The Birmingham Foundation
Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 25-0965572. Reported 158 grants totalling $5,113,303 to 88 organizations 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. The Birmingham 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 $25,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $15,000 and $40,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $130,000. 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. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brashear Association Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $515,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Voices Against Violence | Pittsburgh, PA | $400,000 | 8 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lighthouse Memorial Christian Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $306,500 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mommy's Imagination Station | Pittsburgh, PA | $187,417 | 6 | 4 | 2024 |
| Literacy Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Early Excellence Project | Pittsburgh, PA | $150,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Bears Youth Athletic Association | Pittsburgh, PA | $149,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hello Neighbor | Pittsburgh, PA | $140,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Shadow Student Athlete Development Services Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $138,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Trying Together | Pittsburgh, PA | $126,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy | Pittsburgh, PA | $125,000 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| A Schools | Pittsburgh, PA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hilltop Community Children's Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $100,000 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pittsburgh Literacy | Pittsburgh, PA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Shadow Student Athletic Development Services Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $90,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sisters Place | Pittsburgh, PA | $90,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mt Washington Reams Community Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $80,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Children's Hospital Pittsburgh Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Maya Organization | Swissvale, PA | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Strong Women Strong Girls | Pittsburgh, PA | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| A Giving Heart | Pittsburgh, PA | $71,535 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Reading Is Fundamental Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Pittsburgh Promise | Pittsburgh, PA | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nurturepa Inc | Mcmurray, PA | $68,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hilltop Alliance | Pittsburgh, PA | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Beverly's Birthdays | Pittsburgh, PA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Venture Outdoors | Pittsburgh, PA | $55,417 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Beltzhoover Neighborhood Council | Pittsburgh, PA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Watson Institute | Sewickley, PA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| South Side Community Council | Pittsburgh, PA | $54,250 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Miscellaneous Discrectionary Grants | Pittsburgh, PA | $52,185 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Allies for Children | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mount Washington Community Dev Corp | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Way Organization | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Beltzhover Neighborhood Council | Pittsburgh, PA | $42,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Abiding Missions | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Beltzhoover Consensus Group | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| CASA of Allegheny County | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Childen's Hospital Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Level Equity Building | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Way of Southwestern Pa | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wireless Neighborhoods Dba Neighborhood Learning Alliance | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wqed Multimedia | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $37,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Neighborhood Allies | Pittsburgh, PA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Reading Ready Pittsburgh | Homestead, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sto-Rox Neighborhood Health Council Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Strong Wonen Strong Girls | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| CASA | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Depaul School for Hearing and Speech | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement | Bridgeville, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mt Washington Reams Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pittsburgh Scholar House | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Reading Is Fundamantal | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| 25 Carrick Ave Project | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Alliance for Refugee Youth | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alliance for Refugee Youth Support & Education | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Family & Children's Service | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Saltworks | Avalon, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Soil Sisters Plant Nurseries LLC | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Pure Ball Room Dancing | Moon Twp, PA | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Common Threads | Austin, TX | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cancer Bridges | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Esteem Group Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Future Star Media | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Beltzhoove Concensus Group Jennifer Cash Wade | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,350 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Apraxia Kids | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Center on Education | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Safe Families for Children | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Saltworks | Pittsburgh, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hilltop Investments | Pittsburgh, PA | $7,899 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hill Dance Academy Celete Hickman | Pittsburgh, PA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Children's Sickle Cell Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Small Seeds | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Way Organization (two) | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tickets for Kids Charities | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bartko Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Miscellaneous Contributions | Pittsburgh, PA | $2,750 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pulse | Pittsburgh, PA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pennaeyc | Harrisburg, PA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council | Pittsburgh, PA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
35 of 88 (40%) 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 35%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
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.
- Brashear Association Incorporated
2023 HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM - Brashear Association Inc
FALL 2024 HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE - Voices Against Violence
VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE "LITTLE RICHIE SUMMER EXPERIENCE" 2023 - Lighthouse Memorial Christian Center
LIGHTHOUSE MEMORIAL CHRISTIAN CENTER - The Early Excellence Project
CHILD CARE STABILIZATION AS A CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY - Shadow Student Athlete Development Services
CAMP F.U.N. (FAMILIES UNITE NEIGHBORHOODS)
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 81 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | $1,286,685 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 44 | $1,190,149 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 41 | $1,425,702 | $30,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $1,210,767 | $30,000 |
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.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. The Birmingham Foundation has 2 of them, worth $1,300,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Brashear | Pittsburgh, PA | $700,000 |
| Brashear | Pittsburgh, PA | $600,000 |
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 99% of this one's giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $25,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Pennsylvania.
- 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.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Birmingham Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 320 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15210. 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 25-0965572 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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