The Educational Foundation of America (EFA) is a family foundation. It was established in 1959 to preserve the lifelong altruistic commitment of its founders, Richard Prentice Ettinger and his wife, Elsie P. Ettinger.

Today, decedents of the founder in generations three and four lead the Foundation. Together, they direct efforts to fund nonprofits working on efforts related to Creative Placemaking, Climate, Democracy, and Reproductive Health and Justice. Much of our work is focused in the Appalachian region of the United States, as well as the South and the Pacific Northwest. 

Our grants are typically for general operating support and for more than one year. EFA believes in building the capacity of our partners and will support efforts to do so. As active impact investors, EFA is also committed to activating our endowment to align with our grantmaking goals. 

Reproductive Health & Justice Program

EFA’s Reproductive Health & Justice Program supports state-based organizations that use civic engagement, litigation, communications, and advocacy efforts to improve access to abortion and contraception. Our current geographic focus is on Appalachia and Florida. Taking a broader view, EFA also invests in organizations that work to help ensure access to reproductive healthcare nationally.

Additionally, in partnership with our funder colleagues, EFA catalyzed the creation of the Reproductive Healthcare Investors Alliance, which utilizes shareholder engagement and other impact investing tools to help ensure access to care. This nascent effort is an exciting one and builds on the Foundation’s commitment to aligning our investments with our grantmaking goals.

ACLU

ACLU of Alabama

ACLU of Kentucky

Appalshop

Blue Ridge Abortion Fund 

Catholics for Choice

Center for Reproductive Rights

Kentucky Civic Engagement Table

Kentucky Health Justice Network

Mayday Health

New River Abortion Access Fund

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai'i, Alask, Indiana, Kentucky

Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida and Progress Florida

Power to Decide

Resources for Abortion Delivery

Reprocare

RHIA Ventures

State Innovation Exchange

Women's Health Center of West Virginia

WV Free

Submit an Idea to the Reproductive Health & Justice Program

EFA's Reproductive Health and Justice program welcomes project and program ideas that will help increase access to abortion and contraception across the United States, with a particular focus in Appalachia

NOTE: The deadline for this Application is the 31st day of December of the year preceding the year of the grant requested.

About Us

In 2012, the current Board of Directors of the Jay L. Smith Family Foundation envisioned helping others by creating a foundation that would fund other non-profit organizations.

The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation is dedicated to helping multiple causes; however, the Foundation is especially partial to funding research for a cure of Alzheimer's. The Foundation is heavily dedicated in assuring proper care and service for individuals suffering from this disease and related illnesses.

In its first full year of existence, the Jay L. Smith Family Foundation had the pleasure of funding 11 different non-profit entities from 5 different states. Some of the services provided by those entities include elderly care, cancer research, family violence clinics, suicide prevention, and Alzheimer's research.

The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation is open to funding new groups and causes; however, at this time, the Foundation will only provide grants to entities and relief efforts in the United States.

Mission Statement

"The mission of the Jay L. Smith Family Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities by funding qualified non-profit organizations that promote family values, support the advancement of healthcare, and serve the disadvantaged."

What we do

The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) foundation that gives grants to organizations that promote family values, support the advancement of healthcare, and serve the disadvantaged.

Projects

Alzheimer's Research

According to the Alzheimer's Association, this disease is the most common type of dementia, a disease that affects millions of people. This past year, the Jay L. Smith Family Foundation gave grants to 2 of the leading facilities in the field of Alzheimer's research.

Strengthening Families

The US Department of Health and Human Services states that domestic violence can expose children to greater risks of substance abuse and criminal activity. The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation recently gave a sizeable grant to a domestic violence clinic in Montgomery, Alabama.

Elderly Care

Caring for the elderly requres a strong unit that includes doctors, nurses, aides, and family members. The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation is dedicated to funding organizations that provide vital services to the elderly, including hospitals and hospice facilities.

Suicide Prevention

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention stated that almost 42,000 Americans took their lives in 2013. The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation granted money to an organization who researches ways to prevent suicide and also the helping of families coping with loss.

