Birmingham nonprofit, Small Magic, moves to new, bigger location

Small Magic, one of Birmingham’s early childhood education nonprofits, is expanding! Since its inception in 2019, Small Magic has continued to grow and now, they’re relocating their headquarters to reflect their growth.

Small Magic doubles in size

Formerly on Fourth Avenue North, Small Magic is moving to a new, 3,000-square-foot space on First Avenue near the Max Transit station.

According to the BBJ, David Baker Architects preserved historic elements while the space was being updated. Brasfield & Gorrie led the construction and provided philanthropic support to the project, according to Small Magic Executive Director Ruth Ann Moss.

This change comes at a perfect time, because the nonprofit currently serves 1,000 children and families more than when they started.

“As we round out our sixth year of operation, we’ve reached an important milestone: supporting over 5,000 children directly in our community through our early learning programs. In both scale and design, it reflects the expansion of our offerings and the growing need to be more central and accessible to the families, child care providers and partners we serve.

We serve families and child care providers throughout Jefferson County, so it is crucial for Small Magic to be as centrally located and accessible as possible. This location is easy to reach from multiple parts of the city and in the middle of the central business district, where families from all over our county work daily.”

Ruth Ann Moss, Executive Director, Small Magic via the BBJ

Small Magic timeline:

• 2013: Providence, Rhode Island launches “Providence Talks” as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge
• 2018: Bloomberg Philanthropies replicates the program in 5 cities across the U.S., including Birmingham
• 2019: Birmingham Talks launches + partners with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education
• 2022: Birmingham Talks receives a seven-figure investment from the City of Birmingham to provide early literacy initiatives + expands programs to Spanish-speaking families
• 2024: The organization introduces a new name, Small Magic, to honor the growth + expanded vision
• 2025: Small Magic is on track to serve 1,200 children + relocates to accomadate the growth!

Part of the renovations and updates includes a new children’s area and meeting rooms and plenty of parking.

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