4th Terrace N. Neighbor Fund
4th Terrace N. Neighbor Fund
is a small-dollar philanthropic fund focused on economic triage. We seek to support organizations and individuals who lack access to funding elsewhere.
The Name -- From Our Founder
404 4th Terrace, N. That's the house and street I grew up on.
It's where all the stories told in the first section of Me and Mary took place, where my best friends Cameron and Kevin lived five houses down and where Princess, who rode her pink bicycle everywhere, lived three houses down across the street. Unbelievably, I still recall our old phone number -- (205) 325-8463 -- despite all the subsequent phone numbers I've had since and don't remember. My grandmother drilled that information into my head, and it's apparently there to stay.
Our house was exactly a mile from 16th Street Baptist Church and about the same to downtown and to the Alabama Theater where 12-year-old me walked to see my first movie on the big screen -- The Goodbye Girl, a story recounted in This Land Is Your Land. I have so many wonderful memories from growing up there, but it wasn't just my family that made it wonderful, it was the neighborhood and the way people looked after each other.
In Me and Mary, I describe how my grandfather would make home repairs for families that couldn't pay him and how my grandmother would remember every illness of every relative of everyone she knew:
“And how’s Miss Winnie doing after her stroke?” she’d say to the Greek owner of the local market she frequented, referring to his mother. I remember watching his eyes light up in appreciation, as he gave us the update. “I hear your grandboy Richard is gonna be coming home from the hospital?” she’d ask the neighbor we passed on our way back from the store, and they’d stand and “visit” for a few minutes. “I just made up a batch of salve,” she’d mention to Mrs. Pitts as we passed her house, her, out tending her roses. “I’m gonna stop by with some for Harold’s arthritis.” “I’ll have the kettle on,” Mrs. Pitts would reply.
Likewise, in Reason to Believe, one of my Letters from a Birmingham Boy, I described one of our Christmas traditions:
Later that afternoon, we’d bundle up, dressed in our Sunday best, and the entire family, with covered plates in hand, would deliver meals or desserts or jams to friends in the neighborhood. It was my grandmother’s way of doing what my grandfather did when he fixed someone’s leaky roof for free. They were enacting the Beloved Community right there on 4th Terrace N.
The adults kept watch over all the kids on the block and everyone shared the abundance of their gardens with one another, pitched in to support each other through tragedy and created a space where us kids felt utterly safe. The people of 4th Terrace N, along with Mister Rogers, taught me not only what it means to be neighbors, but one of the most important lessons in life. So, when thinking of a name for a fund that offers unconditional support to anyone who needs it and recognizes their inherent worth and dignity, the street I grew up on came to mind.
The impetus behind the 4th Terrace N. Neighbor Fund was giving -- in whatever ways we can to whoever needs it. This spans from individuals struggling to keep their heads above water to small organizations operating in the trenches, and who are best equipped to do the most good. It's about being good neighbors -- like the ones I and my family was so fortunate to have.
Areas of Engagement
Crisis/Disaster Aid
Survival Needs
Student Life Scholarships
Local Charities
Social Justice Media
Movement Builders
