Skip to content
Birmingham Bar Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Birmingham Bar Foundation

To support, promote, and encourage activities for the furtherance of justice and legal education, including but not limited to the education of primary and secondary students, as well as the general public to promote a greater understanding of the law, through scholarships and encouragement of legal research, publications, institutes,…

$64k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Crime & Legal$58kEducation$34kHuman Services$29kArts & Culture$25kReligion$25kCivil Rights$23kYouth Development$23kHealth$16kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 3 grants below total $34,288, the rows itemized in this filing. The $64,028 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $29,740 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $25k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BIRMINGHAM BAR ASSOCIATION YOUNG LAWYERS$15,388
COMMUNITY CARE DEVELOPMENT NETWORK$10,000
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY (CUMBERLAND SHOOL OF LAW)$8,900
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–23, $26k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%JUST KEEP SMILING: $6k → 16%ONE PLACE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $8k → 16%BROTHER BRYAN MISSION: $13k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

29%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$72k · 3 repeat orgs$173k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
16

Total granted

$72k
$148k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+28%

Still filing today

100%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 26% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesCrime & LegalEducationCommunity ImprovementYouth DevelopmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • VP
    VULCAN PARK FOUNDATION
    4× · 2018–2021 · $33k · revenue +14%
  • LA
    Legal Aid Society of Birmingham
    3× · 2018–2023 · $20k · revenue +17%
  • Samford University
    2× · 2023–2024 · $19k · revenue +32%

Funded once

  • HA
    HISPANIC AND IMMIGRANT CENTER OF ALABAMA
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue +7%
  • SF
    STRATEGIES FOR YOUTH
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue +23%
  • BB
    BROTHER BRYAN MISSIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $13k · revenue +113%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Greater Birmingham Ministries

To serve people, build community, pursue justice.

—
2
Community Kitchens of Birmingham

Assistance to homeless and needy persons.

Food & Nutrition
3
Legal Services Alabama Inc

Legal services alabama is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to providing access to justice and quality civil legal assistance to educate and empower alabama's low-income community.

Crime & Legal
4
Nami Alabama Inc

Encourage and enhance advocacy and family support services on behalf of individuals suffering from mental illness.

Health
5
Shelby County Children's Advocacy Center

Shelby County Children's Advocacy Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to ending child abuse through education, advocacy, counseling, family support, and the pursuit of justice.

Crime & Legal
6
Justice Center of Atlanta Inc

Provides mediation services and mediation training for all manner of disputes, private and public, without the need for formal audication through the court system.

Crime & Legal
7
Alabama Partnership for Children

To work in partnership with families and organizations to ensure that all alabama children (birth to five) get everything they need to develop to their fullest potential.

Education
8
Legal Aid of East Tennessee

Legal aid of east tennessee provides legal representation, legal education, and other civil legal services for the low-income population in our community through advocacy of all types.

—
9
Child Advocacy Center of Cullman Inc

Nurturing hope, encouraging health, and promoting healing in troubled families through community collaboration, communication and cooperation

Human Services
10
Habitat for Humanity of Baldwin County Inc

Habitat for humanity of baldwin county, inc. is an ecumenical, christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing by partnering with the community to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.

—
11
Rev Birmingham Inc

Rev birmingham (rev) creates vibrant commercial districts.

Arts & Culture
12
Birmingham Corps

Birmingham corps' mission is to drive fair workforce opportunities and accelerate social change by recruiting, training, and retaining people in birmingham.

Employment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Strategies for Youth; the most unlike its peers is Special Equestrians Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

19 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 19 of the 21 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BIRMINGHAM BAR ASSOCIATION: $15,388 · OtherBIRMINGHAM BAR ASSOCIATIONThe Prescott House: $12,650 · OtherThe Prescott HouseTHE CLASSIC UPWARD BOUND ACADEMY: $10,000 · OtherTHE CLASSIC UPWARD BOUND ACADEMYCOOPERATIVE DOWNTOWN MINISTRIES INC: $6,000 · OtherCOOPERATIVE DOWNTOWN MINISTRIES INCBIRMINGHAH CITY SCHOOLS: $5,236 · OtherBIRMINGHAH CITY SCHOOLSSTRATEGIES FOR YOUTH: $15,000 · OtherSTRATEGIES FOR YOUTHYOUTHSERVE INC: $7,500 · OtherYOUTHSERVE INCTHE MORGAN PROJECT: $7,500 · OtherTHE MORGAN PROJECTVULCAN PARK FOUNDATION: $32,500 · Recreation & SportsVULCAN PARK FOU…Samford University: $18,900 · EducationSamford Univer…THE RESTORATION ACADEMY: $12,000 · EducationTHE RESTORATIO…Legal Aid Society of Birmingham: $20,288 · Crime & LegalLegal Aid So…BIRMINGHAM VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC: $6,250 · Crime & LegalBIRMINGHAM V…BROTHER BRYAN MISSION: $12,650 · Human ServicesBROTHER BRYA…ONE PLACE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $7,500 · Human ServicesONE PLACE FA…JUST KEEP SMILING INC: $6,000 · Human ServicesJUST KEEP SM…HISPANIC AND IMMIGRANT CENTER OF ALABAMA: $15,000 · Community ImprovementHISPANIC AN…Community Care Development Network: $10,000 · Community ImprovementCommunity C…SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $10,000 · HealthSPECIAL EQU…Birmingham AIDS Outreach Inc: $8,750 · HealthBirmingham …MITCHELL'S PLACE INC: $6,000 · HealthMITCHELL'S …
Other$79,274Recreation & Sports$32,500Education$30,900Crime & Legal$26,538Human Services$26,150Community Improvement$25,000Health$24,750

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetVULCAN PARK FOUNDATION: $32,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetLegal Aid Society of Birmingham: $20,288 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSamford University: $18,900 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIRMINGHAM BAR ASSOCIATION: $15,388 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetHISPANIC AND IMMIGRANT CENTER OF ALABAMA: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSTRATEGIES FOR YOUTH: $15,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetBROTHER BRYAN MISSION: $12,650 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetThe Prescott House: $12,650 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetTHE RESTORATION ACADEMY: $12,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetCommunity Care Development Network: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetBirmingham AIDS Outreach Inc: $8,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MORGAN PROJECT: $7,500 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetONE PLACE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetYOUTHSERVE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetBIRMINGHAM VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC: $6,250 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetCOOPERATIVE DOWNTOWN MINISTRIES INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJUST KEEP SMILING INC: $6,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetMITCHELL'S PLACE INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Community Foundat…Alabama Power Foundat…The Daniel Foundation…Susan Mott Webb Chari…The Joseph S Bruno Ch…Hill Crest Foundation…Mike and Gillian Good…Protective Life Found…Altecstyslinger Found…Holle Family Foundati…Dunn-French FoundationRobert R Meyer Founda…
The Community Foundation of Greater BirminghamAL25.6× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham · Alabama Power Foundation Inc · The Daniel Foundation of Alabama · Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust · The Joseph S Bruno Charitable Foundation · Hill Crest Foundation Inc · Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation · Protective Life Foundation · Altecstyslinger Foundation · Holle Family Foundation · Dunn-French Foundation · Robert R Meyer Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Birmingham Bar Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Birmingham Bar Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Strategies for Youth: 21% of income from government
  • Special Equestrians Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 21 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Birmingham Bar’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home