Aldridge Gardens reflects power of putting down roots

Once upon a time, the Hoover property that now makes up Aldridge Botanical Gardens was the home of Eddie and Kay Aldridge. On Oct. 27, the house that has become the headquarters for the gardens once again became a place for the Aldridges to greet their guests, as honorary hosts for the Community Builder Legacy [...]

National conference helps community foundations share

Next week, community foundations from across the U.S. will gather for a conference sponsored by the Council on Foundations. It’s a chance to talk about the issues so critical to every community and to learn from the successes — and failures — of others in the field.
The conference theme is “Philanthropy’s Role in Creating Transformative [...]

Habitat builds more than just homes

What happens when you invest your own sweat-equity in building a home, for yourself or someone else? Somehow you build a community, something more than just a safe and solid structure to keep out the rain.
Since early September, Debra Williams, mother of three, grandmother of seven and devoted daughter to her own mother, has been [...]

Tips for giving more: Focus on one charity, join with others

Still looking for ways to increase your impact with limited charitable dollars? Make what can be a hard decision and concentrate all your giving for the year on one organization. Use the tips we have already talked about (research and call the Community Foundation for a recommendation, based on the charities you love).
The wonderful [...]

Grant deadline tomorrow for Community Foundation

We’re looking for great new ideas and new ways to help our nonprofit partners, thanks to the second round of Community Fund grants from the Community Foundation in 2009.
Last spring, we awarded $734,200 to 73 nonprofit organizations from Community Funds, the flexible grantmaking funds dedicated to supporting the most pressing needs and taking [...]

New standards board keeps community foundations on track

Your Community Foundation was one of the first certified in compliance with national standards when this voluntary self-regulation program began in 2000. As a on-going resource for the program, the Council on Foundations recently set up the Community Foundations National Standards Board as an accrediting organization.
National standards were established so that community foundations could formalize [...]

Community health gets boost with $133,000 in grants

The Community Foundation and the Jefferson County Department of Health are powerful partners. Add to the team the other 60 or so organizations that make up the Health Action Partnership, all doing whatever they can to follow “Our Community Roadmap to Health” and make the people of Jefferson County as healthy as they can be.
The [...]

Are you Switzerland? Let’s work together for our community

Andrew Westmoreland, president of Samford University, described the university as Switzerland in a state divided by Alabama and Auburn. In the context of the panel discussion hosted by Brock School of Business on August 19, that phrase could have been a description of neutrality. But it’s really a description of how Samford wants to [...]

Give real estate to help your favorite charity

What do a beach house, warehouse and vacant lot have in common? You can use them all to support your favorite charity.
One donor gave a piece of commercial property in Irondale through a bargain sale, which means that he received the original investment in the property and used the profit as his gift to the [...]

Kathy Kemp says get involved & you can help

“Get involved.” That’s good advice from Birmingham News columnist Kathy Kemp, who invited readers on August 11 to look for creative ways to share their time in support of our community.
It doesn’t have to cost you anything but time, she suggests, since you can support arts and culture by attending free lunchtime lectures at the [...]