Philanthropy : Innovation + Job News

Maryland's congressional delegation presented the Maryland Food Bank with a check for $492,000 to help the non-profit organization feed the growing number of Marylanders seeking its services. The funding for the Maryland Food Bank was included in the omnibus appropriations bill that was enacted into law in December 2009.

The Maryland Food Bank provides meals to approximately 44,600 Marylanders a week and 261,000 people a year. Since the economic downturn began in 2008, the Maryland Food Bank has reported a 30 to 50 percent increase in the demand for food. Many of its clients work fulltime and were considered middle class before the recession.

"In this recession, too many Marylanders have been faced with the difficult decision of whether to buy food or pay other bills such as rent, heat or health care," says Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Budget Committee. "The Maryland Food Bank provides a valuable service in helping to feed our state's hungry, and I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need to carry out their mission."

The Maryland Food Bank, an affiliate of Feeding America, was founded in 1979 to coordinate the procurement and distribution of food donations from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and government agencies to organizations providing free food to the state's hungry. It provides nearly 14 million pounds of food annually to 1,000 Network Partners -- including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, low-income day care centers, after-school programs, senior centers, rehabilitation centers, and other feeding programs.

"This funding couldn't have come at a better time � when the fastest-growing segment of those in need is people who work fulltime and were considered middle-class before the economic recession," Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger says. "The Maryland Food Bank has been helping Maryland families get back on their feet for decades and this funding will now help them put a new roof over their own heads. I am proud to be a part of Team Maryland and will continue to fight to ensure Marylanders have the resources they need to weather this financial storm."

The Maryland Food Bank will use the funds to make improvements to its office spaces, install a new roof at the food bank's 87,000-square-foot distribution center in Baltimore, and other capital needs.

"The mission of the Maryland Food Bank is one of mercy," says Congressman Elijah Cummings. "That our land of plenty has citizens who go hungry is a national embarrassment. The Maryland Food Bank has done incredible work to fix this problem, and I am proud to help it continue that mission, in the words of its motto, until hunger ends."

Over the last 18 months, the Maryland Food Bank and its network of soup kitchens, food pantries and feeding programs have seen an increase in the demand for food of 30 � 50 percent. There has been an 11 percent increase in those accessing feeding programs serviced by the Maryland Food Bank over the last four years.

"In these difficult economic times, the Maryland Food Bank is playing a critical role providing food for the hungry," says Congressman John Sarbanes. "The Maryland Food Bank has been a lifeline for struggling families who didn't know where their next meal was going to come from."

"Because of the efforts of Senators Cardin and Mikulski and Representatives Sarbanes, Ruppersberger and Cummings, the Maryland Food Bank secured critical funding that will help us improve our operations so that we can get more food to more people in need," says Deborah Flateman, Maryland Food Bank CEO.

"We are building a movement to end hunger in Maryland while building a strong, effective organization that can meet the needs of those we serve," Flateman adds.

Source: Maryland Food Bank
Writer: Walaika Haskins 

What makes a neighborhood great? The obvious answer -- its the people. But, attracting people to a neighborhood takes a combination of ingredients that include both home values, services and its public schools. Forging strong partnerships between communities and their schools, that's the motivation behind the Goldseker Foundation's latest grant initiative, Neighborhood-School Partnership.

In recognition of the interdependence between neighborhoods and schools, in which the quality of one directly impacts the quality of the other, the Goldseker Foundation provided the $435,000 to fund the new initiative. The Neighborhood-School Partnership joins another Goldseker Foundation program, Healthy Neighborhoods founded in 2001.

The Goldseker Foundation helped to create the Healthy Neighborhoods program with a $125,000 grant in 2001. Healthy Neighborhoods helps strong but undervalued Baltimore neighborhoods increase home values, market their communities and create high standards for property improvements, while forging strong connections among neighbors. The program has been a catalyst for residential investment, while the current school reform environment in Baltimore City has led to an increasing number of quality public school options to complement an existing network of strong private schools in the city.
 
