GRANT AWARDS
Year Ending December 31, 2007
Priority Grant Areas
Community Development
During 2007, the Foundation authorized nineteen community development grants and related program expenses totaling $1,646,500.Direct Program Expenses: $184,000
This funding supported consulting assistance both to organizations in the Foundation's priority neighborhoods and to citywide projects focused on creating stronger communities.Baltimore Development Corporation $20,000
In 2007, Baltimore Development Corporation, as a member of the Central Baltimore Partnership, commissioned a Charles North Physical Development Plan focused on eleven specific properties in the vicinity of the intersection of Charles Street and North Avenue. The Foundation is jointly funding the plan along with area property owners, universities, and City agencies.Baltimore Efficiency & Economy Foundation, Inc. $12,500
The Baltimore Efficiency & Economy Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan organization that researches various aspects of the management, operations, and fiscal policy of the Baltimore City government. This grant provides a one-for-one match with City funds to determine which lenders are associated with high foreclosure rates in Baltimore and to assess the impact on City government of foregone property taxes and directly related administrative costs.Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative $60,000
The Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative brings local and national funders, public sector agencies, and business and civic organizations together to coordinate and increase investment in Baltimore's neighborhoods. This grant supports BNC's transit-centered community development and neighborhood revitalization efforts, both of which seek to promote strong, mixed-income communities.Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. $85,000
Belair-Edison Neighborhoods has evolved from an initial focus on preserving homeownership to a broader, community asset building approach that fosters residential and commercial investment in Belair-Edison. At the same time, BENI continues to expand its capacity to serve homeowners with pre- and post-purchase counseling to sustain neighborhood revitalization. This grant provides core operating support.Charles Village Community Benefits District $35,000
The Charles Village Community Benefits District encompasses 100 square blocks, 14,000 residents, and 700 businesses in Central Baltimore. This grant provides operating support for community outreach and basic safety and sanitation services.Community Law Center $50,000
The Community Law Center provides free or reduced-cost legal services to organizations and individuals working to improve the economic and environmental condition of Baltimore neighborhoods, and conducts research to expose and reduce unethical residential real estate practices. This grant funds the Project to End Predatory and Deceptive Real Estate Practices, which analyzes real estate transactions at the individual property level, giving community organizations the information needed for early intervention to preserve homeownership.Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. $135,000
Since the late 1970s, the Foundation has been a consistent supporter of Comprehensive Housing Assistance (CHAI), which works to maintain and promote the Upper Park Heights area as a viable and attractive residential community. This grant provides for compensation of Community Development and Resource Development staff.Friends of Patterson Park $25,000
Friends of Patterson Park has grown from a small group of volunteers maintaining restored park assets into a modestly staffed organization that is a model for city park stewardship and a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. This grant provides core operating support and will assist the Friends with strategic planning.Greater Homewood Community Corporation $175,000
Greater Homewood Community Corporation works to make forty neighborhoods in North-Central Baltimore safer, better places to live by improving education, supporting youth development, and advancing economic development and community revitalization. This grant supports activities in the Remington community and code enforcement efforts on behalf of the Central Baltimore Partnership. It also provides general operating support.Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc. $200,000
Healthy Neighborhoods helps strong but undervalued Baltimore neighborhoods increase home values, market their communities, create high standards for property improvements, and forge strong connections among neighbors. This past year, five new organizations serving eleven communities were selected as Healthy Neighborhoods, bringing the total to fourteen organizations working in thirty-two neighborhoods. This grant supports program expansion.Jewish Funds for Justice $135,000
Jewish Funds for Justice seeks to promote the revitalization of low-income urban communities through grantmaking and loans, service learning, leadership development, organizing, education, and advocacy. This is a two-year grant to support the expansion of JFSJ's Baltimore operations, which in 2007 focused upon revitalization efforts in the Oliver community in East Baltimore.Jubilee Baltimore, Inc. $100,000
Jubilee Baltimore develops and manages housing for low- and middle-income families, primarily in Baltimore's Central and Southeast neighborhoods. This grant provides core operating support to continue Jubilee's work to develop mixed-income housing in Midtown, Station North, and Greenmount West.Live Baltimore Home Center $50,000
Live Baltimore Home Center celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2007, having established itself as a premier marketing and outreach organization promoting the benefits of city living. This grant supports program expansion to market city neighborhoods as attractive options to households expected to relocate to Maryland as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process.Mount Vernon Cultural District $20,000
The Mount Vernon Cultural District marshals the presence and combined influence of Mount Vernon's arts, educational, and religious institutions to improve the appearance, safety, property values, and vitality of the City's distinctive cultural center. In recent years, the organization has increased the visibility of the neighborhood through innovative marketing techniques. This grant provides general operating support.Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. $25,000
Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville was formed in 2001 to spur new residential investment in six Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods. NOGLI now serves 10,000 households and works to enhance commercial interests in the Harford Road corridor. This grant provides core operating support.Patterson Park Community Development Corporation $150,000
Patterson Park Community Development Corporation is widely recognized as the critical catalyst in the revitalization of the neighborhood north of Patterson Park. As the neighborhood has transformed, the need for the CDC to continue developing housing has diminished. In 2007, as the founding executive director prepared to move on and offer his expertise to other city neighborhoods, the Foundation made two grants to support the effort to apply lessons learned from the Patterson Park revitalization to other City neighborhoods while maintaining the success achieved in the Patterson Park community. A challenge grant of $100,000 will seed a new organization to focus on improving market conditions in other targeted neighborhoods, while a separate $50,000 grant will support the existing CDC's planning as it defines a new community role.Reservoir Hill Improvement Council $50,000
Reservoir Hill Improvement Council works from a community-based development model to revitalize an older urban neighborhood while maintaining its racial and economic diversity. This grant is for core operating support.Southeast Community Development Corporation $35,000
Southeast Community Development Corporation works in the diverse communities of Highlandtown and Bayview in Southeast Baltimore. The CDC's programs include residential housing counseling and commercial development along Eastern Avenue. This is an eight-month grant to strengthen its participation in the Healthy Neighborhoods and Main Street programs.St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center $100,000
St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center works to create and maintain equal housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income people through a continuum of housing-related services. This grant consists of a $50,000 grant in support of the foreclosure prevention program and a $50,000 challenge grant to assist the organization in diversifying its funding base as demand for its services continues to increase.Nonprofit Sector
Nine management assistance grants totaling $78,490 were authorized in 2007 to allow nonprofit organizations to engage consulting expertise to help improve their board governance, staffing, and financial performance, and conduct strategic planning and program evaluation.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, manage executive transitions, develop board leadership, establish program priorities, and set measurable goals.Alternative Directions, Inc. $10,000
Alternative Directions helps incarcerated men and women and those leaving prison prepare for and become independent, responsible citizens. ADI will engage its board in planning for a leadership transition as the founding executive director prepares to retire.Glen Neighborhood Improvement Association $8,000
The Glen Neighborhood Improvement Association is partnering with Comprehensive Housing Assistance to implement the Healthy Neighborhoods program in this Northwest Baltimore neighborhood. GNIA, an all-volunteer organization, will use its grant for board development activities, specifically to build the board's capacity to implement Healthy Neighborhoods projects.Pro Bono Counseling Project $6,240
The Pro Bono Counseling Project links uninsured, low-income families and individuals in need of mental health care with licensed professionals who provide volunteer care. The project will evaluate its board structure and work to recruit board members more representative of the community at large and the clientele served.Reservoir Hill Improvement Council $10,000
Reservoir Hill Improvement Council is an umbrella association for the Reservoir Hill neighborhood, consisting of twenty-two community clubs and institutions. RHIC will develop a new five-year strategic plan to help the community work toward a shared vision for its racially and economically diverse neighborhood.Southwest Visions, Inc. $10,000
Southwest Visions is a community housing development organization founded by neighborhood residents more than twenty years ago to provide quality, affordable housing in the Hollins Market and Union Square neighborhoods. Southwest Visions will work to strengthen the governance of the organization by developing the skills of board members to understand the dynamics of the housing market, determine vision and scale for operations, and evaluate projects.Financial Sustainability
A grant to improve the financial management of an organization.Health Care for the Homeless $10,000
Health Care for the Homeless provides health-related services and engages in education and advocacy to reduce the incidence and burdens of homelessness in Maryland. This grant will be used to design efficient and effective processes to maximize patient revenue and accelerate cash inflow to enhance operations.Fundraising & Board Development
Grants to develop multiyear plans to diversify and expand income and to develop the skills of boards to achieve fundraising goals.Jones Falls Watershed Association $5,000
The Jones Falls Watershed Association works to protect and restore the health and beauty of the central Baltimore watershed through restoration activities, monitoring, advocacy, and citizen engagement. This grant supports the development of a fundraising plan to establish a major gifts program and a larger, more diverse base of membership, corporate, and foundation support.Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland $9,250
The Pro Bono Resource Center provides free civil legal help to people and communities in need by recruiting, training, and matching volunteer lawyers with legal services providers and nonprofits serving low-income communities. PBRC is working to reduce historic overdependence on a few funding sources and create a sustainable, diversified stream of funding.Program Evaluation
A grant to evaluate program reach and impact and to design systems for ongoing program review and improvement.Live Baltimore Home Center $10,000
Live Baltimore was created in 1997 to promote city living and to market Baltimore as a preferred living destination. A decade later, the organization has successfully completed its first executive transition and is ready to examine the results of its efforts and their implications for the next decade of programs. Live Baltimore will develop and implement a program evaluation system.Regional Initiatives
During 2007, the Foundation authorized two grants and related program expenses totaling $395,000.
