NOTE: Contact your local office to discuss your specific project. Applications for this program are accepted year round.

What does this program do?

This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

What is an eligible area?

Rural areas including cities, villages, townships and towns including Federally Recognized Tribal Lands with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census Data are eligible for this program.

How may funds be used?

Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and / or improve essential community facilities, purchase equipment and pay related project expenses.

Examples of essential community facilities include:

• Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
• Public facilities such as town halls, courthouses, airport hangars or street improvements.
• Community support services such as child care centers, community centers, fairgrounds or transitional housing.
• Public safety services such as fire departments, police stations, prisons, police vehicles, fire trucks, public works vehicles or equipment.
• Educational services such as museums, libraries or private schools.
• Utility services such as telemedicine or distance learning equipment.
• Local food systems such as community gardens, food pantries, community kitchens, food banks, food hubs or greenhouses.

Grant Approval

Applicant must be eligible for grant assistance, which is provided on a graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median household income being eligible for projects with a higher proportion of grant funds. Grant assistance is limited to the following percentages of eligible project costs:

Maximum of 75 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 5,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 60 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 55 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 12,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 70 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 35 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 80 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 15 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 90 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income. The proposed project must meet both percentage criteria. Grants are further limited.

Pathway to Sustainability Fund

he Pathway to Sustainability Fund was established to support a cohort of nonprofits intentionally focus their work as it relates to their mission, collaborate to leverage resources, and track outcomes in order to strengthen their organizations and our community.

Fund Description: The Pathway to Sustainability Fund is a collaboration fund to incentivize Madison County direct social service organizations who provide case management to do the following:

• Focus on their mission
• Collaborate to leverage resources
• Track outcomes
• Strengthen organizations and their community

Progress on the Pathway is not linear but progress is possible. Each client’s journey will be unique and organizations will need to work with each client on an individual basis to understand and provide support for their journey. This is not an exhaustive list of client experiences in each phase of the Pathway. It is also not a complete list of possible Focus Areas. Each organization may determine what their clients’ experience looks like and where the organization can intentionally focus its efforts to be most effective.

Crisis

• Likely unemployed & struggle to meet basic needs
• May rely entirely on family, friends, agencies, & other assistance to get by
• May struggle with addiction & mental health issues
• May even engage in illegal activities to survive
• Feel hopeless, helpless, isolated

Focus Areas

• Homeless Shelters
• Mental Health Crisis Care
• Hospital Emergency Care
• Law Enforcement
• Domestic Violence Programs
• Basic Needs (food, clothing,shelter, utility assistance)

Transition

• May have obtained part-time employment but still struggle to make ends meet
• Begin to access government and other resources
• Have found a safer living environment
• May enter recovery programs
• Begin accessing legal services

Focus Areas

• Transitional Housing Programs
• Health Care Programs
• Child Care Assistance
• Transportation Assistance
• Mental Health, Substance Abuse & Recovery
• Legal services & Court Systems
• Job skills & Employment Programs

Stability

• Earn an hourly wage & regular paycheck & benefits
• Can pay their bills on time & reduce debt
• Have found permanent, safe, affordable housing
• May increase skills and education
• Rely more on their own resources with less outside assistance

Focus Areas

• Affordable Housing
• Education & Certification Programs
• Quality Child Care Programs
• Workforce Development
• Financial Counseling
• Health Care & Insurance

Growth

• Permanent employment with good pay, benefits, & opportunities to advance
• May become homeowners
• May even start a business & employ others
• Comfortably meet needs & some wants

Focus Areas

• Home-ownership Programs
• Financial Institutions
• Investment Advisers
• Two & Four Year Colleges
• Wellness Centers
• Entrepreneurial Programs
• Personal & Spiritual Growth

Abundance

• Become self-reliant with a sense of having enough & some to spare
• Plan for retirement and build wealth
• Continue to give back by being generous in many ways, including mentoring others
• Worry less & experience peace of mind

Focus Areas

• Philanthropy
• Volunteering & Mentoring Programs
• Civic Engagement & Leadership Development
• Life-Long Learning Opportunities
• Asset Creation & Growth
• Spiritual Development

Why We Created The Pathway To Sustainability

Our vision is to end generational poverty. We believe that is only possible by working with one client at a time and making intentional investments to break down barriers to progress. We know we can’t do it alone. We work with a variety of community partners who share our vision to close service gaps and help our participants move toward self-reliance.

