Community Grants (Strategic Purpose & General Operating)

The Community Grants (Strategic Purpose and General Operating) program is a competitive grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham that funds nonprofits and government entities serving Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, and/or St. Clair counties in Alabama.

Awards range from $5,000 to $75,000 across five priority areas: Thriving Communities, Equity and Inclusion, Regional Cooperation, Economic Opportunity for All, and Overcoming Persistent Poverty. Three funding categories are available: Strategic Purpose grants for new or expanding programs and capital needs, General Operating for Emerging Organizations (revenue under $25,000), and General Operating Support (revenue $25,000–$100,000).

Eligible applicants are IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits, exempt religious institutions, or government entities. Organizations with open grants or that received a competitive grant in the prior cycle are ineligible. The Spring 2026 deadline was January 30, 2026.

Competitive Grantmaking Guidelines Competitive Grantmaking Guidelines The Community Foundation has two grantmaking cycles. During each cycle we accept applications in all five of our Priority Areas: Thriving Communities , Equity and Inclusion , Regional Cooperation , Economic Opportunity for All , and Overcoming Persistent Poverty . Cycle 1 (Spring): Brief Proposal application opens Jan.

12, 2026 and closes at 11:59 p. m. Friday, Jan.

30, 2026 . For this cycle, we will follow a two-stage process (brief proposal and full proposal stages). For applicants advancing to the full proposal stage, site visits will start in April, and final decisions will be released in May.

Cycle 2 (Fall): To be announced Applications must be submitted electronically on the Community Foundation grant website: 1. Applicants must be currently designated a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by the IRS OR be a 501(c)(3) exempt religious institution OR be a government entity. Private non-operating foundations are not eligible.

Applicants may use a fiscal sponsor only if there is a meaningful mission fit and an existing, working relationship between the two organizations. Please review our fiscal sponsorship guidelines before applying. 2.

Applicants must serve Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, and/or St. Clair counties in Alabama. 3.

Large organizations with many branches or departments (e.g. colleges, universities, YMCA, public libraries) must submit requests from the president’s office or the development office. 4. Organizations that received a competitive grant from the Community Foundation in the last grant cycle, or that have an open grant, are not eligible to apply.

Funding Purpose: If eligible, applicants may request a grant in one of the following three categories: 1. Strategic Purpose: These grants can help establish a new program, improve or expand an existing program, increase organizational capacity, meet a new capital need (building, equipment, etc.), restructure due to government funding cuts, and/or launch a policy/systems change effort.

Requests should not exceed 25% of the proposed project budget. 2. General Operating for Emerging Organizations: Organizations with documented revenue under $25,000 (based on previous fiscal year) may request a general operating support grant in this category.

General operating support is defined as funding to maintain current programs and/or operations. 3. General Operating Support: Organizations with documented revenue between $25,000 -$100,000 (based on previous fiscal year) may request a general operating support grant in this category.

The two general operating categories are the same in substance; they just provide emerging organizations two opportunities to receive general operating support funding as they grow. Eligible organizations (under $25,000 revenue) may receive General Operating for Emerging Organizations funding one time only. Eligible organizations ($25,000 – $100,000 revenue) may receive General Operating Support funding one time only.

Any grants awarded from 2023 on are counted toward these limits. Grant Terms: Strategic grants may be requested over a one-, two-, or three-year period based on the scale and schedule of the proposal. General operating grants are limited to one-year terms.

• There is no maximum request amount, but in recent years awarded grants have ranged from $5,000 to $75,000. The applicant’srequest and project budget should be reasonable in relation to the applicant’s prior revenue, budget, and activities. • For Strategic Purpose grants, requests should not exceed 25% of the budget for the proposed project.

Potential or secured support for the remaining 75% of the budget should be identified. • Organizations requesting a grant of $75,000 or greater MUST have an annual or semi-annual independent audit. Resubmitted Proposals: If a proposal submitted does not receive funding, it should not be resubmitted unless there have been significant changes in either the organization or the proposal.

No grants are made to or for: • Religious organizations for religious purposes • National fundraising drives • Sponsorship of fundraising events • Political organizations or candidates for public office • Debt reduction, with limited exceptions for capital projects • Regranting to other organizations • General operating support (funding to maintain current programs or operations) – with exception of small organizations with under $100K revenue (see categories above) • Unspecified indirect costs (may request a portion of funds to support administrative or other indirect costs, but must be presented as specific line items vs. indirect cost rate/percentage) To review recent successful requests, visit Recent Grants .

Download a PDF version of our Grantmaking Guidelines here. Questions? Please direct any additional questions you may have about the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham competitive grantmaking process to Nicole Standridge, Senior Program Officer , at nstandridge@cfbham.

org .