Grant Awards for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2006
Priority Grant Areas
Community Development
During 2006, the Foundation authorized seventeen community development grants and program expenses totaling $1,270,000.Direct Program Expenses: $171,000
This funding supported consulting assistance to organizations in the Foundation's priority neighborhoods and citywide efforts to create stronger communities.Neighborhoods
Belair Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. $75,000
Belair-Edison Neighborhoods is working to market its neighborhood assets and increase housing investment and values. The organization is also working alongside partners in the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition to sustain homeownership gains and reduce the incidence of predatory real estate practices. This grant supports core staff for neighborhood and commercial revital-ization and homeownership preservation.Charles Street Development Corporation $5,000
The Charles Street Development Corporation was created in 2000 to increase commercial and retail investment along Baltimore's "Main Street" and to work cooperatively with other organizations to strengthen the economy of the area. This grant provides core operating support.Charles Village Community Benefits District $35,000
The Charles Village Community Benefits District uses the Healthy Neighborhoods approach to revitalization to serve a diverse set of neighborhoods north of the city's central business district and Penn Station. This grant provides core support for neighborhood revitalization.Community Law Center $50,000
The Community Law Center is a leader in combating predatory real estate practices that weaken homeownership and destabilize neighborhoods. This grant supports the Law Center's research services in neighborhoods affected by mortgage foreclosure.Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. $84,000
The Foundation has been a consistent supporter of Comprehensive Housing Assistance since the late 1970s. CHAI plays an important role in engaging and coordinating community leaders in Northwest Baltimore, setting the stage for new public and private investment. This grant provides continued support for community development staff.Creative Alliance $20,000
The Creative Alliance's community programs draw thousands of people to Southeast Baltimore and complement the revitalization work of other local community development organizations. This grant provides continued support for three community programs--the Great Lantern Parade, Family Fun Day, and New Neighbors, to engage recent immigrants in cultural and arts activities.Friends of Patterson Park $20,000
Friends of Patterson Park has grown from a small group of community volunteers to a modestly staffed organization with 130 active volunteers that is a model for city park stewardship and revitalization. The organization has attracted significant funding for the renovation of historic park structures and this year will continue an ambitious calendar of events and volunteer activities. This grant provides general support.Greater Homewood Community Corporation $125,000
The Greater Homewood Community Corporation assists a diverse set of forty neighborhoods in North-Central Baltimore. In recent years, it has expanded its activities in the community of Remington. This grant supports activities in Remington and provides general support during a year that includes an executive leadership transition.Jubilee Baltimore, Inc. $100,000
Launched in 1980 with help from the Foundation, Jubilee recently completed a strategic plan and has clarified its mission as a mixed-income development organization. As such, it will bring a mix of market-rate investment and affordable housing opportunities to improving neighborhoods, focusing in the coming year within the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. This grant supports expansion of JubileeÕs development capacity.Mount Vernon Cultural District $20,000
Since its creation in 1996, the Mount Vernon Cultural District has represented twelve cultural, educational, and religious institutions; three foundations; and several leading corporations and agencies in order to increase and coordinate investments in safety, infrastructure, and economic development. Its institutional members have collectively invested more than $500 million in capital in the past twelve years. This grant provides general support.Patterson Park Community Development Corporation $75,000
A Foundation grantee since 1997, Patterson Park Community Development Corporation has raised more than $30 million in development capital to renovate 400-plus homes in Southeast neighborhoods just north of the park. Home values, once below $50,000, are now averaging above $200,000. This grant helps the organization further strengthen its board of directors and fundraising base.Reservoir Hill Improvement Council $50,000
The nonprofit Reservoir Hill Improvement Council continues to work on the tasks of encouraging new market-rate investment and increasing affordable housing opportunities for its racially and economically diverse community. This grant supports neighborhood revitalization staff.Southeast Community Development Corporation $75,000
Southeast is working in the diverse communities of Highlandtown, Bayview, and Baltimore-Highlands to increase residential investment and promote new retail investment along the Eastern Avenue retail corridor. This grant supports staff working on neighborhood and commercial development, including outreach to the growing Latino communityStation North Arts and Entertainment District, Inc. $40,000
Established in 2002 as a special arts and entertainment district that can receive State tax incentives, Station North has made good progress in serving the growing artistic community and building bridges with local neighborhood groups. This grant provides continued support for the position of executive director and related expenses.Citywide Community Development
Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative $75,000
The Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006. BNC has raised more than $6 million from public and private funders for targeted community development activities, currently supporting the work of twelve nonprofits serving fifty neighborhoods. This grant supports BNC's transit-centered and neighborhood revitalization initiatives.Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc. $200,000
Healthy Neighborhoods is working with local neighborhoods to target its pool of $38 million in below-market financing over a five-year period. The grant supports program expansion, development of a schools guide for use in marketing neighborhoods, and development of an expanded West Baltimore revitalization strategy.Live Baltimore Home Center $50,000
The nine-year-old Live Baltimore Home Center has become a national model for programs that increase investment in overlooked and undervalued urban neighborhoods. This grant provides general support for marketing activities and the organization's executive transition.Nonprofit Sector
Sixteen grants totaling $193,300 were authorized in this category in 2006. Nonprofit-sector grants are made in two categories: grants to individual nonprofit groups for organizational development and grants to organizations that strengthen the leadership and management of nonprofits throughout the region.