We started the Community Connections project to help create a community wide collaborative care network that now has almost 200 organizations working together on our network. The next step is to create a community model to help each organization on the network find a focus and work in their area of strength. We hope that, as a result, we will all better serve our clients, reduce duplication of services, and leverage community resources.

Using inspiration from change models in other communities, we have created the Pathway model with input from local organizations. We hope the model will start a community conversation about focusing on what we each do best as we work together to help our clients progress toward self-reliance.

NOTE: Capital Campaign grants will be considered in the first and third quarters of each year (deadline February 1 and August 1). Grant applications pertaining to the Black Belt Region will be considered twice a year, on January 16 and June 16.

Since 2009, the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation has been providing grants to nonprofit organizations in our community, the Black Belt, and the state as a whole to support a variety of programs. From education to the environment, from the cultural arts to neighborhood revitalization, the Foundation has distributed over $26,000,000 in grants to 221 organizations whose work we are proud to support.

The Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation seeks to strengthen communities and improve the quality of life primarily in the Birmingham metropolitan area and the State of Alabama.

Our Service Area

The Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Special consideration is given to support programs that serve the Woodlawn community in Birmingham.

The Foundation will also support efforts that build opportunities in the Black Belt of Alabama, particularly Hale and Greene Counties. Grants that impact the State of Alabama as a whole or that impact policy issues affecting all Alabamians will also be considered.

Grants from the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation are made to support programs that impact:

• The Birmingham metro area;
• The Woodlawn area of Birmingham;
• The Black Belt area in Alabama;
• The State of Alabama as a whole, through influencing policy change at the state level.

Our Program Areas

The Foundation is interested in developing partnerships with nonprofit organizations to achieve measurable results in the following areas:

• Education
• We believe that every child should have the educational resources to become a successful adult. Based on our belief that education is still the best road out of poverty, the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation supports a strong education pipeline. Grants are made to support efforts in early childhood to help children be ready to learn when they enter the school system. Other grants support teachers, students and families to help more children achieve and succeed. These include grants to improve academic outcomes through teacher and principal coaching as well as support for meeting non-academic needs, like physical and mental health needs.
• Neighborhood Revitalization
• We believe in the Purpose Built Communities’ holistic model for rebuilding strong neighborhoods. A strong cradle – to – adult educational pipeline, affordable mixed-income housing, wrap-around social services and local economic revitalization are necessary components for creating livable communities and helping to break the cycle of poverty.
• The Environment
• We believe that the protection of our natural resources and green spaces are vital to the environment and to the health of our communities.
• The Arts and Culture
• We believe that the cultural arts enrich lives and are an integral part of a dynamic and vibrant community.
• Positioning Strategic Community Assets
• We believe that the success of our community depends on the strength of its intrinsic partners – those institutions that represent the best of Birmingham. We are committed to their success.

Grant applications must be geared toward achieving specific results in these focus areas.

Program, Operating and Capital Campaign Grants

We fund capital campaigns and provide grants for operating and programmatic support to organizations engaged in activities that align with the Foundation’s funding interests listed above.

• Program grants are grants of up to $30,000 to support a specific program.
• Operating grants of any amount may be applied for in up to three year increments with an annual review.
• Our goal is to help our grantees focus more on their missions and less on application cycles.
• Capital Campaign grants of any amount will be considered in the first and third quarters of each year (deadline February 1 and August 1).

NOTE:  Round 1 applications are due March 3, 2023. Select applicants will be invited to join the second- and third round RFPs.

Background

The national housing shortage continues to make headlines. Estimates on the number of homes needed to close the gap run in the millions. But one thing is clear: without a stable, affordable place to call home, it’s impossible to thrive.

In an effort to scale needed housing solutions, Enterprise and the Wells Fargo Foundation have teamed up to launch a new $20 million competition. The Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge will identify and propel implementation-ready innovations that transform current practices and reimagine access to affordable homes.

