About
We’re making a promise
to Our City.
Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools to attend any public two-year or four-year college or university in Alabama. The program also provides students with coaches to help them succeed in college. Since its inception in 2020, the program has provided $3.4 million in tuition assistance and other supports to 800 Birmingham graduates.
Birmingham Promise also offers an internship program that allows Birmingham City Schools seniors to earn $15 an hour, get job experience and begin building professional networks that will benefit them throughout their careers. To date, 225 Birmingham students have participated in this program, gaining work experience with 80 local employers in targeted industries.
About
We’re making a promise
to Our City.

Our Vision
We envision a world in which every Birmingham City School student is supported and prepared to pursue a postsecondary option that will lead to economic security, mobility, and prosperity.
Our Mission
Our mission is to support and prepare every Birmingham City School student to achieve economic security, mobility, and prosperity. We do this by providing high-quality work experiences in the form of internships and apprenticeships. We also reduce the cost of postsecondary education for students from all academic backgrounds. We operate with a relentless student-centric and asset-based approach to ensure that all of Birmingham’s talent is connected to opportunity.
Our Values
- We center on student well-being
- We measure our success by community impact
- We are honest and we work with integrity
- We are driven by results
- We operate with respect for all
- We work as a team to tackle challenges
- We believe everyone deserves economic opportunity
Board of Directors
Khadijah Abdullah
Vice President, Economic Development and Social Impact
Shipt
Leroy Abrahams
Executive Vice President, Community Affairs President
Regions Bank
Josh Carpenter
CEO
Southern Research
Will Clark
Director of Business Development
Altec Inc
Cathy Sloss Jones
CEO
Sloss Real Estate
Danny McKinney
Partner
McKinney Capital
Board Treasurer
Sara Newell
Executive Director
The Exceptional Foundation
Mark Sullivan, Ed. D.
Superintendent
Birmingham City Schools
Larry Thornton, Sr.
President
Thornton Enterprises
Ralph Williams
Manager of External Affairs
Alabama Power Company
Randall Woodfin
Mayor
City of Birmingham