Shelby, Hoover Nonprofits Get $200,000 in Grants
Jon Anderson
Birmingham News
May 27, 2005
The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham this month awarded nearly $200,000 in grants to nonprofit groups in Shelby County and Hoover.
The grants, which range in size from $6,000 to $50,000, include money for building projects, programs for at-risk youth and disadvantaged families, and education about autism and poverty.
The foundation gave $50,000 to The Citizenship Trust and American Village in Montevallo to help with a capital campaign for new buildings and $40,000 to help with a building expansion at the Shelby County Advocacy Center.
The American Village is undertaking $6 million in expansion projects and already has raised at least $5 million, said Sandy Killion, the community foundation’s vice president for grants and initiatives.
The projects include a house modeled after the first presidential residence, an expansion of the village’s visitors center
and a replica of the Oval Office.
Major donors include Shelby County, the federal government, Pelham, Montevallo, Alabama Power Foundation, James Braswell of Vestavia Hills, James Estes of Northport and Norman Estes of Tuscaloosa.
The Shelby County Advocacy Center, which provides services for sexually and physically abused children, plans to add a 1,200-square-foot, two-story addition that will include a meeting room and two counseling offices, Killion said. That project is scheduled to begin in January, she said.
Hoover High School received a $40,000 grant to expand its adviser program, which now serves only the ninth grade. Ninth-graders each have a teacher assigned to help them choose courses and get any needed academic support, such as tutoring.
Other agencies receiving grants from The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham this month are:
– Health Service Center, $25,000 for a full-time prevention education specialist and assistant to work with at-risk youth ages 12 to 18.
– Legal Services of Alabama, $20,500 to help cover costs of subpoenas, record searches and depositions in domestic violence cases.
– Autism Society of Alabama, $19,000 for First Signs, Alabama, which provides educational resources for physicians who treat young children.
– Alabama Rivers Alliance, $15,000 for the Common Ground Coalition, which works for sustainable growth in the region.
– Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education, $12,000 toward development of a Spanishlanguage edition of ”Play by the Rules, Alabama Laws for Youth.”
– Alabama Poverty Project, $6,000 toward publication of the second edition of ”The Picture of Poverty in Alabama,” a databook reflecting poverty and other measures of economic conditions.
– Oak Mountain Missions Ministries, $6,000 toward salaries for two part-time pick-up and delivery drivers that will help increase the number of donation pickups.
So far this year, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has given $939,000 in grants to nonprofits in Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker counties. More grants will be issued in December, Killion said.
Nonprofit groups wanting to apply for grants must complete a request by Sept. 15. Groups that have never submitted a grant proposal must attend an overview session. Sessions will be held June 21, July 13, July 14, and Aug. 18. For more information, call 328-8641.
EMAIL: janderson@bhamnews.com