4 impactful ways your community donations make a big difference to uplift Birmingham

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Birmingham-area donors are helping local nonprofits do even more for the community—and the impact is adding up fast.

Through Giving Together, a collaborative giving program from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, local donors contributed nearly $600,000 during the fall 2025 grant cycle, helping fund 65 nonprofits across Greater Birmingham.

The result? Expanded after-school programs, workforce development opportunities, health initiatives and critical support services reaching thousands of people across the region.

About Giving Together in Greater Birmingham

Launched in 2008, Giving Together was created to help close a common funding gap: Each spring and fall, the Community Foundation receives more qualified nonprofit grant applications than it has capacity to fund. Giving Together allows donors to help bridge that gap by contributing directly to the Foundation’s competitive grant pool, and anyone can do it—no matter the amount.

In total, the Community Foundation awarded a whopping $1,372,000 in grants during the fall 2025 cycle, with Giving Together donor support helping make that possible.

Here are four ways dollars from recent grant cycles are making an impact across Greater Birmingham.

1. Supporting Birmingham students beyond the classroom

For more than 15 years, Better Basics has provided after-school programming for students in Fairfield City Schools—and in fall 2025, the organization received a $50,000 grant through the Community Foundation.

The funding supports critical after-school services including:

• Academic tutoring
• Homework help
• STEM programming
• Physical fitness activities
• Parent engagement opportunities

By investing in expanded learning opportunities outside the classroom, programs like Better Basics help students build confidence and improve academic outcomes while supporting families throughout the school year.

2. Expanding health + wellness resources for Birmingham families

Giving Together grants are also helping increase access to wellness and support programs throughout the Birmingham area.

YMCA of Greater Birmingham received a $35,000 grant to expand access to Livestrong at the YMCA and Defeat PD—two no-cost programs serving cancer survivors and individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, respectively.

Community Foundation funding has supported several YMCA initiatives in recent years, including:

• Free lifeguard certification training for more than 1,600 individuals
• The development of the YMCA Leadership and Learning Center in Roebuck
• Expanded youth mentorship + workforce development programming

The goal: remove barriers to wellness resources while strengthening long-term community support systems.

3. Creating pathways to skilled careers

Workforce development continues to be a major need across Alabama, and Giving Together funding is helping local organizations meet that demand. In 2025, Legacy Works used Community Foundation grant funding to strategically expand its Paid Pre-Apprenticeship Program.

The program introduces participants to:

• Plumbing
• Electrical work
• Carpentry

Through hands-on learning and industry exposure, the initiative helps people explore skilled trades careers while building workforce readiness. Programs like these create long-term economic impact not just for participants, but for Greater Birmingham communities as a whole.

4. Strengthening support for people with disabilities across Birmingham

As demand for disability services continues to rise, Community Foundation grants are helping nonprofits expand programs and resources for families across the region. Since 2022, The Exceptional Foundation has seen daily program attendance increase by 40%.

Community Foundation support has helped fund:

• Additional staffing
• Art + activity supplies
• Summer camp programming
• After-school activities
• Field trips + vendors

The funding helps ensure individuals with intellectual disabilities continue to have access to enriching, year-round programming and community connection opportunities.

Want to support Birmingham nonprofits?

The deadline to contribute to the current Giving Together grant cycle is May 20. After that deadline, you can still participate in giving through the link — donations will go toward the fall 2026 Giving Together fund.

Whether your gift is large or small, every dollar helps expand the Community Foundation’s ability to support nonprofits creating change across Greater Birmingham.

Ready to give? Click this link to get started.

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