At the Board of Directors meeting in August 2008, the Birmingham Foundation made the decision to streamline its focus within its priority areas when considering new grant requests for the November 2008 and possibly 2009 grant cycles.

The four areas of focus within the 5 priority areas are:

1. Programs that deal with issues of violence, especially youth violence
2. Programs that deal with safety net issues, i.e. food banks, utility assistance, etc.
3. Programs that deal with school youth, i.e. decrease dropout rates; high quality out-of-school programs; improve reading and educational opportunities
4. Programs that deal with healthcare improvements for vulnerable and underserved populations

This list is not all inclusive, but provides examples of the types of proposals the Foundation will consider.