Local not-for-profits helped
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 11, 2007
A group of Shelby County organizations are enjoying the benefits of more than $400,000 in grant money from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
The organizations that received money range from programs to protect the environment to ones for children with disabilities.
The group received the largest grant of $46,000 to support an initiative to improve development standards along the Cahaba.
&8220;We are working with citizens, officials and businesses to see the way development is designed and built to better protect the watershed,&8221; said Monica Carmichael, director of development of the Cahaba River Society.
Other local organizations receiving support include the $17,500 for Oak Mountain Missions Ministries, $10,000 for Safe Harbor, $7,500 for the Shelby County Historical Society, $6,500 for Inverness Vineyard Christian Fellowship, $4,500 for the Shelby County Advocacy Center and $2,500 for the Special Equestrians.
&8220;Grants from our Community Funds focus on programs and projects that move our community forward on important priorities, from access to arts programs to early screening and referral for health needs,&8221; said Patti Whitt, senior program officer at The Community Foundation.
A number of organizations not based in Shelby County received funds as well.
The Greater Birmingham Mathematics Partnership received $30,000 for summer math courses for students in kindergarten through fourth grades. Some of those funds will go toward programs in Shelby County area schools.
In all, 62 non-profit organizations in the five counties served by The Community Foundation were awarded a total of $1.4 million in grants. The funds ranged from $1,000 to $150,000.
For more information on grants, visit www.foundationbirmingham.org.