Last week the non-profit organization announced the partnerships that team five neighborhood organizations with eight local grade schools.

"We've invested $2.2 million to try and create stronger neighborhoods through strong real estate markets, strong resident leadership and emphasizing everything that's right with a neighborhood. We intentionally started in neighborhoods where we wouldn't have to spend 20 years trying to fix the public schools," says Timothy Armbruster, president of the Goldseker Foundation. "We want to stimulate creative thinking about how neighborhoods and schools can work together to build from strength and tell the story about the good things happening in these communities."


Through the partnerships and grants, the foundation hopes to encourage joint neighborhood and school improvement strategies that will enhance the desirability of neighborhoods due to high-quality schools, well-maintained properties, and strong community connections, and also increase enrollment and academic quality at schools serving children living in Healthy Neighborhoods. 

"We'd like to see the education, community development, and public and private funding sectors working together to leverage investments in schools and neighborhoods for greater impact," says Armbruster. "Forging stronger connections between schools andneighborhoods is one more step in making the city more responsive and attractive to a wide range of families, including Baltimore's growing middle class."

The real winners, however, are the students will benefit from the curriculum, programs, and projects instituted at their schools. Students at Calvin M Rodwell Elementary School as a result of a $50,000 grant will take on the role normally held by local TV weatherman. The school's new Weatherbug Science Curriculum will allow the pint-sized meteorologists to use their knowledge of science and math to help create their own weather forecasts. It's partner, Garwyn Oaks Northwest Housing Resource Center will receive $25,000 for core operating support and marketing.

"It is incredibly important [to give students access to these extracurricular opportunities]. We spend so much time on basic skills, on making them ready to met standards. The enrichment they'll receive from these projects that draw on their imagination, that of course is most important," says Dr. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Schools CEO.

Other schools and neighborhood organizations receiving funds are Cross Country Elementary/Middle and partner Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc. (CHAI), Gwynns Falls Elementary and Greather Mondawmin Coordinating Council, City Neighbors Charter, Hamilton Elementary/Middle and St. Francis of Assisi School partnered with Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville Inc., and Barclay Elementary/Middle and Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle partnered with Greater Homewood Community Corporation.

Sources: Tim Armbruster, The Goldseker Foundation; Dr. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Public Schools
Writer: Walaika Haskins

For the second year, the Kresge Foundation is offering some $80,000 in grant money for community art programs. The Foundation believes that a thriving arts and cultural community enriches the quality of life for residents, and in doing so, encourages civic dialogue, inspires new thinking, spurs innovation, and promotes neighborhood transformation.

The monies are part of the $200,000 the Foundation will invest in Baltimore In 2009 and 2010 in order to test its premise that community arts projects can effectively address community challenges. The Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) is the local intermediary and administrator of this program.

According to the BCF, projects must be creative, well-conceived and compelling to be competitive. In 2009, over 130 applications were received; but only 12 grants were awarded with an average grant amount of $7,375.

Grants typically range from $2,500 to as much as $10,000.

Eligibility

• Kresge Arts in Baltimore is open to nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations and municipal agencies or individuals and organizations with a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor.
• Projects must take place in Baltimore City.
• Grant awards are for projects only-- no operating or capital requests will be considered.
• Applicants must include a letter of community or neighborhood support specific to the proposed project.
• Projects must occur between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011.
• No applicant can receive more than one grant per year.

Current Kresge grantees are not eligible to apply unless their project is complete and their final report received by the Baltimore Community Foundation before March 31, 2010.

Priority will be given to proposals with the following components:

• Engaging arts and cultural activities, especially those that are designed and implemented with (not for) participants.
• Projects that connect participants to specific and recognizable community issues, for example high school graduation rate, truancy, youth violence, literacy, parenting skills, recycling, litter, obesity, hypertension, job training, neighborhood safety, negative stereotypes, etc. (Lack of exposure to the arts, art as therapy, or in-school art experiences are not eligible for consideration.)
• Projects that provide arts experiences in non-traditional spaces such as in after-school programs, low-income housing developments, juvenile detention facilities, women's shelters, community health centers, and empty storefronts, the temporary use or re-purposing of a space to facilitate arts activities occurring within communities.
• New or expanded projects, rather than on-going initiatives.
• Reasonable and appropriate costs to execute the project�keeping costs for equipment, materials and food to a minimum. Note: Total project budget may exceed Kresge grant range of $2,500 � $10,000 but other cash or in-kind revenue equal to the extra expense must be identified in the application.
• Appropriate oversight and management to ensure a well designed and implemented project.
• Collaborative projects that include other service providers.

