The Community Foundation of West Alabama is currently accepting applications for its Community Grants program, aimed at expending funds for charitable uses to benefit communities within the West Alabama area. As a non-profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors, the Foundation's mission is aligned with addressing critical community needs across various focus areas.
Grants may be made for charitable purposes spanning Arts and Humanities, Children and Youth, Education, Elder Care, Environment, Health & Medicine, Recreation, and Social Welfare. The Foundation looks for requests that tackle the root causes of problems, avoid duplicating existing services unless serving an unserved population, act as pilot projects with scalability, involve collaboration, and include effective mechanisms for measuring impact.
Given its limited funds, the Foundation prioritizes projects that demonstrate the requesting organization's expertise, sound financial principles, a future funding plan, and a solid base of community and financial support. These strategic priorities are geared towards ensuring the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the programs it supports, thereby maximizing its investment impact.
The expected outcomes are to address critical community needs and foster positive change within West Alabama. While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed for each focus area, the Foundation emphasizes the inclusion of an effective mechanism for measuring the impact of its investment. This indicates a commitment to accountability and a desire to fund initiatives that can demonstrate tangible benefits to the community. The theory of change centers on identifying and supporting well-managed, innovative projects that can either be expanded, replicated, or fill service gaps, ultimately leading to a more resilient and thriving West Alabama.
