Create Birmingham
Create Birmingham is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Birmingham, Alabama, exclusively devoted to strengthening the regional creative industries through programs in creative entrepreneurship, community arts, Film Birmingham, and the Birmingham365 events calendar. It serves artists, creative entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and municipalities via grants, workshops, and convening.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Create Birmingham does
Create Birmingham is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 (originally as the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, rebranded in 2014) and headquartered at 310 18th Street North in Birmingham, Alabama. Its stated mission is to strengthen and grow the creative industries of the Greater Birmingham region, operating as the only local agency exclusively devoted to the creative sector. The organization runs four programmatic pillars: Creative Entrepreneurship (including CO.STARTERS cohorts, Create Consults, OMBE Business Certification, Office Hours, Business of Creating Workshops, a free Video Library, and Small Business Resources); Community Arts (including the City of Birmingham Community Arts Grant Program at $10,000 per grant, ARPA Recovery Grants in Bessemer, the City of Birmingham Poet Laureate Initiative, and the Creative Communities initiative); Film Birmingham (a film industry liaison service between productions, municipalities, and local crew); and Birmingham365 (a free regional events calendar for arts, culture, and entertainment).
The business model is a managed-services nonprofit funded by a diversified base of foundation grants, government contracts (City of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Alabama Department of Transportation), corporate sponsors, and individual donations. Most programs are delivered free or at low cost to participants; grant programs disburse funds to recipients rather than charge them. A small staff of 6-7 administers more than 15 active programs and convenes partners across the regional creative ecosystem, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, UAB, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Magic City Art Connection, Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, and various municipal agencies.
Underlying technology is minimal and administrative in nature — there are no proprietary software products, no app, and no disclosed AI/ML components. Distribution relies on the Birmingham365 web calendar, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), email newsletter, and in-person workshops and events. Economic impact studies published by the organization (Creative Industries Report 2013, Arts & Economic Prosperity IV) frame the regional creative economy at approximately 23,000 workers (4.68% of Jefferson County jobs), $558 million in household earnings, and $235 million in nonprofit arts and culture economic impact.
Create Birmingham firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Create Birmingham
- Legal name
- Create Birmingham
- Website
- https://createbirmingham.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Create Birmingham is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Birmingham, Alabama, exclusively devoted to strengthening the regional creative industries through programs in creative entrepreneurship, community arts, Film Birmingham, and the Birmingham365 events calendar. It serves artists, creative entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and municipalities via grants, workshops, and convening.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Create Birmingham industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Economy Development & Arts Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL)
Keywords
Where Create Birmingham is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Create Birmingham business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation and Corporate Grants: Create Birmingham receives funding from a wide range of foundations and corporations including The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Alabama Power Foundation, Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation, Regions Bank Foundation, Vulcan Materials Company Foundation, and many others listed on their supporters page.
- Government Contracts and Grants: Funded by City of Birmingham, Jefferson County Commission, Alabama State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Alabama Department of Transportation, and others for specific programs and initiatives.
- Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individual supporters and describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with all contributions being tax-deductible.
- Program Fees: Some programs like OMBE Business Certification and certain workshops may have associated fees. Many core programs are offered free or at low cost to participants.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Other | Free programs including workshops, office hours, webinars, and video library |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Community Arts Grant - $10,000 per grant |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | ARPA Recovery Grant - $5,000 per grant |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Poet Laureate Honorarium - $5,000 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Create Birmingham product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Create Birmingham is a nonprofit organization that supports artists, designers, makers, and cultural producers in the Greater Birmingham region through business education, grant funding, professional consultations, film industry liaison services, and a free community events calendar. Its offerings are organized around four program pillars — Creative Entrepreneurship, Community Arts, Film Birmingham, and Birmingham365 — delivered primarily as free or low-cost programs to individuals, small ventures, and arts nonprofits.
Product overview
Create Birmingham is a nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) exclusively devoted to the creative industries in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 2004 as the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, it operates various interconnected programs organized around four main pillars: Creative Entrepreneurship (offering CO.STARTERS, Create Consults, OMBE Certification, Office Hours, Small Business Resources, Video Library, and Business of Creating Workshops), Community Arts (including the Community Arts Grant Program, ARPA Recovery Grants, Poet Laureate Initiative, and Creative Communities initiative), Film Birmingham (film industry liaison services), and Birmingham365 (comprehensive event calendar). The organization provides business education, funding opportunities, professional consultations, and market access to help creative professionals build sustainable careers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 300+ entrepreneurs graduated from CO.STARTERS since 2014
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Create Birmingham
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Create Birmingham technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Create Birmingham partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- City of Birmingham Department of Community DevelopmentcoreYear-long partnership on Creative Communities initiative designed to equip Birmingham-based artists, creative entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders with skills needed to compete for and execute municipal contracts and community development projects.
- Birmingham CorpscorePartnership on Film Birmingham initiative, with Birmingham Corps providing support for film office operations and workforce development.
- Alabama State Council on the ArtsmajorFunding partner for City of Birmingham Poet Laureate Initiative, providing resources for the honorary position and community engagement programs.