Eligible applicants will compete for individual grants of $1 million, $2 million and $3 million to scale ideas that lay the groundwork for system-wide change. Winners also will receive two years of technical assistance to turn their ideas into real-world programs.

Focus Areas

The Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge aims to meet the nation’s affordable housing challenges across Native, rural, suburban, Tribal and urban communities.

Proposals must encompass one or more of three focus areas:

Construction

• Construction innovations must introduce transformative practices, processes or new materials that will create construction efficiency, streamline supply chains, bolster climate resiliency, or reduce building costs.
• Construction approaches can include but are not limited to:
  • Creation and use of innovative, environmentally sustainable materials 
  • Streamlining the construction supply chain (e.g., materials production, purchasing, delivery, assembly) 
  • Innovative development in the affordable housing construction workforce to accelerate production 
  • New economies of scale through efficiencies in building design
• Construction technologies can include but are not limited to deployment of enhanced building practices and new building technologies.

Financing

• Financing innovations must introduce new tools or strategies to transform or offer alternatives to current practices, broadening access to capital, unlocking or leveraging financial resources, and creating a more equitable housing market for renters and homebuyers.
• Financing approaches can include but are not limited to:
  • New investment strategies
  • New funding sources to support acquisition, development, or building operations
  • New financing mechanisms for acquisition, construction, or permanent financing
  • Improved efficiencies in financing and underwriting
  • Risk mitigation through new investment approaches
  • New credit enhancement strategies
  • Unique ownership structures
  • New approaches that reduce the cost of capital
• Financing technologies can include but are not limited to deployment of technology that accelerates the financing process, development of tools that reduce timelines for approval, and development of tools that facilitate efficient, equitable access to capital.

Access and Resident Support

• Access and Resident Support innovations must introduce new processes or models that improve the housing experience for residents, such as housing access, choice, and stability, advancing fair housing, promoting personal agency and creating pathways for upward mobility.
• Access and Resident Support approaches can include but are not limited to:
  • New models that increase housing choice for renters and homebuyers, such as:
    • Improved housing search process
    • Expanding acceptance of renter subsidies
    • Ensuring equitable access to capital to support homeownership
    • Identifying and addressing discrimination or differential treatment against protected classes
  • Services that connect residents with resources to support upward mobility
• Access and Resident Support technologies can include but are not limited to development and deployment of technology to improve access to housing options, resident experience and resident housing stability.

Innovations across all three focus areas must demonstrate how they center racial equity and, where applicable, integrate environmental sustainability.

NOTE: Requests related to hunger relief programs must be submitted from March 1 to April 30 for a September decision and announcement. See the following grant pages for details on other programs

• Youth or Education
• Housing and shelter.

Our key focus areas.

From alleviating hunger and reducing homelessness to supporting youth programs and education initiatives, we are dedicated to making lives better in the communities where we live and work. Our founder, George Jenkins—affectionately known as Mr. George—believed in giving back and donated his time, talent, and money. We are proud to continue his legacy of building hope and nourishing brighter futures through our support of nonprofit organizations. If you represent a nonprofit organization, request our support. 

Alleviating Hunger

Nourishing hope with food banks.

Providing nourishing meals to our neighbors in need is at the heart of who we are. Our founder, George Jenkins, believed that as a food retailer, we had a responsibility to feed the hungry. “We’re not only in the grocery business; we’re in the people business,” he often said. Since 2015, Publix Super Markets Charities has contributed more than $32.5 million to hunger-related programs. We are proud to continue our commitment to alleviate hunger in our communities year-round by supporting local food banks and other nonprofits across the Southeast.

NOTE: To view the other grant priority areas for the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, please follow these links:

• Health Grants
• Education & Youth Grants
• Arts, Culture and Community Asset Grants

Community Needs

The Foundation supports programs providing for an individual’s basic needs, such as access to food, clothing and adequate housing. Emphasis is placed on classes and programs which help individuals better navigate and manage their circumstances, leading to enhanced job opportunities and outcomes for an improved life for Alabama’s individuals and families. By connecting with rural communities and non-profit organizations, we desire to support communities and spark revitalization in Alabama’s richly diverse rural areas. All of this work is connected to the availability and development of leaders who have the vision and capacity to address these challenges.

