In its second annual grant cycle, the Philip A. Morris Fund for the Design Arts of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham awarded $115,000 in grants to five area nonprofits.

Alabama Moving Image Association, $4,000 to help choose a blade signage design consultant. Alabama Moving Image Association (Sidewalk Film) needs exterior signage for the Pizitz Building redevelopment.

Birmingham Aids Outreach, $10,000 to support muralist design fees for the new façade of the Magic City Acceptance Center’s inclusive space. A design will be selected from options provided by local LGBTQ muralists, who will also oversee implementation of the project.

Freshwater Land Trust, $56,000 for design work on the Valley Creek Rails-to-Trails multi-use project that will connect the existing three-mile High Ore Line Greenway to Rickwood Field.

HICA, $40,000 for design fees and architectural renderings for a redevelopment project which will be a vibrant public gathering space.

Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation, $5,000 for the DesignAlabama DesignDash for its planning of a trail system in Harpersville. This system is focused on the Harpersville Heritage Area, agritourism sites, parks, and the proposed town center, with the Wallace House and grounds as the trailhead.

About The Philip A. Morris Fund for the Design Arts
In 2015, Philip Morris — former executive editor of Southern Living magazine and a champion of how good design enriches our communities and our lives — established the Morris Fund, an endowed Field of Interest Fund at the Community Foundation. He envisioned a fund that would provide resources to support his passion for the design arts and the role that the design arts play in enhancing and building thriving communities. Central to the mission of the Fund is creating and expanding awareness of the design arts and the impact of quality design. The Morris Fund advisory committee reviews grant proposals to ensure that they meet Mr. Morris’s specific definition of design arts and his intentions for broad community building and inclusion. Broadly stated, “design arts” include but are not limited to urban planning; design and the built environment; architecture; graphic arts and graphic design; and landscape planning and design. The 2025 grant cycle for the Morris Fund will open for applications in spring 2025.

For more information or to make a gift, visit the Morris Fund.