OVERVIEW: The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham supports women and girls, economic opportunity, poverty, community, public policy advocacy, housing, child care support, job training, education and housing in Alabama.
IP TAKE: This is a well-established and accessible women’s philanthropy group that considers the needs of women and girls. It has traditionally accepted applications for funding and announced awards in December, but its website is currently under construction, making the status of its grantmaking practices unclear. Contact information is provided below.
PROFILE: Established in 1996, the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, formerly the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham (WFGB), is a women’s philanthropy organization based in Birmingham, Alabama. This is the first and only philanthropic foundation in the state that is solely dedicated to addressing the needs of women and girls. The foundation “accelerates economic opportunity for women and their families through philanthropy, research and advocacy.” WFGB funds local efforts for women and girls, economic opportunity, poverty, public policy advocacy, housing, child care support, job training, education, housing and other community issues that affect women. Since restructuring, the foundation’s website has been under construction, limiting information about current grantmaking practices.
The Women’s Foundation of Alabama consists of community volunteers and provides grants and technical assistance to local organizations. It leads advocacy efforts to advance women’s equality, creates pathways to economic opportunity and convenes community and business leaders to collaborate on community issues that affect women. WFGB awards community impact grants for innovative programs and policy advocacy efforts that involve a two-generation approach. Two-generation collaboratives are used to address poverty and deepen the impact for women and their families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WFGB created the ROAR for Women Fund to help at-risk child care centers that serve essential workers.
Grants range between about $10,000 and $50,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on the Alabama counties of Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker. Past local grantees include Girls Inc. of Central Alabama, Jefferson State Community College and Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham.
This foundation has accepted unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits in past years, but because its website is not currently functioning, this status is unclear. Contact information for the foundation is provided below. The foundation’s most recent president is Melanie Bridgeforth.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
CONTACT:
Women’s Foundation of Alabama
2201 5th Ave. South, Suite 110
Birmingham, Alabama 35233
(205) 326-4454