Direct Program Expenses $25,000Central Maryland Transportation Alliance $310,000
A six-month $10,000 grant allowed the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance to determine the feasibility of developing a broad-based, single-issue coalition focused on regional transportation, to identify potential leaders from the private sector, and to acquire sufficient funding to make such a project viable. With a strong, predominantly corporate board in place and experienced staff leadership identified, a subsequent three-year $300,000 grant-combined with similar commitments from other foundations and fundraising among corporate and individual sources-supports the project's first three years' operations.Citizens Planning & Housing Association $60,000
Citizens Planning & Housing Association trains and organizes citizens and neighborhood leaders to be advocates on issues that prevent sprawl while creating safe neighborhoods that are attractive and accessible. CPHA's transit advocacy is an important element in developing an overall regional transportation policy. This grant supports regional transportation staffing and educational outreach.Established Program Areas
In its established program areas, the Foundation awarded twenty-seven grants during 2007, totaling $2,050,000.Community Affairs
Associated Black Charities $25,000
Associated Black Charities' mission is the transformation of the African-American community by cultivating, securing, and directing financial and intellectual capital to develop self-sustaining, cooperative, and competitive communities. This grant shares with ABC the cost of an analysis of nonprofit leadership development and retention in urban job markets, with a focus on lessons that could be applied to expand the African-American middle class in the Baltimore region.Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition $60,000
The Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition consists of public and private funders, lenders, and nonprofit practitioners working collaboratively to develop and implement programs and policies to reduce the incidence of foreclosure and high cost lending in Baltimore. The aims of this effort are to preserve and increase the assets of families, thereby strengthening the neighborhoods in which they live and the city as a whole. This grant funds staff support for the Coalition and the Maryland Housing Counselors Network, as well as research and evaluation.Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation $50,000
The Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation is a division of Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, an important anchor institution in Southwest Baltimore. BSMF develops and manages affordable housing, provides community services, and supports neighborhood revitalization efforts such as cleaning and greening initiatives. This grant provides core operating support.Business Volunteers Unlimited $20,000
Business Volunteers Unlimited provides assessments, candidate matching, and volunteer referrals for nonprofit boards of directors. BVU is one of the organizations in which the Foundation invests to strengthen the leadership of the region's nonprofit sector. This grant supports BVU's board development services, including specialized services for public charter schools in Baltimore City.Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. $25,000
Comprehensive Housing Assistance (CHAI) works to maintain and promote Northwest Baltimore as a viable and attractive residential community. This grant is for a long-range study to determine the affordable housing needs between 2008 and 2018 in CHAI's service area and to analyze market issues to inform future project planning.East Baltimore Development, Inc. $200,000
East Baltimore Development is leading and managing the revitalization of an 88-acre portion of East Baltimore adjacent to the Johns Hopkins medical campus. Phase I, which is ongoing, will include more than 1 million square feet of life sciences research and development facilities, nine hundred units of mixed income housing, and new parks and open spaces. Phase II, scheduled for completion in 2015, will include 1,300 more units of housing, 500,000 square feet of commercial office space, and a community school campus. This grant supports the ongoing work of EBDI's executive team and support staff.Herring Run Watershed Association $35,000
Herring Run Watershed Association works to improve the environmental and aesthetic quality of the watershed by conducting stewardship and education programs and by mobilizing volunteers for monitoring, restoration, and advocacy. This grant supports the establishment of a fund development program to improve the organization's financial sustainability.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, and is one of the organizations in which the Foundation invests to strengthen the region's nonprofit sector. This grant provides support for core operations.Maryland Humanities Council $50,000
In 2007, the Maryland Humanities Council introduced a special yearlong initiative to engage Marylanders in an examination of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the current state of race relations in their communities, and ways to bridge the racial divide and resolve racial differences. This grant supports school and community programs associated with the initiative.Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc. $40,000
Station North promotes and supports the artists and cultural organizations in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District in order to create a vibrant neighborhood where arts, artists, and entertainment venues flourish in the midst of an economically diverse community. This grant supports the position of executive director and general operating expenses.Education
Audubon Maryland-DC $40,000
The Audubon Center in Patterson Park opened in 2002 and provides science education to the families and students of the eight public elementary and middle schools within a ten-block radius of the park. A $20,000 outright grant supports operating expenses, while an additional $20,000 challenge grant is meant to help the organization broaden its base of financial support.Children's Scholarship
