Organizations can apply for up to $2,500 in funding for community improvement.

Applications opened June 20, for qualifying organizations in St. Clair, Chilton and Walker counties to request up to $2,500 in grant funding for their organizations through United Way of Central Alabama’s 2024 Community Project Grants program.

The Community Project Grants were initiated last year by UWCA in St. Clair and Chilton counties. Grants within each county are decided upon, and distributed by, a United Way Advisory Board composed of community leaders from that county.

Funding through the program will be available for direct costs related to the execution of programs meeting community needs or for one-time expenses that will positively impact the residents of a respective county.

Shakeitha Tatum, Vice President of Agency Relations at UWCA, said the grants are a way to supplement the support given to the myriad services provided by United Way partners and programs through the organization’s annual campaign.

“While all the work that United Way does is driven by volunteers from our community, the Community Project Grants are a way for us to really localize the voices of residents in Central Alabama,” Tatum said. “The local boards give us boots on the ground to support programs and organizations which may not receive consistent funding from UWCA.”

Agencies awarded funds will also be invited to join United Way’s free professional development opportunities, including trainings on a variety of topics, including managing organizational finances and effective advocacy.

Zachary Gentile, Senior Vice President at The Ford Meter Box Company, who heads the local Community Project Grant in his home of St. Clair County, said the funding has enabled community gardens, a human trafficking rehabilitation center and a middle school physical education program.

“Having that Advisory Group of people that live and work here and are so intertwined with the community, we made really good decisions,” Gentile said, “and I can tell you just how grateful the recipients were. I do think that we’ve done something really good here.”

This is the first year that Walker County will hold its own Community Project Grants process. Shelby County is also set to create its own process and Blount County will follow in 2025.

Organizations in St. Clair, Chilton and Walker Counties can request funding online at uwca.org/grant-opportunities.

For more information, go to uwca.org/uwca-grants-will-help-community-projects-flourish.