About the Foundation
About the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
- Oldest and largest community foundation in Alabama.
- Ranked in top 100 among community foundations nationwide for asset size ($151 million), grants awarded ($14.9 million) and gifts received ($13.8 million) in 2011. Totals for 2012 (unaudited) include total assets of $169 million, $24.2 million in gifts and $17.6 million in grants. See more numbers here.
- Founded in 1959 for and by the community as a perpetual public endowment.
- Dedicated to driving positive change through grantmaking, convening and leading, and to leveraging donor giving to meet community needs forever.
- Made up of more than 450 charitable funds established by individuals, families and businesses (average fund size $339,000, largest fund more than $20 million)
- Unique value with one-third of assets unrestricted by donors, allowing maximum flexibility to address community issues
- Serves Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount and Walker counties
- Member of the Council on Foundations and certified in compliance with national standards for community foundations
- Achieves measurable results as a grantmaker, convener and partner in:
- Tornado Recovery: Key grants and leadership in responding to devastating tornadoes that killed more than 240 people across Alabama in 2011
- Prize2theFuture: Creator of on-line contest which drew ideas from 3,000 contestants for something cool and vibrant in Birmingham’s city center
- Three Parks Initiative: Seed grant of $1 million launched Railroad Park, Red Mountain Park and improvements to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve
- Birmingham Education Foundation: Grassroots initiative called Yes We Can! Birmingham and additional seed funding sparked creation of BEF as voice of community to strengthen Birmingham City Schools
- Health Action Partnership: Key partner with Jefferson County Health Department in winning $14 million in national support to fight obesity and tobacco use
To read more about our activities in 2011-12, download our latest Report to the Community: CFGBReporttoCommunity2011
