Grantmaking
The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham is committed to improving the status of women and girls by serving as a catalyst for positive social change. Our priorities include reducing domestic violence, increasing women’s economic self-reliance, and helping women and girls reach their full potential. We work toward these goals through competitive grant-making and community partnerships, as well as targeted initiatives. We are currently working on the following initiatives to address our priorities:
REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS
There are no open Requests for Proposals at this time. Please visit our site regularly to stay abreast of funding opportunities as they are announced.
HOW TO APPLY FOR GRANT FUNDING
Each year, The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham publishes a Request for Proposals inviting organizations serving the Greater Birmingham area to submit program and project proposals for potential funding. Selections for funding are determined by the Grants and Allocations Committee and TWF Board.
Currently, there are no open Requests for Proposals. Please visit our site regularly to stay abreast of funding opportunities as they are announced.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where does TWF get its funds?
The Women’s Fund receives funds from individuals, families, and bequests. Operational funds are raised from other foundations, corporations, and proceeds from special events. These gifts and bequests make up the permanent endowment of the Fund, the income from which is used to make grants. A contribution to the Fund is a gift that gives in perpetuity. Only the income from the Fund is disbursed, while the principal remains untouched.
How do I find out about The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham’s grant-making cycles?
The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham publishes Requests for Proposals inviting 501(c)(3) organizations interested and eligible to submit proposals for funding. All open invitations are posted on this website. We will also announce open invitations by email, so please sign up for our email updates.
Who is eligible to apply?
TWF makes grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving women and girls in Jefferson, Shelby, Walker, St. Clair, and Blount counties. Eligibility requirements are included in all open Requests for Proposals.
Does TWF award grants to individuals?
No. The Women’s Fund awards grants only to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. We serve organizations in the five-county area, including Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, St. Clair, and Walker counties. The only funds distributed statewide are from the Cut It Out program.
How can I get technical assistance in seeking grants from TWF?
The Women’s Fund offers grant overview sessions each winter prior to the pre-application deadline. Also, you may contact Program Director Catherine Roden-Jones or call (205) 326-4454 with questions about the application process.
How do I apply?
The Request for Proposals contains all pertinent information for completing the application process. Required information often includes the proposal narrative, the organization’s most recent financial audit, the organization’s budget and the budget of any particular programs proposed, and a staff and board list. Additional information often is required.
Who decides which organizations receive funding from TWF?
The TWF Grants & Allocations Committee reviews applications and performs site visits to organizations that apply for funds. Committee members make recommendations for programs to fund, and those recommendations are approved by the TWF Board.
RECENT GRANT AWARD
Each year, The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham publishes a Request for Proposals inviting organizations serving the Greater Birmingham area to submit program and project proposals for potential funding.
2011: Women’s Economic Security
The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham will award grants during the fall of 2011 to non-profit organizations improving the economic security of women and girls in the Greater Birmingham Area’s five-county region. The deadline for applications is now closed. Grant awards will be announced in November 2011.
2010: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
In 2010, TWF funded a six-month preliminary needs assessment study on domestic minor sex trafficking in the Greater Birmingham area in order to assess the ability of service providers and law enforcement to respond to the growing problem of sex trafficking of minors in Alabama. The study was conducted by Freedom to Thrive, a coalition of the Southeast Network of Youth and Family Services (SENetwork). TWF will use the results of the study to determine our role in addressing this emerging issue.
2009: Financial Literacy
The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham and its corporate grant partners—Regions Financial Corporation and BBVA Compass—awarded $65,000 in grants to area programs that provide financial education to women and girls.
The slate of grantees from 2009 represented the “best practices” for curriculum and included intensive instruction with one-on-one financial counseling. These agencies reach a population that is diverse in ages (including women and girls), counties (Walker, Blount, and St. Clair, as well as Jefferson and Shelby), and life situations (girls in foster care, homeless, accepting public assistance, business owners, fleeing domestic violence, first-time home buyers, and those planning for retirement).
Birmingham Homeownership Center (Birmingham Center for Affordable Housing) – $10,000
BHC served 40 women through first-time homebuyer workshops, financial literacy classes, and one-on-one counseling.
Central Alabama Women’s Business Center (Elizabeth Conwell Schlarb Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs) – $3,140
CAWBC served 100 women who are business owners or considering opening a business through classes such as Money Smart, Quickbooks, Fast Trac® New Venture, and Fast Trac® Growth Venture.
Children’s Village, Inc. – $3,000
Children’s Village is a group home for foster children. They served 8 girls through daily lessons in a range of skills such as counting money, budgeting, setting up savings accounts, distinguishing needs from wants, understanding credit cards, and shopping wisely.
Gateway Consumer Credit Counseling – $5,000
Gateway served 60 women age 45 and older with instruction about basic financial skills and retirement planning. The participants will be further supported through individual counseling.
Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama – $10,000
Girl Scouts reached 225 girls in Blount, St. Clair and Walker Counties both at school and in troops. Girls in 2nd through 8th grade will earn patches for completion of the CentsAbility course.
Girls Inc. – $7,500
Girls Inc. served 400 girls in their after-school and summer programs and in-school classes. They offer classes at age-appropriate levels for girls 6–18 years of age and will expand the program to include a workshop for adults.
Habitat for Humanity – $3,000
Habitat for Humanity serves mostly women through intensive training in the skills needed to become successful homeowners, including credit and budgeting, establishing savings accounts, mortgages, and escrow payments.
Hannah Home (Kings Ranch) – $3,000
Hannah Home, a long-term residential home for battered women, offered individual case management and workshops to help their clients set up bank accounts, establish and maintain a budget, reduce debt, and save money.
M-Power Ministries – $5,000
M-Power Ministries, located in Woodlawn, serves women seeking employment through an intense three-day-a-week, twenty-four–week program that teaches financial literacy, among other life skills and educational classes. They measure their outcomes based on the individual goals each woman sets for her own betterment.
Need A Chance – $5,360
Forty women, most living on public assistance and in housing projects, participated in a week-long workshop (30 hours) to learn how to make their food stamps last all month, banking, budgeting, predatory lending, and comparative shopping.
Pathways – $10,000
Pathways’ Fiscally Fit program served 100 homeless women who reside in three area shelters. They partnered with the North Alabama Chapter of the Financial Planners Association to offer financial literacy classes to women and their children.
