Cooper Family Foundation
Birmingham, AL · EIN 38-4098203. Reported 96 grants totalling $1,350,600 to 67 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Cooper Family Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $4,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $600 and the largest $150,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of the Advent | Birmingham, AL | $250,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Rooted Ministries | Birmingham, AL | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Camp Alpine | Mentone, AL | $95,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Advent Episcopal Church | Birmingham, AL | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Renew Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $57,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Baptist Health Foundation | Birmingham, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Crimson Tide Foundation | Tuscaloosa, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mountain Brook First Responders Foundation | Mountain Brook, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Quarterbacking Children's Health Foundation | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Uab O'neal Comprehensive Cancer Center | Birmingham, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ocean Clean Up Np Foundation | New York, NY | $23,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Unless U | Vestavia Hills, AL | $21,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Calvin College | Grand Rapids, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Triumph of Hope | Birmingham, AL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Apalachicola Riverkeeper | Apalachicola, FL | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alzheimers of Central Alabama Inc | Birmingham, AL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama | Birmingham, AL | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation | Birmingham, AL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Legacy Ministries | Dadeville, AL | $13,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Never Thirst | Birmingham, AL | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Reformed University Fellowship | Lawrenceville, GA | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Big Life | Naples, FL | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Unbound Grace | Vestavia Hills, AL | $11,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross - Midwest Tornados | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Crestline Elementary | Mountain Brook, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Direct Relief | Goleta, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gold Country Wildlife Rescue | Auburn, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hawaii Community Foundation | Kahului, HI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kings Home | Chelsea, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Parkinson Association of Alabama | Birmingham, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Santa Catalina Island Conservancy | Avalon, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Filter of Hope | Tuscaloosa, AL | $9,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Reformed University Fellowship | Charlotte, NC | $9,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Exceptional Foundation | Birmingham, AL | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Urban Promise | Camden, NJ | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Carry Well | Birmingham, AL | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| House of Hope for Children | Cullman, AL | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Woolley Institute for Spoken Language Education | Birmingham, AL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alabama Coastal Foundation | Mobile, AL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alabama Wildlife Federation | Millbrook, AL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Five Talents - USA | Church, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Give Directly | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Heal the Bay | Santa Monica, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jed Foundation | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Marine Conservation Institute | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| No Kill La (nkla) | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rainforest Trust | Warrenton, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thorn | Manhattan Beach, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| World Wildlife Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jh Ranch | Mountain Brook, AL | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Modern Day Missions | Arlington, TX | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Redeemer Church | Birmingham, AL | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| All in Mountain Brook | Birmingham, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Brooke Hester Hustle | Kennedale, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jh Outback Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Legacy | Need Address, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| March of Dimes | Birmingham, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mission to the World | Orange, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Restore Ministries of Birmingham Inc | Mountain Brk, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Hustle and Heart Foundation | Largo, FL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Save the Manatee | Maitland, FL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Ministry for Girls | Birmingham, AL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Portraits of Hope Inc | Birmingham, AL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gospel in Life | Ny, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mountain Brook Council PTO | Mountain Brook, AL | $600 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
17 of 67 (25%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 50%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Cathedral Church of the Advent
TO HELP UNITE PEOPLE WITH EACH OTHER IN CHRIST. - Renew Birmingham
TO RENEW BIRMINGHAM NEIGHBORHOODS. - Mountain Brook First Responders Foundation
TO SUPPORT THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF MOUNTAIN BROOK FIRST RESPONDERS. - Baptist Health Foundation
TO FURTHER THE HEALING MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST. - Camp Alpine
SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KIDS - Uab O'neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO LEADING-EDGE CANCER CARE.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 45 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | $174,500 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 18 | $200,000 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 24 | $294,500 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 34 | $681,600 | $10,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
84% of its giving went to organizations in Alabama. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Alabama.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Cooper Family Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: P O Box 131387, Birmingham, AL, 35213. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 38-4098203 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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