Birmingham groups interested in city funding are invited to attend the BOLD Fund informational meeting on Aug. 7
Birmingham, AL – Non-profit organizations and other groups focused on neighborhood and economic development will have the chance to apply for city funding this month, thanks to the Building Opportunities for Lasting Development Fund. It’s also known as the BOLD Fund.
An informational meeting on the BOLD Fund will be held Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 1:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall. Online applications will go live on Monday, Aug. 19 at www.birminghamal.gov/bold. The deadline to apply is Sept. 13. Applications are open to non-profit, for-profit groups and post-secondary education groups working to improve Birmingham communities. One million dollars is available for the program, which is administered by the city’s Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity.
Applications must address one of the following categories:
- Commercial Revitalization District Development
- Boosting Trade and Foreign Direct Investment
- Young, High-Growth Firm Recruitment, Retention, and Expansion
- Job Accessibility
- Micro-Loans to Small Businesses
- Technical Assistance for Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, and Disadvantaged Businesses
- Social Innovation to Address a Pressing Community Problem
The program started in 2018, which is when 10 out of 38 applications were selected for funding. In 2018, only one category addressed small business. This year, three categories address the issues of small business. The focus on small business was expanded because small businesses have been underinvested in for far too long, yet they generate over half of the job growth, said Josh Carpenter, IEO director. “Small businesses are the pride of our neighborhoods, the gathering places in our communities and the heartbeat of our economy,’’ Carpenter said. “That’s why we created a small business council to help us shape policy and programming to help support them.”
As Carpenter’s department works to promote the BOLD Fund, they will also offer free classes on how to apply for grants, how to write a project narrative, how to put together a budget, how to set goals and more.
The grant writing workshops will be held on the following days:
- Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2 pm at Five Points West Library
- Thursday, Aug. 22, 12 p.m. at North Birmingham Library
- Tuesday, Aug. 27, 5:30 p.m. at Avondale Library
- Wednesday, Aug. 28, 10 a.m. in the Arrington Auditorium of the Linn-Henley Research library (4th floor) in downtown Birmingham
The public is invited to provide feedback on the BOLD Fund application process. Comments are due by Friday, Aug. 16. Residents may submit email questions and feedback to BOLD@birminghamal.gov.