A tax exempt IRS determination letter from the applicant organization or fiscal sponsor is required.

A letter of support from a community organization acknowledging the proposed project and its value to the supporting organization and the proposed target audience is required.

Applications will be declined based on the following criteria: not following application guidelines; incomplete application materials; no arts and cultural component; no connection to community issues; no planned resident participation.

Source: Baltimore Community Foundation
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Get your applications in today! Baltimore Ignite wants big thinkers who just need a little loot to get their idea of the ground. The innovative speaker series devoted to sparking new conversations and innovative thinking across cultures and disciplines has one $1500 grant available for the person deemed to have the most innovative idea that will benefit the citizens of Baltimore City.

The grant is the brainchild of Heather Sarkissian, a former member of the Peace Corps. "My background is in economic and social development. I was helping someone write a grant application, five pages for 1500 bucks, and I said there has to be a better way to fund these projects," she explains.

The experience got Sarkissian thinking about Ignite, the decision to charge for tickets to the upcoming Ignite in March (so attendees have guaranteed seats), her Peace Corps experience and access to grant funding. "Because it was pretty easy to access grant funding you could do these really cool projects if the barrier to entry were a lot lower."

In keeping with the Ignite philosophy emphasizing brevit, the grant application can be no longer than 650 words. The project must be carried out by an individual and cannot be a continuation of a project that's already begun. It must be completed in six months and the winner will present the project at Baltimore Ignite 6.

"The idea is really just to provide people with the opportunity to realize a project that they've been thinking of, but didn't have the access to the cash the needed. Secondly, and more importantly, it's about igniting a conversation around really neat ideas for making Baltimore a better place. That's the more crucial part because in the end we'll only select one winner for the full amount, but that will get people thinking 'if I had $1500 I'd want to this or want to do that,'" she says.

Over time Sarkissian expects that the Ignition grant will gain momentum with each successive Ignite and build up a database of "really cool ideas." The hope is that the grant will not only inspire Baltimore's citizens to think about what they can do to improve the city but also point the city's cash poor big thinkers in the direction of Baltimore organizations from which they could seek funding.

"Some of these individual citizens will either come up with ideas that are already being executed or fits very nicely with the mission of a non-profit and ideally we could just throw a contest that pairs these individuals up with the right organization that's doing this already," Sarkissian notes.

The grant committee includes members from the Baltimore Community Foundation, Enoch Pratt Library as well as several Baltimore Community Foundation grant recipients.

Source: Heather Sarkissian, Ignite Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

East Baltimore Development Inc., (EBDI) was awarded a $12 million grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies to launch the Elev8 Balitmore project, a comprehensive program that seeks to improve educational and social outcomes for middle-school aged children by providing critical support structures for families and the communities in which they live.

Formally known as The East Baltimore Integrated Service in Schools (East Baltimore ISS), Elev8 is a project of East Baltimore Development Inc (EBDI), the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Baltimore Community Foundation. The key components of Elev8 Baltimore are derived from proven models for learning, health, and family supports locally and across the country. The EBDI's  goal is to strengthen the quality and increase the quantity of services available to students and their families through local and national partnerships.

The grant will enable the project to work with selected local schools to develop school-specific plans for delivery of full services for after school learning, comprehensive school-linked health services, and student and family supports to middle grades students and their families. It will enable participating schools, including Collington Square School for the Arts, Dr. Rayner Browne Academy, Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle School, and East Baltimore Community School, with access to local and national professionals with a proven track record with adolescents; cross-school collaboration supported by a Network Director at EBDI and an Elev8 Coordinator
at each school; opportunity to share best practices and engage in local advocacy to improve local and state
approaches to learning, health and supports for adolescents and their families.