Organizational Development
Fourteen management assistance grants were awarded in the following categories:Strategic Planning & Leadership Development Grants to review factors that can affect an organization's future success, establish program priorities, develop executive leadership, and set measurable goals.
Advocates for Children and Youth $10,000
Advocates for Children and Youth is a nineteen-year-old advocacy and research organization that leads the debate on how public policy and funding impact Maryland's children. The organization is completing a new strategic plan and guiding an important transition in executive leadership.Creative Alliance $10,000
The many community and cultural events sponsored by the Creative Alliance in Southeast Baltimore's Highlandtown help to strengthen community ties as well as market the surrounding neighborhoods. The organization is implementing a new strategic plan and investing in leadership development.Episcopal Community Services of Maryland $10,000
Episcopal Community Services of Maryland focuses its resources on helping people of extreme poverty battle drug addiction and homelessness. The organization is making plans for a major expansion of its Jericho program, developing the employment skills of the formerly incarcerated.Garwyn Oaks Housing Resource Center $5,000
The Housing Resource Center, one of the original neighborhood members of the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative, has focused on housing counseling and neighborhood marketing for its small Northwest community. It is considering options for expansion of its services to other Northwest neighborhoods.Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation $10,000
GEDCO, as the organization is commonly known, provides affordable rental housing and supportive services to 350 people in five facilities. As it nears the halfway point in a major project to house 500 seniors in Central Baltimore, GEDCO is developing a plan for its future priorities.Herring Run Watershed Association $10,000
After getting past some difficult financial times and hiring new leadership, the Herring Run Watershed Association has developed into a model community-based environmental steward with a volunteer base of 1,600. The organization is developing a plan for its future program priorities.Fundraising & Board Development Grants to develop multiyear plans to diversify and expand income and to develop the skills of boards to achieve fundraising goals.
Action in Maturity $10,000
Action in Maturity annually serves 700 seniors in North Baltimore, 300 of whom live in their own homes. By providing transportation support, it enables clients to live as independently as possible. Recent shifts in public funding require the organization to develop new fundraising approaches.Baltimore Station $10,000
Founded in 1989, Baltimore Station operates long-term shelter facilities in South Baltimore and Seton Hill, serving the needs of homeless men in recovery from chronic substance abuse. Baltimore Station is working to upgrade its ability to track and engage donors and volunteers.Downtown Sailing Center $5,500
The Downtown Sailing Center offers lower-income young people and others affordable access to quality sailing programs and events at its Inner Harbor marina in South Baltimore. It is working on a capital campaign to greatly improve its facilities, allowing the organization to expand its reach to 3,000 people annually.Healthcare for the Homeless, Inc. $10,000
Founded in 1985, Healthcare for the Homeless offers comprehensive medical, mental, social, and addiction treatment for 8,000 individuals annually at clinic sites in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Frederick counties. The organization is working to finish a capital campaign to build a much larger facility that will allow the organization to serve an additional 1,000 individuals annually.Job Opportunities Task Force $7,500
Job Opportunities Task Force was founded in 1996 to provide advocacy for programs and policies that lead to increased opportunity for lower-skill workers and job seekers. The organization is working to expand and diversify its funding base.Program Evaluation
Grants for evaluation help organizations assess program impact and plan for program improvement.Children's Scholarship Fund of Baltimore, Inc. $10,000
Since its 1998 founding, the Children's Scholarship Fund has provided needs-based scholarships to more than 600 students a year, giving families choices other than the public school system. The organization is developing a system for tracking the progress of its scholars.Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. $10,000
CHAI manages an array of community development programs serving residents in Northwest Baltimore. Having recently completed both a strategic plan and a fundraising plan, the organization is now setting up a framework by which it will track and measure progress.Friends of the Family $5,300
The twenty-year-old Friends of the Family advocates for and coordinates funding for the statewide network of family support centers. The organization is a primary partner with the Maryland State Department of Education for strategies that serve the needs of very young childrenÑfrom birth to three years oldÑand, as such, is working to develop a system for tracking the impact of family support centers.
