To read Annual Report, click here.
The 2017-2018 year was another incredibly impactful year for the Junior League of Birmingham as we completed our 96th year of service to the Birmingham community.
Through the work of our Fund Development team, we were able to raise a combined nearly $1 million. Each of our fundraising teams worked tirelessly to meet and exceed goals. In addition, they continued to evaluate and analyze their operations to ensure continued relevance and a bright future for the League. As a result, our Shop, Save & Share fundraiser moved to a digital platform and our Market Noel fundraiser moved to a new location at the Finley Center.
In addition to and complementing our more direct community impact, a key component of the League's mission is to develop the potential of women, including as trained volunteer leaders. This year, the League's Training and Membership teams evaluated and enhanced the training and support offered to our members and to the community. Thus, we held more than 20 different training opportunities on a wide range of topics with more than 575 people in attendance.
To ensure not just our viability, but even great success in the future and especially as we move towards our second century of service, the League undertook internal analysis to ensure long-term strength. That included a massive effort by our communications team. Not only did they publish a monthly e-newsletter and two significant magazines, but they led the effort in assessing the League's brands and taking the needed steps to build on that brand for the future. Thus, in May, the League was excited to unveil its new brand image.
And, as the culmination of all of these other parts of this incredible organization, we continued our deep and ever-present support of the community. We awarded more than $400,000 to 10 deserving grant proposals across Birmingham, awarded scholarships to 10 deserving women across the Birmingham area to help them attain their educational goals, and we operated 37 different projects across the Birmingham community. Those projects included two pilot programs—one designed to assess and address the needs of our aging population and the other to look at how the League could make a difference with respect to the human trafficking happening in our community. There can be no question that the work done by our members across the community helped to build a better Birmingham in 2017-2018 with long-lasting impact.
With deepest gratitude to our donors, members, and the community for making all of these things possible,
Katy Eldridge
President, 2017-2018
Junior League of Birmingham