Click here to flip through stories and photos from our 50th Anniversary special report. Note the photo illustrating Parents Become Child's First, Best Teacher is from the Rush Initiative's First Teachers @home program.
Read below for more details, including the names of our important partners.
Click here for 2008 year-end financial figures.
Dear Community,
Every day at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, we are reminded of the character of this community through the people who live and work in our five-county area and all those who have been part of our 50-year history. We see this character expressed through compassionate generosity and caring for others and it is amazing.
So, what is the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham? We are a community endowment dedicated to transforming our community in three primary ways: We are a trusted partner in growing philanthropy, we are a high-impact grantmaker, and we are a convener and a catalyst.
 We grow philanthropy by providing a vehicle for individuals, for families and for businesses to give back through donor designated funds and other charitable tools.
Our pool of unrestricted Community Funds is used to award competitive, high-impact grants to support nonprofit organizations. Since 1959, we have distributed more than $200 million in grants.
Our grant review process is thorough and intense. You can imagine the community knowledge we gather from this work and we share this information with our supporters to leverage additional resources. The result has been an ability to strengthen the region through innovative initiatives and quality services to donors and nonprofit organizations.
All this leads me to our final and most important role as convener and catalyst. In preparing for our 50th anniversary, we listened to the community. We asked grant recipients, donors, professional advisors, business and grassroots leaders, “What do you want from your community foundation in its next 50 yars?” We heard the same thing from everyone: be the catalyst for big, transformational change. In response, we created our new Community Catalyst Funds that will be used as venture philanthropy to catalyze innovative community initiatives again and again in the years ahead.
Now, I want to ask you to do a few things for our community:
• Think about how you can use the Community Foundation to maximize your impact on this community, today, with your family, with your business.
• Think about your legacy. It is so easy for you to have your hands on our community forever by including your favorite charities and the Community Foundation in your estate plan.
• Use the power of your philanthropy to create a brighter future for our community and for the next generation.
 Imagine looking back 50 years down the road, as we achieve the “next big thing” – and the next, and the next…..together! I look forward to this journey with you.
Kate Nielsen, President
September 1, 2009
Click here for the flip-book version of our printed Report to the Community.
Follow the links listed below to learn more about everyone who has been part of our first 50 years:
- Board of Directors and Former Board of Directors
- Professional Advisors Committee
- Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham Advisory Board
- Birmingham Change Fund members
- Scholarship Committee
- Charitable Real Estate Foundation Board
- Birmingham Education Foundation Board
 Special thanks to
Grantmaking fund contributors and creators: Generous individuals, families and businesses who have established more than 375 grantmaking funds that make up the Community Foundation. These are listed below according to how the donors use those funds:
- To transform our community for the next 50 years through Community Catalyst Funds
- To support high-impact grantmaking through a competitive process each year
- To create a personalized grantmaking fund that will perpetuate your family's charitable values
- To support a favorite charity forever
- To provide higher education opportunities to the next generation
Community Builders Legacy Society: Generous and forward-thinking people who have made their mark on our community forever through a gift through their will or estate. If your name is not listed and you wish to be acknowledged for a planned gift we may not know about, please contact our staff.
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Do you want to manage your philanthropy in a way that is more effective in administration as well as results? Advised grantmaking funds and Supporting Foundations offer tax advantages and cost savings not available with private foundations, plus expert advice on community needs, grant administration and investment services.
As a Community Builder, you join other individuals and families who care about providing for future needs and opportunities in our community. Your gift provides a permanent resource to build a brighter future in Greater Birmingham.
Hundreds of charitable individuals, families and businesses in Jefferson, Shelby, Walker, St. Clair and Blount counties use grantmaking funds of the Community Foundation to give back to the community and the causes they care about. 
Do you want to make a difference in the life of a child forever? Scholarship funds benefit students at various stages of education and at different institution, with administration and selection handled through the Community Foundation. 
The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham involves its enthusiastic members through giving circles on domestic violence and economic security, as part of an on-going investment in the systemic social change that will improve the future of women and girls.