As part of the Elev8 Baltimore planning, EBDI is designing a new pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school and reaching out to four existing neighborhood schools as potential sites for Elev8 Baltimore implementation. The prospective schools are located within a mile of one another creating opportunities for sharing resources and services and establishing a meaningful safety net for children, families and neighborhood residents. Similar to the neighborhood demographics, each of the existing neighborhood schools are designated Title I and serve predominantly African American students. Below is a brief description of each school.

School hours at participating schools will be extended by some 50 percent, with the day extended either before or after typical school hours. They will also offer summer educational program lasting at least three to four weeks and Saturday programs at least
once per month. Additional time will also be devoted to rigorous educational and cultural activities related directly to improved
academic achievement and developmental competencies, including academics, with particular emphasis on English, math and science; physical activity, particularly team sports o Culture (music, art, dance, etc.); and behavior, especially factors that are key to academic success, such as study techniques and leadership development opportunities through civic or community engagement.

Student will have access to meaningful relationships with caring, trained adults through evidence-based, school-based mentoring programs. And families will have access to preventative medical services, substance abuse education; mental health education, counseling; dental and nutrition services; and age appropriate reproductive health education. Parents will also have access to information about financial literacy, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other public programs, including child healthcare coverage and food stamps

Source: EBDI
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has donated $10,000 and 10 computers to the Dawson Safe Haven Center. Paul O'Neill, founder of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra says he was touched by the story of Angela Dawson, who perished in her home in East Baltimore after local drug dealers firebombed it in 2002.

O'Neill is currently on tour and dedicated the orchestra's latest album, "Night Castle" to the family, "I was just kind of in awe of this woman and her family. This album is just our way of paying tribute to her and her family," said O'Neill in an interview with WMAR-TV.

The Dawson family home was transformed into the Dawson Safe Haven Community Center in March 2007. The Dawson Center's mission is to provide a safe, nurturing, caring environment for the children and parents of the Oliver Community. After hearing about the Dawson Safe Haven Center O'Neill was compelled to further get involved and honor Angela Dawson's life with a donation.

"This unexpected gift will help us ensure that Angela Dawson and her family did not die in vain,'' says Mayor Sheila Dixon. "The Dawson Safe Have Center nurtures our most precious commodity, our children, the future of our city."

Baltimore Housing has made a commitment to improving the physical environment of the neighborhood through community clean ups and the demolition of vacant and abandoned properties. In addition, the agency funded the development of Preston Place, an affordable housing community in the neighborhood, and the first new homes built in the Oliver community in over 50 years.

Source: Housing Authority of Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's (BSO) OrchKids program received the best Christmas present ever. Baltimore philanthropists Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker will make a leadership gift of $1 million to the BSO's music education and life-enrichment program for kids.

The gift provides essential seed capital to support 50 percent of the OrchKids' incremental expenses as it expands over the next four academic years (years 2-5 of the program). These expenses include hiring additional instructors, purchasing supplies and instruments and adding one full-time administrative position to oversee the program as it grows to more than 300 students over the next four
years. 

Inspired by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop's artistic leadership and community vision, OrchKids is a year-round after-school program that provides music education, instruments, tutoring and mentorship to youth in Baltimore City at no cost to participants or the school. Launched in Fall 2008, the program served 30 first-grade students from Harriett Tubman Elementary School in its pilot year (2008-2009).

The school's closure at the end of the school year brought the program and the majority of the students enrolled in the program to OrchKids' new home, Lockerman Bundy Elementary School, also located in West Baltimore. In its second year, the program has grown to serve more than 150 pre-K through second grade students, both during the school day two days each week and after-school four days a week.

Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker have been involved in OrchKids since its early planning stages. They were among several community members who stepped forward to match Marin Alsop's initial founding contribution of $100,000. "The growth of the OrchKids program would not be possible without this visionary gift from Bob and Rheda," says BSO President & CEO Paul Meecham. "It is a huge vote of confidence in the remarkable progress already shown by the young students, whom they have come to know and love. Their gift, covering approximately 50 percent of the cost of the program over the next four years, will hopefully inspire others to help make a real difference in these children's lives."
 
"I have, for many years, been interested in providing educational opportunities to the underserved population," explains Meyerhoff. "The Meyerhoff Scholar Program at UMBC provides the opportunity to study and earn advanced degrees in Math and Science. The OrchKids project is focused on this same population in the beginning of their educational life. We're hoping to make a big difference there so that they can learn skills such as working with a team to produce something so beautiful and joyous as music. Rheda's longstanding relationship with the BSO and her interest in education makes us the happiest of partners in the OrchKids program."

Source: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Writer: Walaika Haskins

DP Solutions donated 30 laptops to senior class students enrolled in Baltimore City's National Academy Foundation (NAF) High School Academy of Information Technology earlier this month.

Gerald Markowitz, Business Development Manager at DP Solutions, who also sits on the IT Academy's Advisory Board, was responsible for spearheading this project.

"By putting high-end technology in the hands of these students, we help create a unique and modern IT experience for them, as well as attracting new students to the school and increasing enrollment in the IT program," says Markowitz. "It is through the participation of professionals like us that these deserving young people will have the mentoring, job experiences and support they need to succeed."

"DP Solutions' donation will directly support our students, furthering their IT education and providing them with technology necessary to be successful in higher education," Karen Webber-Ndour, Principal at National Academy High School, says. "More than that, DP Solutions' support and generosity tells our students that there are people outside of their high school that care about their success. NAF demands professionalism from its students in preparation for post secondary education and the competitive 21st century workplace. However, we cannot do this in isolation. It is only through partnerships and support from people like DP Solutions that we are able to accomplish our vision."

"DP Solutions' contribution has been put to work to help NAF fulfill its mission � to prepare students to succeed to their fullest potential by enabling them to enter the college and/or career of their choice," continues Ms. Webber-Ndour.

Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center is one of three non-profits that will receive a total of $35,000 from national law firm Ober|Kaler's Community Grants Program. The annual program awards grants to community organizations dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth in the Baltimore and Washington, DC metro area.

Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center, Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc. will each receive a $10,000 Ober|Kaler Community Grant. A special $15,000 Grant will go to Horton's Kids. In addition to awarding the grant, employees of the firm will volunteer their time to this Program. A detailed description of each organization is listed below.

"We are particularly proud to lend a hand this year, our seventh year of giving, during these difficult economic times. The organizations we selected are doing very worthy work in the communities in which we work," said attorney Joseph C. Kovars, chair of Ober|Kaler's Community Grants Committee.

Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center will receive a $10,000 grant. The mission of this program is to provide a continuum of challenging, transformative experiences for 200 Baltimore City youth, 12 to 17 years of age in 2010. The Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center was established in 1986 by community leaders with the mission to build leadership capacity within our community by providing students, educators, and community leaders with opportunities to develop a better understanding of their capabilities and value to their community.

Pediatric Aids/HIV Care, Inc. will also receive a $10,000 grant. This organization provides children living with HIV/AIDS with education, therapy, and youth programming to empower them to live healthy and successful lives. Pediatric Care has been serving youth for over 20 years and will continue to do so until the stigma of HIV/AIDS is eradicated.

Horton's Kids will receive a $15,000 grant for its One-on-One Tutoring Program. The Horton's Kids tutoring program serves 163 children, ages 4-18, from the Wellington Park neighborhood in Washington, DC's Ward 8. The thrice weekly tutoring program takes place in Congressional Office buildings. Horton's Kids is in its eighth year and has successfully developed the "mobile tutoring approach" in which children travel to safe places stocked with personalized educational materials where they meet their regularly-attending volunteer tutors.

Source: Ober|Kaler
Writer: Walaika Haskins

A charitable donation from Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker to the Baltimore Community Foundation and its Baltimore City Public Schools Fund will help double Teach For America's corps size in Baltimore City Public Schools by the 2010-2011 academic year and has already had an impact on the size of this year's corps, helping build it to 243 teachers.