A segment of the population highly valued by the Foundation is Alabama’s estimated 400,000 veterans. Given the sacrifices made by our military personnel, they deserve access to services and opportunities that enable them to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

Our priorities:

• Access to food, clothing and adequate housing
• Programs that offer an effective approach to job training and life skills
• Rural community initiatives
• Projects that meet the needs of Alabama’s veterans
• Leadership programs demonstrating success in developing leaders for the nonprofit, government and business sectors

NOTE: A limited number of applicants will then be invited to submit a full application. Preceding the deadline for a full proposal, all invited applicants will be required to schedule a virtual meeting with South Arts to discuss their project. 

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

South Arts recognizes that as our communities continue to change, the arts play an incomparable role in addressing many of our communal and individual challenges and strengths. Further, the value of partnership and working together across sectors brings new opportunities, increased effectiveness, and greater depth to our collective work. Through this program, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that harness the power of “Arts & …”.

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.  Cross-Sector Impact Grants are open to all art forms, for partnership projects taking place in South Arts’ nine-state region. Eligible projects will continue to feature “Arts & …”, for example, arts and the military, arts and equity, arts and aging, arts and community revitalization. Applicants may be organizations, units of government, higher educational institutions, or artists.

For applicants new to this program that did not receive a Cross-Sector Impact Grant in FY20, FY21 or FY22, matching grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded. For these projects, South Arts encourages applications for new projects. However, projects that deepen and expand existing partnerships may also apply. For applicants/projects that did receive funding through this program in FY20, FY21, or FY22 matching grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded in order to continue or advance the project. South Arts anticipates that this grant program will be highly competitive and that successful applications will be fully funded. 

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts. This program addresses two of South Arts’ strategic goals:

• Connect artists and arts professionals in the South to resources that will increase opportunities for success within and outside the region
• Advance impactful arts-based programs that recognize and address trends and evolving needs of a wide range of communities in the South

Project Requirements

South Arts welcomes proposals from partnering entities working together on a project that addresses arts and community impact through cross-sector partnership. Projects must utilize the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance an issue that is of importance in their community. Projects should also establish or advance relationships across at least two different sectors, one being in the arts. 

Arts disciplines may include, but are not limited to:

• Performing arts, including dance, music, theater, musical theater, and opera;
• Literary arts, including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry;
• Visual arts, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media;
• Film or media;
• Traditional and folk arts, including music, craft, storytelling, dance; or
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artforms.

Community impact areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Education, including literacy, youth development;
• Environment, including sustainability, weather impact;
• Health and human services, including aging, prisons and rehabilitation, military;
• Infrastructure, including housing, community revitalization, food and nutrition; or
• Social justice, including immigration, community activation, equity and accessibility.

Matching Requirements

For applicants/projects that are new to this program, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $15,000. For applicants/projects that did receive funding in FY20, FY21 and/or FY22, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $10,000.

A match of at least 1:2 is required, meaning for each grant-funded dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the project.

Up to half of the match may be comprised of in-kind contributions such as donated materials, donated services, or other contributed non-cash assets or staff time diverted to this project. At least half of the match must be cash and cannot include salaried staff time allocated to this project. However, contracted services specifically for this project may be included in the cash match. 

NOTE: All requests related to housing and shelter  programs must be submitted by the deadline above for a decision and announcement near the end of the year. See the following grant pages for details on other programs:

• Youth or Education
• Alleviating Hunger

Our key focus areas.

From alleviating hunger and reducing homelessness to supporting youth programs and education initiatives, we are dedicated to making lives better in the communities where we live and work. Our founder, George Jenkins—affectionately known as Mr. George—believed in giving back and donated his time, talent, and money. We are proud to continue his legacy of building hope and nourishing brighter futures through our support of nonprofit organizations. If you represent a nonprofit organization, request our support

Reducing Housing Insecurity & Homelessness

Building hope.

Our founder, George Jenkins, believed a home provided more than shelter. He believed it gave families safety, independence, and hope. To help those struggling with housing insecurity, Publix Super Markets Charities supports Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofits that provide housing and shelter services across the Southeast. Over the last seven years, we have donated more than $28 million to organizations that provide transitional support, client service programs, and financial support for housing.