The Birmingham Change Fund is officially listed as a giving circle of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. But you might call it the Birmingham Change Family, since the varied members of this group have grown as close as the best kind of family as they have shared their time, talent and treasure to create positive change in greater Birmingham.

“Each of us was and is very different,” said Crystal Goodman of BE&K Inc., who has been part of the Birmingham Change Fund since it began in 2003 as an interest group of young African-Americans, nurtured by the Ford Foundation. “Today the chemistry we enjoy in our work is familial in nature.”

The interest group evolved into a giving circle that includes men and women in a variety of professions, from law to engineering. According to BCF chair and Beeson Divinity School student Lyord Watson, BCF provides a wonderful way for the current 16 members to show their love for their community by pooling volunteer hours as well as dollars. Since 2005, they have made grants of more than $25,000 and contributed hundreds of volunteer hours to the nonprofit organizations they decide to support.

”Our interests have brought us close together, and we refer to one another as family,” said Martha Emmett of BBVA Compass.  “We are growing together as we learn more and more about collective philanthropy.”

Building trust is another part of that family feeling, according to Ed Fields of Projects Unlimited, who serves as membership chair.  “I love the fact that a group of thinking people who didn’t know each other in the beginning could develop the necessary levels of trust required to put our money together for an ideal – not a specific program or personal agenda – just an ideal,” Fields said.

“I appreciate the whole idea of people who looked like me, the same age and with the same passion, coming together to make our city a better place to live,” said attorney Randall Woodfin, who now wants to serve on the Birmingham Board of Education.  “I enjoy the energy, synergy, passion and commitment to the city of Birmingham.”

How a giving circle works
In addition to their volunteer hours, each person contributes a minimum of $250 each year, adding to  initial support by the Ford Foundation. Assets are invested through the Community Foundation, which supports the BCF giving circle with administrative assistance as well as knowledge of community needs.

A subcommittee reviews each grant and makes a recommendation to the overall group. Currently BCF is focusing its grants and its volunteer hours on three key areas: education, health care and economic opportunity.

“In a giving circle, everybody has voice at the table,” Watson said. “Conversations get interesting, as the grant committee provides recommendations and we go from there.”

The most recent round of grants, announced in April 2009, totaled $6,000 to four organizations: Treasure Arts, Need a Chance, Pathways and Birmingham Urban League. Doing the research before awarding these grants and volunteering afterwards provide additional opportunities for service. 

“One of our first grants in 2005 was to Cornerstone Schools of Alabama,” Watson recalled. “Before we made that grant decision, I knew nothing about the organization and its impact on children. Now I am a member of their Junior Board, I know how they keep up with their children, where they have gone and what they have done. I understand the community that they create among their students, and how important that is for their future success.”

BCF also helps to spread the word about the power of philanthropy. Giving circle members love to share the story of BCF here at home as well as through the annual Community Investment Network Conference. “We were one of the first giving circles in the network,” Watson said, “and we learn a lot by sharing with other giving circles, community foundations and individual philanthropists across the country.”

Crystal Goodman recalled one session in which participants listed all the things they could do to help the community. When one woman listed the fact that she could drive a car, the item struck her as humorous. “I thought to myself, ‘but everyone drives…’ and immediately the thought came ‘No, everyone doesn’t.’ We talked about how being able to drive could help someone else out in the community. 

“I’ve never looked at abilities the same since then," Goodman said. "That day I learned we all have something to give.”

Getting a new perception of yourself
It’s clear that the past five years have brought many rewards to BCF members as well as to the community, as they have discovered more about their talents and the needs of this place they call home.. 

“The satisfaction and empowerment that comes from being on the supply side of giving changed my perception of who I am,” said Goodman. “It engages me to want to be a part of the solution simply because I am confident in what I can contribute to the world.  What I do individually is great, but when I get with others of like mind to do the same thing, imagine the impact.” 

Ed Fields agreed: “More than anything else, I love the fact that we are walking our talk. Instead of being the recipient of grant funding, we are giving grants.”

BCF provides a unique opportunity to give back and to provide leadership in dealing with the issues affecting Birmingham. 

“This giving circle has a transformative effect on both its members and the supported agencies,” said Chris Wilson of Southern Company, a past chair of BCF. “Members become funders, and supported agencies recognize that there are interested people who care enough to learn about and support their programs.”

“It is an awesome experience to be witness to the passion for making our community better, when I look across the table at other like minded, intelligent, energetic and determined BCF members,” said Charles Lewis of Southern Company, founding chair of BCF.  “It helps to keep me encouraged in the many ways I try to give back through my involvement in community service throughout the city.”

With a strong start and enthusiastic current members, BCF shows great potential as a way to love and serve the community, and to inspire others to do the same, through BCF or another giving circle.

“We want to grow,” Watson said, “and we are intentional about keeping a good representation of age and demographics as we lose people to promotion or moving out of town.”

To find out more about membership in Birmingham Change Fund, contact Lyord Watson at 305-7031 or Ed Fields at 250-9020. To learn more about the fast-growing phenomenon of giving circles as a way to give back to your community, contact Erin Stephenson at the Community Foundation at 327-3805.