"The Baltimore Community Foundation created the Baltimore City Public Schools Fund to accept contributions from private individuals and businesses who wish to support excellence and innovation in our city's public schools," says BCF President and CEO Tom Wilcox. "Through their generous gift, Mr. Meyerhoff and Ms. Becker are helping Dr. Alonso implement his powerful vision for transforming public education in Baltimore."

Monies raised for the Baltimore City Public Schools Fund are available for special programs and activities in Baltimore schools. Requests by Andr�s A. Alonso, BCPS CEO are reviewed and approved by lead staff and trustees of BCF. Grants from the fund have supported a variety of projects and initiatives, from the Great Kids Come Back campaign, which helped re-enroll hundreds of students who had dropped out; to hiring teams of youth workers to help targeted schools change their culture and improve student behavior; to opening 24 new "Transformation Schools" serving grades 6-12 over the next four years.

Donors may also earmark contributions to the Baltimore City Public Schools Fund for specific purposes, as Mr. Meyerhoff and Ms. Becker have done for the Teach For America initiative.

"We are thrilled by, and extremely grateful for, this significant gift that allows City Schools and TFA-Baltimore to expand City Schools' teacher corps in this time of both economic challenge and critical momentum in our schools," says Dr. Alonso. "Teach For America is an important part of City Schools' overall strategy to improve teacher effectiveness in every classroom, and to continue to increase student achievement. On behalf of City Schools, I thank Mr. Meyerhoff and Ms. Becker for their tremendous generosity and commitment to our kids."

Teach For America, the national corps of top college graduates of all academic majors who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools, came to Baltimore in 1992. Currently, 243 corps members teach in 87 Baltimore City public schools. In addition, 194 Teach For America alumni continue to work in Baltimore in the field of education.

The corps is growing from 163 in 2008-2009, to 243 in the current school year, to 318 by the 2010-2011 school year. The Meyerhoff-Becker gift makes this possible.

"We're grateful to Mr. Meyerhoff and Ms. Becker for their support of our efforts to reach the day when every child in our city will have the opportunity to achieve academic success," says Omari Todd, executive director of Teach For America-Baltimore. "With this partnership, we can continue to provide high-quality teachers and leaders who are committed to taking on the challenges of Baltimore City Public Schools and advocating effectively for fundamental, long-term change."

Source: Omari Todd, Teach for America-Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Maryland Chapter named the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) as the Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation of the Year at its National Philanthropy Day awards lunch.

The award was presented by Eddie C. Brown, a 2002 AFP Philanthropist of the Year honoree, who noted that not only has BCF supported and facilitated his family's philanthropy, it has done the same for thechritable deeds of hundreds of other philanthropists. "BCF serves Baltimore, and it serves Baltimore's donors. My family and I are among the hundreds of donors who have entrusted philanthropic assets to BCF, and who believe in the importance of a strong community foundation for this region."

BCF President and CEO Thomas E. Wilcox accepted the award, saying that he accepted "on behalf of the many hundreds of donors who have made BCF what it is today, and the hundreds more who are hard at work making it what it will be tomorrow."

The Safe and Sound Campaign nominated BCF pointing to the organization's impact in multiple areas of the Baltimore region's civic life and its encouragement of individual and corporate donors to expand their philanthropy. Specifically, the nomination touched on BCF's creation of innovative programs and organizations including Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc., the Middle Grades Partnership and Central Maryland Transportation Alliance.

More recently, BCF's development of a comprehensive civic agenda, "Invest in Baltimore", has provided a framework for donors who wish to focus their philanthropy on building a better Baltimore. "Invest in Baltimore" combines economic development with poverty reduction by making strategic investments in the areas of human services, youth, education, transportation, neighborhoods, diversity, environment, arts and culture, and promoting Baltimore.

