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Community-Powered. Women Focused.
FALL 2023 COMPETITIVE GRANT CYCLE
Women’s Foundation of Alabama, building on its momentous statewide expansion, has taken its community grantmaking efforts statewide through the Fall 2023 competitive grant cycle. Applications open August 4, 2023,
and close August 25, 2023.
​
A catalyst for change.
For over two decades, Women's Foundation of Alabama has been a catalyst for change and an engine for women’s philanthropy in the Greater Birmingham area, granting over $8 million dollars to local community partners focused on moving women forward. In recent years, the organization has strategically expanded its power and influence both geographically, beyond the five-county radius, and programmatically, by leveraging legislative advocacy and groundbreaking research alongside its powerful philanthropy to create systemic change for women and the communities they call home.
While this is not the foundation’s first competitive grant cycle, this does mark the first time the grant cycle will be open to local, community-based organizations across the state, representing greater potential for even broader impact towards gender and economic equity for women in the state.
Through this process, Women’s Foundation of Alabama aims to support high-impact organizations and projects working to usher women and girls along the path of greater economic opportunity and to remove the complex, interconnected barriers women face along that same path.
Organizations will select one of three categories under which to apply: Women + Work, Women + Leadership, Women + Wellbeing – reflecting the foundation’s interest in holistic, innovative approaches to women’s economic opportunity.
Timeline
The initial phase of the grant cycle opens online on Friday, August 4. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, August 25 at 11:59pm.
For this cycle, we are following a two-stage process (brief proposal and full proposal stages). For applicants advancing to the full proposal stage, site visits will start in October and final decisions will be in December.
August 4
Grant Cycle Opens
October
Site Visits for Applicants Advancing to Full Proposal Stage
August 25
Deadline for Brief Proposal Application
December
Final Decisions
APPLICANT
RESTRICTIONS
01
Applicants must be currently designated a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by the IRS OR be a 501(c)(3) exempt religious institution OR be a government entity. Private non-operating foundations are not eligible. Applicants may use a fiscal sponsor only if there is a meaningful mission fit and an existing working relationship between the two organizations.
02
Applicants must provide services in Alabama.
03
Large organizations with many branches or departments (e.g. colleges, universities, YMCA, public libraries) must submit requests from the president's office or the development office.
PROPOSAL
RESTRICTIONS
01
Grant Amounts: Applicants may request funding up to $75,000. That total cost and scale of the project should be reasonable, feasible, and sustainable in relation to the applicant’s overall budget and activities.
02
Grant Terms: Funds may be requested over a one, two, or three year period based on the scale and schedule of the proposal.
03
No grants are made to or for: *Individuals *Religious organizations for religious purposes *National fundraising drives *Sponsorship of fundraising events *Political organizations or candidates for public office *Scholarship or endowment funds *Debt reduction *Scholarship or campership programs *Replacement of government funding cuts *Unspecified indirect costs (may request a portion of funds to support program management, occupancy, etc. but must be presented as specific line items vs. indirect cost rate/percentage)