Nonprofit Sector Development
Two grants were awarded to the following organizations:Business Volunteers Unlimited of Maryland $45,000
The four-year-old Business Volunteers Unlimited helps nonprofits assess board leadership needs and trains executives from the ranks of its corporate members for placement on nonprofit boards. The organization receives two-thirds of its revenue from its corporate membership base. This grant provides support for BVU's service to charter schools as well as for the upgrading of BVU's information systems.Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations $25,000
The Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations is a national leader in providing training and management assistance to nonprofits through such programs as Standards of Excellence and Executive Transition Management. This grant provides general support.Regional Initiatives
During 2006, the Foundation authorized four grants and program expenses totaling $202,659 to support regional initiatives.
"Five Years, Fifty Thousand Jobs: Acting Now on Regional Transportation" $32,659
Baltimore Collegetown Network $20,000
The Foundation asked political analyst and journalist Barry Rascovar to take a fresh look at regional transportation needs and opportunities, particularly in light of the increase in workforce expected for Maryland because of favorable decisions made by the national Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The resulting report, "Five Years, Fifty Thousand Jobs," provides an easy-to-grasp assessment of existing transportation systems, and describes ways to improve them and to pay for needed new investments.
The sixteen college and university members of the Collegetown Network have a collective annual economic impact that exceeds $3.3 billion annually. Led by a board of presidents of its member institutions, the organization promotes greater understanding of higher educationÕs impact and initiates programs to better retain talented graduates and faculty in Baltimore. This grant supports operating expenses.Baltimore Transit Alliance $50,000
The Baltimore Transit Alliance and its forty-five member group of advisors are working to marshal the resources needed to move forward with the Baltimore Regional Rail Plan, starting with a focus on the Red Line, which will connect East and West Baltimore from Woodlawn to Fells Point. This grant provides support for staff and related costs for the Alliance, which is housed at the Greater Baltimore Committee.Citizens Planning and Housing Association $75,000
Citizen Planning and Housing Association promotes regional and equitable approaches to transportation and housing investment. The organization is helping community leaders understand and influence transit investments and is advocating for policy approaches that increase affordable housing opportunities in the city and region. This grant supports staff working on transit and housing issues.WYPR $25,000
Since its conversion in 2001 from WJHU to WYPR, the public radio station has greatly expanded its geographic reach, doubled its annual individual membership, and tripled its support from corporate underwriters. This grant supports the stationÕs in-depth coverage of issues affecting the health of the region, including the impact of the BRAC.Established Program Areas
In its established program areas, the Foundation awarded eighteen grants during 2006, totaling $1,545,750.