- South ArtsmajorRegional arts organization that has provided funding including Cross-Sector Impact Grants for projects like Scholars for Justice legislative theatre program.
- Birmingham Civil Rights InstitutemajorCommunity partner for multiple grant programs including The View from Here community arts series and Jefferson County Memorial Quilt Project.
- Jones Valley Teaching FarmmajorPartner with Bib & Tucker Sew-Op on The Intersection of Art and Agriculture program combining textile arts with agricultural education.
- Quire ConsultingcoreFacilitator for OMBE Business Certification Cohort Program, providing accountability and technical assistance for minority business owners seeking certification.
- UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham)majorPartnership on Birmingham Jazz Heritage Trail Map project engaging students in historical preservation while integrating documentary filmmaking into curriculum.
- Americans for the ArtsmajorNational organization that produced the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study, with Create Birmingham collecting local data from Jefferson County organizations.
- Magic City Art ConnectioncoreCreate Birmingham serves as premier Cultural Partner for the annual 42nd Magic City Art Connection event, providing professional platform for regional artists.
- 1504 (Narrative Studio)majorPartnership on Joe Minter 'is Here' exhibition project, collaborating on groundbreaking exhibition of African American folk art.
- City of BirminghamcorePrimary municipal partner for multiple initiatives including Year of Birmingham Jazz, Film Birmingham, Community Arts Grant Program, and Poet Laureate Initiative.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Create Birmingham competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: Regional membership and advocacy organization that supports and convenes arts and cultural organizations in Greater Philadelphia. Closely mirrors Create Birmingham's role as a convener, capacity builder, and data producer for the regional creative economy.
- Houston Arts Alliance: Local arts service organization that administers city and county cultural funding, supports individual artists and arts organizations, and produces community-wide programming for the Houston metro — structurally similar to Create Birmingham.
- Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council: Regional nonprofit supporting creative industries and arts organizations in the Greater Pittsburgh region through funding, professional development, and advocacy — a close functional analog to Create Birmingham's role in the Birmingham metro.
- South Arts: Regional arts organization that funds and supports creative activity across the Southeast, including Cross-Sector Impact Grants to Create Birmingham. Same service/grant-making model serving arts organizations in a defined geographic region.
- ArtsWave (Cincinnati): Community-supported arts funding and advocacy organization for Greater Cincinnati, administering grants, conducting economic impact studies, and providing capacity-building services to arts organizations — directly comparable in mission and program design.
- New England Foundation for the Arts: Regional nonprofit that provides grants and resources to artists and arts organizations across New England. Shares Create Birmingham's grant administration, capacity building, and creative-sector development model, though at a multi-state scale.
- Cuyahoga Arts & Culture: Public funder (via county smokeless tobacco tax) that grants to arts and culture organizations in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland). Shares the same grant administration, community arts funding, and creative-sector development function for a single metro area.
Broad incumbents
- National Endowment for the Arts: Federal agency that provides grants to state arts agencies and nonprofit arts organizations, including funding that flows to Create Birmingham via partnerships. The dominant upstream funder and policy actor in the same space.
- Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit that advocates for the arts and produces the Arts & Economic Prosperity studies — including the AEP IV study Create Birmingham contributed data to. Operates at a much larger national scale but shares the same arts advocacy, economic-impact research, and capacity-building mission.
Regional players
- Mid-America Arts Alliance: Regional arts organization serving six states in the central U.S. with grantmaking, professional development, and artist services. Comparable model though operating across a larger multi-state footprint rather than a single metro.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Create Birmingham social profiles
Digital presenceCreate Birmingham financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Create Birmingham leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Create Birmingham subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Create Birmingham funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Create Birmingham M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Create Birmingham
What does Create Birmingham do?
Create Birmingham is a nonprofit organization that supports artists, designers, makers, and cultural producers in the Greater Birmingham region through business education, grant funding, professional consultations, film industry liaison services, and a free community events calendar. Its offerings are organized around four program pillars — Creative Entrepreneurship, Community Arts, Film Birmingham, and Birmingham365 — delivered primarily as free or low-cost programs to individuals, small ventures, and arts nonprofits.
Is Create Birmingham a public or private company?
Create Birmingham is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Create Birmingham founded?
Create Birmingham was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Create Birmingham based?
Create Birmingham is headquartered in Birmingham, United States, in the North America region.
How does Create Birmingham make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Foundation and Corporate Grants are the primary driver. The others are government Contracts and Grants, individual Donations and program Fees.
Who are Create Birmingham's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Houston Arts Alliance, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, South Arts, ArtsWave (Cincinnati), New England Foundation for the Arts and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Broad incumbents are National Endowment for the Arts and Americans for the Arts. Mid-America Arts Alliance is listed as a regional player.
Does Create Birmingham have an API?
No public API is recorded for Create Birmingham.
What industry is Create Birmingham in?
Create Birmingham's product category is Creative Economy Development & Arts Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAL, Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building). Its NAICS code is 71.