PNC Foundation Provides $10 Million Grant to Birmingham Promise for Scholarship Program, Student Success Coaching

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 3, 2024 /3BL/ - Birmingham Promise has received a $10 million grant from PNC Foundation to promote postsecondary success for City of Birmingham school graduates. The grant is the largest of its kind for Birmingham Promise since it was created in 2019 with the mission and vision to serve all students within the Birmingham City Schools system.

Birmingham Promise will use the funding, payable over the next 10 years, to sustain the organization’s scholarship program and expand its work to prepare and support students for college success.

“This grant provides Birmingham students with opportunities to pursue secondary education and empowers young scholars to reach their maximum potential,” said Nick Willis, PNC regional president for North & Central Alabama. “It enriches our community by providing students with the chance to fulfill their dreams, along with the generational impact of graduating without a high burden of tuition debt.”

Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools who attend public colleges and universities in Alabama. The PNC Foundation grant will help Birmingham Promise:

• Sustain scholarships and the program’s success coaches, who work with students throughout their college years to overcome challenges and make the most of their postsecondary education.
• Expand the outreach and counseling it provides high-school students about their college and career plans, connecting them with the programs that best serve their needs.
• Launch an outreach program for middle-schoolers to make sure they are on the best path for college success before entering high school.

“We are so grateful to PNC Foundation for its investment in Birmingham Promise and the students we serve,” said Samantha Williams, executive director of Birmingham Promise. “It’s the kind of sustained commitment that provides a true foundation for the success of our students, now and in the future.”

Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, whose administration led to the creation of Birmingham Promise, said the PNC Foundation’s grant will not only allow individual students to fulfill their dreams but also will ensure the city’s future economic success.

“These students are the future workforce of our city,” Woodfin said. “By investing in them, we are creating a talent pipeline that will make our businesses more successful and our city economically strong.”

About PNC Foundation

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multiyear initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. For more information, visit http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com.

About Birmingham Promise 

Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools who attend public colleges and universities in Alabama. It also manages a paid internship program that allows high school seniors to build valuable work experience. For more information on Birmingham Promise, visit http://www.birminghampromise.org/ or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.