Catalyze Birmingham Challenge
Too many young people in Birmingham graduate without a clear line of sight from where they are to where they want to be. The gap between education and meaningful careers isn’t just an inconvenience. It limits economic mobility, narrows community potential, and keeps Birmingham from becoming the thriving city it can be.
In 2023, Birmingham became the first city selected to host a regional version of the national Catalyze Challenge, a nationwide initiative that has awarded nearly $19 million and built a Community of Practice of more than 75 funded organizations. Prosper leads the initiative locally in collaboration with the Walton Family Foundation and a growing coalition of Birmingham’s philanthropic and corporate partners including the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation, Protective Life Corporation, Regions Foundation, The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Alabama Power Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the Altec/Styslinger Foundation, and Innovate Alabama. Together, these partners are helping build a more connected and responsive workforce ecosystem for young people across the region.
Catalyze Birmingham was launched to close the gap between education and opportunity by investing in bold ideas and building the connections needed for those ideas to succeed. As a regional grant initiative, Catalyze does more than provide funding. It brings together educators, employers, nonprofits, and workforce partners to test new approaches, learn from one another, and strengthen the pathways connecting young people to careers. Through a combination of investment, convening, and relationship-centered support, Catalyze is helping build a more connected career-connected learning community for Birmingham’s young people. The goal is not only to help individual organizations succeed, but to create stronger connections across the career-connected learning continuum so more young people can access clear pathways to economic mobility.
The initiative prioritizes learners ages 11 to 22, with a particular focus on students from under-resourced communities who face the greatest barriers to economic opportunity. Across three rounds of funding, Catalyze Birmingham has supported programs working across the full career-connected learning continuum: from early career exposure in middle school to credential attainment, workforce training, and entry into employment.
Round 1 Grantees
Round 1 focused on launching bold ideas, building early partnerships, and testing new approaches to career-connected learning across the region.
Round 2 Grantees
Round 2 built on the initiative’s early momentum by investing in organizations with established infrastructure, strong community partnerships, and the capacity to scale their impact.
Round 3 Grantees
Round 3 introduced a track-based funding structure, creating distinct pathways for organizations developing new cross-sector partnerships and established models ready to scale.
