revenue, budget, and activities.
• For Strategic Purpose grants, requests should not exceed 25% of the budget for the
proposed project. Potential or secured support for the remaining 75% of the budget
should be identified.
• Organizations requesting a grant of $75,000 or greater MUST have an annual or semiannual independent audit.
Resubmitted Proposals
If a proposal submitted to the Community Foundation does not receive funding, it should not be resubmitted to the Community Foundation unless there have been significant changes in either the organization or the proposal.
No grants are made to or for
• Individuals
• Religious organizations for religious purposes
• National fundraising drives
• Sponsorship of fundraising events
• Political organizations or candidates for public office
• Endowment funds
• Debt reduction, with limited exceptions for capital projects
• Academic scholarships
• Regranting to other organizations
• General operating support (funding to maintain current programs or operations) – with the exception of small organizations with under $100K revenue (see categories above)
• Unspecified indirect costs (may request a portion of funds to support administrative or other indirect costs, but must be presented as specific line items vs. an indirect cost
rate/percentage)
To review recent successful requests, visit Recent Grants.
Download a PDF version of our 2026 Cycle 2 Competitive Grantmaking Guidelines.
Questions? Please direct any additional questions you may have about the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham competitive grantmaking process to Nicole Standridge, Senior Program Officer, at nstandridge@cfbham.org.