Through an assets-based approach and identity-based giving, The Penny Foundation provides access to impactful giving at every level and respects the community’s history of generosity. We serve as a philanthropic vehicle for people to focus their resources in the Black community. The Foundation successfully carries out its mission through developing grants, programs and donor advised funds.
In 1890 the first black-owned and black-operated financial institution, The Penny Savings Bank, was founded by Reverend William Reuben Pettiford in Alabama – based in the Magic City.
Created as a necessity of de facto and later codified segregation, The Penny Savings Bank backed and encouraged the development of black businesses, as well as savings by African Americans, especially in urban areas. (Source: www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1828)
Donor Advised Funds
Invest funds into programs that provide the best resources for the community.
Read MoreThe Needs In Our Community Are Great And Every Penny Counts.
Get involved today by joining The Penny Club – a league of members who support the Foundation and its operations. There is also the opportunity to participate in the establishment of a community-owned grocery store, develop a scholarship, or participate in an innovation-fueled conference.
Your gift to The Penny Foundation is an empowered investment in your community now, a testimony to your commitment to its progress, and a vote for the future. Whether you are making a one-time gift, a long term investment, or wish to leave a legacy gift, your contribution is more than an act of charity. Its reach is beyond Birmingham: more than a hand out, it’s a series of arms linked to uplift others.
Give Today And Help Protect Our Community’s Success—Tomorrow And Beyond.
The Foundation gives you an ability to strategically fund your interests and passions, ultimately improving the lives of numerous individuals, families and communities.
The Penny Foundation is here to:
Build Community Wealth
Facilitate Smart Communities
Encourage Entrepreneurship
Foster Communication Among Community Stakeholders
Help Nonprofits and Organizations
The Our Voice, Our Time Project is a video-voice project that provides youth and young adults the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts about their neighborhoods, communities, and the City of Birmingham, AL. The project is a proactive approach, through the use of video, to empower youth and young adults to act as recorders and catalysts for change in their own communities.
Responsibility
"Money's no good unless it contributes something to the community, unless it builds a bridge to a better life. Any man can make money, but it takes a special kind of man to use it responsibly."
Collaboration
"We are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, we are each other’s magnitude and bond."
Community
"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’"
Charity
"To move forward you have to give back."