Fund of Baltimore, Inc. $75,000
Children's Scholarship Fund of Baltimore expands the educational choices of lower-income families by offering tuition assistance, so that more than five hundred children annually may attend private schools. This is a two-year grant to provide tuition scholarships.Cristo Rey Jesuit High School $125,000
Cristo Rey Baltimore is one in a rapidly expanding network of private high schools whose purpose is to offer a high-quality, college-preparatory education to urban students from poor backgrounds. Students work one day each week at an entry-level job, earning approximately half of their tuition costs. The grant will provide financial aid to students to meet the additional tuition expenses and/or supplement student stipends for work programs with nonprofit organizations.GreenMount School $50,000
The GreenMount School is an independent, parent-governed school based in central Baltimore's Remington community which attracts a diverse student body from across the City. The school serves children in the first through eighth grades. This is a two-year grant for general operating support.Johns Hopkins University $240,000
This grant, applied at the discretion of the University's president, supports the Goldseker Scholars Program, which last year provided financial aid to thirty-four undergraduates, all of whom were graduates of Baltimore City public schools.KIPP Baltimore, Inc. $25,000
Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools. Baltimore's KIPP Ujima Village Academy enrolls approximately three hundred students in grades five through eight and is the highest performing school serving middle grades in Baltimore City. This grant provides general operating support.Midtown Academy $50,000
Midtown Academy is a public charter school serving children in kindergarten through eighth grade, and is known for its diverse student body and its engaged board and parent volunteers. This grant supports volunteer coordination, fundraising, and general operating expenses.Morgan State University $240,000
At the discretion of the University's president, this grant supports the Goldseker Fellows Program, which provided graduate fellowships to fifty-four students from the Baltimore metropolitan area in the 2006Ð2007 academic year.SEED Foundation $100,000
The SEED Foundation established the nation's first urban public boarding school in Washington, D.C. In 2008, SEED will open a second school, located in Southwest Baltimore. The SEED School offers a comprehensive, public, pre-collegiate boarding school program that integrates academic training with life skills and enrichment. This grant is for development, outreach, fundraising, and recruitment expenses associated with establishing this new school in Baltimore.University of Baltimore
Education Foundation, Inc. $75,000
The University of Baltimore engages in programs of outreach and collaboration with neighborhood groups as well as other universities in central Baltimore. In addition, UB offers several programs that benefit nonprofit organizations, such as assistance with business and technology planning and data analysis on the health and progress of Baltimore's neighborhoods. This grant supports analysis of neighborhood indicators and community outreach work in Central Baltimore; technology assistance for charter schools; and placement of student interns in nonprofit organizations.University of Maryland
School of Social Work $75,000
The University of Maryland's School of Social Work Community Outreach Service (SWCOS) has established a Neighborhood Fellows program that places graduate-level social work students in community organizations, to increase the capacity of the organizations and to develop the next generation of nonprofit talent. This grant supports stipends for students as well as the field director's salary and related operating costs.Human Services
Advocates for Children and Youth, Inc. $30,000
Advocates for Children and Youth conducts research that highlights the impact of state and local budget and policy decisions on children, especially children from low-income communities. This grant is in partial support of research and outreach staff positions.THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore $240,000
The grant allowed THE ASSOCIATED to provide emergency financial assistance to lower-income families and older adults; case management for older adults to access support services; and education about addiction and treatment resources.Neighborhoods for All Ages $50,000
Neighborhoods for All Ages, housed at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, seeks to create a network of community organizations with the ability to provide home repair and social services to support low-income older homeowners in targeted neighborhoods. This grant supports staff and consulting services for the project.Baltimore Station $50,000
Baltimore Station provides long-term transitional housing, job training, employment counseling, and medical and legal assistance to homeless men recovering from addiction. This grant supports technology enhancement and professional development training for counselors.CASA of Maryland $25,000
In 2007, CASA of Maryland opened a Workers Employment Center in Baltimore to provide low-wage workers with vocational training, employment placement services, legal assistance, workplace rights education and outreach, and financial literacy programs. This grant will help CASA establish its educational and financial literacy programs in Baltimore.Garden Harvest, Inc. $30,000
Garden Harvest is a nonprofit, organic farm that produces food for over one hundred emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters in the Baltimore metropolitan area. In response to a great need for protein foods, Garden Harvest is working to establish a milk, egg, and cheese program. This grant supports program staff salaries.