Cancer Research

The American Cancer Society recently stated that more than one million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year. The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation dedicated a significant amount of funds in the year 2014 to help find a cure for cancer.

Spiritual Wellbeing

Many Americans suffer from hopelessness and depression. The Jay L. Smith Family Foundation aims to help people find their unique purpose in this life and to help them become better citizens in their communities.

The Melba Bayers Meyer Charitable Trust was created upon the death of Melba Bayers Meyer in 1995. 

Mission

To support a variety of charitable causes, primarily in Pensacola, Florida and Alabama, with emphasis on the needs of children, indigent Native Americans, and the care of neglected animals.

Program areas

• Arts, culture, and humanities 
• Education 
• Environment, animals 
• Health 
• Human services 
• Public/society benefit 
• Religion

NOTE:  The application deadline has been  extended to December 1, 2023.

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Vision

A strong community that nurtures and supports all its families and children with access to opportunity, enrichment, and achievement.

Values

We encourage creativity and collaboration while expecting excellence in ourselves and others.

Our Approach

The work of the Foundation extends beyond grantmaking. We want to be partners in learning not just in funding and are invested in the success and effectiveness of the organizations that are supported. The Foundation staff often provides technical assistance on management and program issues and connects grantees with potential partners and collaborators and helps identify sources of additional support. We also work collaboratively with other grantmakers on important community issues and use our resources and collective voices for solutions.

Grantmaking Focus and Priorities

A healthy and educated community is the foundation’s priority and strategic commitment. In addition to grantmaking, we support the work of the Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama and seek partners who share common interests for collaboration and advocacy allowing for greater impact.

Community Health – Good nutrition, quality health care and positive emotional environments are vital to the health and well- being of children and adults. Many families in the Birmingham area lack access to healthy and affordable food and adequate health services. The foundation supports programs that:

• Expand and improve access to health care and healthy and affordable food for vulnerable populations.
• Encourage healthy behavior, improved mental and physical health and promote wellness and preventive measures.

Education – Opportunity and success are dependent on a quality education and all students need opportunities to prepare them to succeed in school and work. The foundation’s resources are targeted to underserved students to improve academic performance, graduation rate and job readiness.

• Promote school readiness and quality early childhood education
• Ensure students have reading and math grade level skills
• Provide youth development programs that offer mentoring and tutoring

Other focus areas include:

• Responding to community needs by providing basic human services for at risk children and adults living in poverty or with disabilities.
• Improving the community by providing families with safe places to live, exercise and play.
• Bringing arts and cultural activities to all people to enrich lives, build community and fuel a prosperous creative economy.

Types of Support

In some cases, we will consider general operating support grants for programs that match the foundation’s priority focus areas. We also make a limited number of multi-year and capital grants to organizations that can demonstrate broad community impact in one of our focus areas.

If you are considering applying for a multi-year or capital grant, we strongly encourage you to have a conversation with the Executive Director before submitting your application.

Snook Foundation Grant

Our mission is to provide funding for scholarships, promote health care, contribute to civic organizations for the general public, enhance school facilities and provide increased educational opportunities.

Over the last two decades, the foundation has provided funding for scholarships, promoted health care, contributed to civic organizations, enhanced school facilities and educational programs, and increased educational opportunities. We have expanded our goals and provided assistance in times of natural disasters, helped open the doors to numerous fitness, health, and medical centers, and provided a large umbrella of educational assistance with funding for libraries, historical organizations and local afterschool programs.

On the humanitarian side, the foundation has moved to help local nonprofit organizations that specialize in aide and assistance to our local residents. We have provided funding for local food banks, first responders, programs for veterans, and numerous other worthy agencies and organizations.

Our goal at The Snook Foundation is to continue to grow, support and provide to the numerous organizations that strive to open doors and lend assistance to the residents of Baldwin County. We will continue to evolve, much like our area, and our trustees will examine each grant request on a case-by-case basis. Our hope is to open new avenues and pave the way for current and future generations to succeed on all levels.

About Us

The Walker Area Community Foundation is a permanent endowment that will forever help support the charitable needs of our community and improve the quality of life for the people of Walker County and the surrounding area. 

