Women's Foundation of Alabama
Birmingham, AL · EIN 45-0952468. Reported 122 grants totalling $4,217,930 to 72 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Women's Foundation of Alabama, the IRS classifies it as a public foundation -- a grantmaker that raises its money from many sources rather than from one donor (NTEE T30).
- How spread out its giving is. 72 distinct organizations, with 10% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 54% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 56% median for grantmaking charities -- lower than the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $25,000. Half of what it reported fell between $20,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $7,635 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson State Community College | Birmingham, AL | $441,644 | 9 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wallace State Comm College Future Fdn | Hanceville, AL | $274,748 | 4 | 2 | 2024 |
| Shelton State Community College | Tuscaloosa, AL | $218,744 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Calhoun Community College | Decatur, AL | $216,878 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bevill State Community College | Jasper, AL | $212,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lawson State Community College | Birmingham, AL | $200,019 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lurleen B Wallace Community College | Andalusia, AL | $184,787 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Gadsden State Community College | Gadsden, AL | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| East Lake Initiative a Nonprofit Corporation | Birmingham, AL | $170,450 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Community Care Development Network | Center Point, AL | $116,075 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Trenholm State Community College | Montgomery, AL | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Wallace State Community College - Selma | Selma, AL | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wallace State Community College Future Foundation Inc | Hanceville, AL | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Birmingham Corps | Birmingham, AL | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| J F Drake State Community & Technical College | Huntsville, AL | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aum Foundation USA Inc | Huntsville, AL | $65,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hope Inspired Ministries Inc | Montgomery, AL | $64,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Inc | Montgomery, AL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alabama Goodwill Industries Inc | Birmingham, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center | Birmingham, AL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Snead Community College | Boaz, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Legal Services Alabama Inc | Montgomery, AL | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Athens-Limestone County Family Resource Center | Athens, AL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Birthwell Partners | Birmingham, AL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama Inc | Montgomery, AL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jasper Area Family Services Center Inc | Jasper, AL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Birth Sanctuary | Gainesville, AL | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ostara Initiative | Minneapolis, MN | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Women of Color | Capshaw, AL | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| West Alabama Womens Center Inc | Tuscaloosa, AL | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Women Under Construction Network | Birmingham, AL | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alabama Arise | Montgomery, AL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Dumas Wesley Community Center | Mobile, AL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Vincents Foundation of Alabama Inc | Birmingham, AL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alabama Justice Initiative | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Annie Mae's Kidz | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Beautiful Minds Childcare | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Empowered to Conquer Youth Conference | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Birmingham Ministries Inc | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jolly Bunny's | Hueytown, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Keta's 1 Step 2 Learning | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Learn Grow and More LLC | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pathways Inc | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Breakthrough Collaborative Inc | Oakland, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Learning Garden | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Troy Resilience Project | Troy, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tuscaloosa Latino Coalition Inc | Northport, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Young Mens Christian Assoc of Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alabama Institute for Social Justice | Montgomery, AL | $24,640 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Annie Lee's Daycare | Bessemer, AL | $24,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bama Kids Incorporated | Camden, AL | $20,310 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama Foundation | Montgomery, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Beulah Baptist Church | Bessemer, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community of Hope Health Clinic - a Volunteers in Medicine Clinic | Pelham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Elmore County Family Resourcecenter Inc | Wetumpka, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Girls Incorporated of Central Alabama | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Girls Incorporated of Huntsville | Huntsville, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Girlspring Inc | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hudsons 1ST Class Academy | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Learning Zone Christian Academy | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Momentum Alumnae Program Inc | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Shelby Emergency Assistance Inc | Montevallo, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sunshine Kids Development Center | Bessemer, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Global Ties Alabama | Huntsville, AL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tamika's Playhouse | Bessemer, AL | $11,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Amy's Amazing Children | Dora, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Greensboro Middle School | Greensboro, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Khairi and Little Angels Memorial | Birmingham, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema Inc | Birmingham, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Woodlawn United Inc | Birmingham, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Young Womens Christian Assn of Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Womens Foundation of Alabama | Birmingham, AL | $7,635 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
26 of 72 (36%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Gadsden State Community College
WOMEN IN WELDING - GADSDEN STATE (SKILLS TRAINING) - East Lake Initiative
FAMILY-CENTERED COACHING FOR JSCC PHLEBOTOMY TRAINING PROGRAM - J F Drake State Community & Technical College
WOMEN IN NURSING - DRAKE STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE - Wallace State Comm College Future Fdn
WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE NURSING - Wallace State Community College
WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SONOGRAPHY - Jefferson State Community College
2025 COMMUNITY COLLEGE GRANT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 39 of 72 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | $474,902 | $46,309 |
| 2022 | 17 | $682,725 | $50,000 |
| 2023 | 35 | $1,072,468 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 57 | $1,987,835 | $25,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
99% of its giving went to organizations in Alabama. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
Foundations that fund only organizations they pick gave to this one
15 private foundations that told the IRS they contribute only to organizations they select themselves reported 36 grants totalling $1,688,677 to Women's Foundation of Alabama. That is 37% of the 41 funders we can see giving to it. Those 15 foundations do not take unsolicited requests -- their own returns say so. The IRS classifies this organization as a grantmaking organization.
11 of them gave in more than one tax year, which is the only durability signal the filings carry.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application here reaches that money. A grant from a closed foundation is often a designated gift or a donor-advised fund earmarked by whoever gave it, and has nothing to do with any open programme this organization runs. Neither tax return says which, so neither do we. The list below is who put money in. It is not a route to it.
| Foundation | State | Reported | Grants | Years | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aditi Foundation | South Dakota | $1,340,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Marguerite Casey Foundation | Washington | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Steelcase Foundation | Michigan | $52,775 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Ronne & Donald Hess Foundation | Alabama | $45,776 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| The James Milton and Sallie R Johnson | Alabama | $31,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Mckinney Foundation | Alabama | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Lisa and Alan Engel Foundation | Alabama | $15,100 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Abroms Charitable Foundation Inc | Alabama | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Anderson Foundation | Minnesota | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Matthews Family Foundation | Texas | $9,694 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
The 10 largest by reported dollars, of 15.
A linked name has a page of its own. We publish one for a foundation that takes no unsolicited requests only when a real share of its giving goes to organizations that make grants themselves, and that page opens by saying it does not take requests.
Both the count and the total are floors. A foundation appears here only where its return named this organization clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows. There are more; we cannot name them.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $25,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Alabama.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Women's Foundation of Alabama's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 57 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 2213 1ST Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35233.
EIN 45-0952468 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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