BCF helps individuals, families and organizations carry out their charitable plans, with the common goal of improving the quality of life in the greater Baltimore region, today and for generations to come. To donors, BCF offers a complete toolkit for charitable giving, expert assistance in learning more about the causes they care about, and the opportunity to join others with similar interests to learn and give together. To the community at large, BCF offers a permanent, growing source of grant monies, as well as a common meeting ground and leadership on important issues in our region.

BCF also provides grantmaking oversight for two independent foundations, the William G. Baker Jr. Memorial Fund and the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Charitable Foundation.

The Baltimore Community Foundation distributed $28 million in 2008 to hundreds of nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore region and beyond. With assets of $143 million, BCF comprises more than 600 different charitable funds.

Source: Thomas E. Wilcox, BCF
Writer: Walaika Haskins

George Soros is giving $5 million to the Open Society Institute�Baltimore. The philanthropic gift will be used to provide services for thousands of the city's most vulnerable residents, including the homeless and those living in poverty, who have been particularly hurt by the recession.

Homelessness, for instance, in Baltimore has increased by 12 percent over the past year. The funding will provide grants to local nonprofits for a range of services, including jobs and employment training for disadvantaged youth, urgent dental care for homeless people, drug addiction treatment for the indigent, as well as housing, counseling and job training for formerly-incarcerated people. The Family League of Baltimore, for example, will receive $1 million, the largest single grant, to create year-long jobs for 200 youth, including 40 juvenile-court-involved youth who will be trained in construction trades and 50 youth aging out of foster care who will learn to plant, sell, prepare and serve food at Fresh Start Farm.

The $5 million in grants comes from the Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation, a new national fund created by Soros in response to the economic downturn. Soros's foundation, the Open Society Institute, is using the fund to make grants to states and national organizations across the country, including Baltimore, to provide relief from the recession for low-income people.

"Mr. Soros wants to provide an immediate lifeline for the most underserved people in our community who are struggling to find jobs and keep their families healthy," says Diana Morris, director of OSI-Baltimore. "Many jobs have vanished at a time when families need the income most. For some people the need is drug addiction treatment and very basic medical care. These grants form a safety net for the most vulnerable."

The OSI�Baltimore board of directors recently approved half of the $5 million for 10 Baltimore organizations. OSI will award the other half by early 2010 but is not soliciting new funding proposals.

The grants require each recipient to secure matching funds, most of which come from public dollars and will bring substantial additional, new investment to Baltimore.

"Being part of a national foundation enables us to periodically tap special funds and resources for the greater benefit of Baltimore," Morris explains. "All of these new grants support our intertwined local goals of tackling drug addiction, reducing over-reliance on incarceration and helping youth stay connected to school and on the road to success."

Soros founded OSI�Baltimore in 1998 and since then has invested more than $60 million, the largest single investment an individual has made to Baltimore to help those suffering from poverty and discrimination.

Source: Diana Morris, OSI-Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Multinational Development of Women in Technology (MDWIT) organization will soon be able to better help women around the world enter and progress in the technology workforce thanks to a new IT infrastructure funded by a $30,000 donatoin from Lockheed Martin.

MDWIT promotes the advancement of women in technology through the development and dissemination of best practices, programs, research and policy. The new Lockheed Martin-funded system will provide a forum for this information, enabling all women in IT to gain broad visibility, specifically enriching access to and development of innovations, knowledge and research across the industry. The new system will consolidate existing systems under a framework that is easier to use, more collaborative and more interactive than the previous system.

"A technological infrastructure that supports not only communication but also collaboration is critical to furthering our mission," said Claudia Morrell, CEO of MDWIT. "Thanks to the support of Lockheed Martin, we will soon be able to leverage the collective intelligence of women all over the globe to foster a more diverse, productive and innovative workforce."

The new infrastructure will support MIDWIT's regional, national and international initiatives. The application will allow the organization to establish a repository of global knowledge to manage and share information. The system also will provide personalized content and social media tools to facilitate two-way communication between MDWIT's constituents, sponsors, members and partners.

The Baltimore-based organization will introduce the new system later this year.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Claudia Morrell, MDWIT