The Foundation is organized as a nonprofit corporation [public 501(c)(3)] under the laws of the State of Alabama and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors of civic leaders selected for their demonstrative awareness of the educational, cultural, civic, public and other charitable needs of the Walker County area. 

What does the Walker Area Community Foundation do? 

• Awards creative, visionary and sensitive grants that address the evolving needs of our nonprofit organizations.
• Leverages and multiplies local giving with outside sources of assistance 
• Demonstrates community leadership by providing seed funding for the initiation of new, innovative, or missing services and aspects of a healthy, whole, and fulfilling community
• Engages the next generations in philanthropy through Project Connect and Project Community and being a partner of Youth Leadership Walker County
• Connects and convenes local organizations with other resources to help cultivate informative and collaborative relationships 
• Supports donors’ planned giving options, providing benefits to the community and financial and tax benefits to the donor(s)

Areas Of Focus

• Arts & Humanities
• Children & Youth
• Education
• Elder Care
• Environment
• Health & Medicine
• Recreation
• Social Welfare

Romay Davis Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity Grant

SEG celebrates our diverse associates, customers and communities, and cultivates an environment that champions inclusion and belonging within our company and the unique neighborhoods we serve. Over the last year, we have expanded our charitable giving focus to support like-minded organizations that share our commitment to elevating belonging, inclusion and diversity while empowering authenticity, educating the broader society and eliminating deep-seated barriers.

Our Romay Davis Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity Grant Program provides essential funding to organizations that equally support inclusivity and take meaningful action to help combat social injustice by bridging the gap of inequities faced by many individuals, families and communities. Since 2020, we have contributed more than $685,000 to help build a more inclusive and equitable future.

The grant supports organizations that work to address racial disparities in health care, food insecurity and education, while building a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

Ms. Foundation for Women

The mission of the Ms. Foundation for Women is to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all. We achieve our mission by investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural and economic change in the lives of women. Ms. has six grantmaking initiatives, one of which is the Birth Justice Initiative.

Birth Justice Initiative

Our Birth Justice Initiative aims to:

• advance equitable birth outcomes and experiences;
• strengthen the capacity, organizational infrastructure, and financial stability of grassroots Black, Indigenous and women of color-led birth justice organizations; and
• expand the frame of birth justice to support intersectional movements and strategies that recognize the full spectrum of experiences and identities in birthing, parenting, and family building.

We believe that Black, Indigenous, and women of color (including trans women and non-binary people) are key experts and should be decision-makers in shaping policy and culture change around birth justice. By investing directly into organizations led by and for women and girls of color, we are ensuring that the movement to address racial based disparities in healthcare, including birth outcomes and experiences, is led by those who are impacted most. Strengthening the collective power of communities of color is critical to addressing the root causes of these disparities and advancing birth justice for all.

The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of all developed nations and Black women die at three to four times the rate of white women in birth – one of the widest racial disparities in women’s health. Systemic racism, implicit bias, and anti-Blackness all contribute to the significant disparities in birth outcomes among Black, Indigenous and birthing people of color. Moreover, the spectrum of intersectional issues that comprise birth justice and the ability to have children and parent with dignity, are not only limited to the birth process.

As such, the Ms. Foundation’s Birth Justice Initiative invests in organizations who represent the full spectrum of birth experiences including–but not limited to–preconception health, mental health and wellness, infertility, abortion access and abortion care, comprehensive sex and sexuality education, non-racist culturally affirming and gender expansive healthcare, access to birth workers of color, access to lactation support and services, postpartum health and wellness, grief and loss care and support, and sexual assault prevention and survivor support services. Organizations supported collectively utilize a range of movement building strategies to advance birth justice—such as narrative change, policy and systems change, advocacy, leadership development, direct service among others. And finally, they work at the intersection of birth justice and other movements, such as disability justice, youth justice, LGBTQIA+ justice, environmental justice, economic justice, and criminal legal reform.

Funding

During this cycle, Ms. will provide one-time grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to selected organizations not currently receiving funding from Ms.’ Birth Justice Initiative. The grant period will comprise two years.