Community Affairs
Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition $75,000
Begun in the summer of 2005, the Coalition has grown to more than fifty organizations working to lower mortgage foreclosures and reduce related predatory real estate practices, thereby building family assets and strengthening neighborhoods. Five thousand dollars of the grant supported the Coalition's October Forum, "Everybody Pays: The Community Cost of Foreclosure," which attracted more than 150 participants. The remaining funds will support expanded public outreach and program evaluation in 2007.Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Foundation, Inc. $30,000
The Downtown Partnership promotes residential and commercial investment in the city's central business district. The population of downtown dwellers has doubled in recent years, as confidence in Baltimore's housing market has increased. Now numbering 11,000 residents, the downtown residential population isprojected to double again over the next five years. This grant supports contracted demographic and economic analyses of residential growth trends..Enoch Pratt Free Library $35,000
The special Grants Collection of the Enoch Pratt Library assists more than 1,000 people each year from the region's nonprofit organizations, as they research grantmaking and nonprofit management strategies. This grant provides continued support for staff and programming.Education
Supporting Public Schools of Choice $100,000
Supporting Public Schools of Choice is a new program that is helping to build a network of charter school leaders and provide schools with access to technical assistance and advocacy support. This grant provides two years of support for the program director and for contracted technical assistance services. It is housed at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.Children's Scholarship Fund of Baltimore, Inc. $50,000
Children's Scholarship Fund of Baltimore expands the educational choices of lower-income families by offering tuition assistance, so that more than 600 children annually may attend private schools. This grant provides tuition scholarships.East Baltimore Development Inc. $150,000
Since its founding in 2001, East Baltimore Development has made substantial progress on Phase I of its $850 million redevelopment project, including relocation and support services for nearly 400 households, substantial site development, a 300,000-square-foot life sciences facility, and the beginning of construction of 150 new housing units. This grant provides support for a new community school and child development campus, program and facilities planning, curriculum development, and executive recruitment.Johns Hopkins University $218,000
This grant, applied at the discretion of the University's President, supports the Goldseker Scholars Program, which last year provided financial aid to twenty-eight undergraduates from the Baltimore metropolitan area.KIPP Ujima Village Academy $50,000
Baltimore's Knowledge Is Power Program is part of a national network of forty-seven high-performance college preparatory public schools that serve poor communities. This grant supports the development of a business plan to ensure KIPPÕs future in Baltimore.Midtown Academy $30,000
Midtown Academy, recently converted to public charter school status, is known for its diverse student body and its engaged parent volunteers and board. It is a key asset to the Bolton Hill and Reservoir Hill neighborhoods. This grant supports volunteer coordination, fundraising, and strategic planning.Morgan State University $218,000
At the discretion of the University's President, this grant supports the Goldseker Fellows Program, which in the past year provided fellowships to sixty-two graduate students from the Baltimore metropolitan area.University of Baltimore Education Foundation $125,000
The University of Baltimore has greatly expanded programs that both support surrounding neighborhoods and serve the region's nonprofits. This grant provides continuing support for an array of community partnerships: the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance; the Center for Community Technology Services; a social venture business planning program for nonprofits; and a collaboration of UB, Goucher College, and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Human ServicesTHE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore $218,000
The grant addresses basic needs of lower-income individuals, including case management services for older adults and addiction prevention and outreach.The Family Tree $21,750
The Family Tree is a statewide child abuse prevention organization headquartered in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore. Family Tree is partnering with the Charles Village Benefits District to build an engaged network of social service providers in order to work toward mutual goals with neighborhood residents and businesses.Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, Inc. $75,000
Good Samaritan is a teaching hospital in Northeast Baltimore that places a strong emphasis on recruiting and developing entry-level workers from the community. Its job-training programs have outgrown their current space, and this grant will support operating expenses for an expanded program at a nearby neighborhood facility.Maryland Center for Arts and Technology $50,000
The Maryland Center for Arts and Technology was founded in 1999 to develop the skills of the region's entry-level workforce and to place workers in growth industries. This grant supports skills training and job placement of residents from Station North area neighborhoods.Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition $20,000
The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition was founded five years ago by advocates to educate consumers and promote policies that protect them from unfair practices. This grant supports the Coalition's Credit Health Builds Wealth program in the Foundation's priority neighborhoods.Maryland Food Bank $50,000
Founded in 1979, the Food Bank has grown into a national model for collection and distribution of food to a network of churches, food pantries, and human service agencies in Baltimore and across Maryland. It annually provides nearly 12 million pounds of food to 1,000 community food agencies. This grant provides support during its leadership transition, upon the retirement of its long-serving, highly regarded executive director.YMCA of Central Maryland $30,000
The YMCA manages after-school programs serving 1,200 young people in nineteen Baltimore communities. This grant supports the launch of YMCA's new Community Schools program, which is providing educational and human services to parents after hours at nine schools.