Awards prioritized small organizations; neighborhoods especially impacted by pandemic

BALTIMORE, MD. (Wednesday, July 20, 2022) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore Civic Fund announced $3.4 million in relief funding for nonprofit organizations serving Baltimore residents. 120 Baltimore nonprofit organizations will receive grant awards of up to $50,000, made available through the City’s million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. This additional $3.4 million comes as the next round of distributions made through the Mayor’s $8.3 million investment into the Baltimore Civic Fund’s Nonprofit Relief Fund, first announced last November.

Today’s announcement brings the total COVID-19 relief funding invested in local nonprofits to more than $28M since December 2020, including the recently announced $7.3M in grants directly from the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs.

Baltimore is one of the only cities in the country that has explicitly and extensively invested in local nonprofit organizations with its ARPA funding.

"In Baltimore, we know our nonprofit organizations provide critical services for our residents and support public safety, equitable neighborhoods, and youth development. They are central to making Baltimore a great place to live and work," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "We are committed to supporting organizations working with our residents and in our communities to make Baltimore the more inclusive, vibrant, and thriving city we all know it can be. "

This round of nonprofit relief funding, which the Baltimore Civic Fund manages, emphasized equity in grant decision-making, prioritizing making awards to small organizations with fewer than 20 full-time employees, organizations that provide critical services to Baltimore residents, and organizations serving neighborhoods most profoundly impacted by the ongoing public health emergency.

"We know that Baltimore’s diverse nonprofit community has continued to work hard throughout the pandemic to support our residents," said HyeSook Chung, president of the Baltimore Civic Fund. "We are proud to partner with Mayor Scott and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs to reach the 120 awardees in this round, some of which are receiving their first investment of federal recovery funds."

Grantees are primarily small organizations with deep roots in Baltimore City. More than 75 percent of awardees have fewer than 20 full-time staff members, and nearly 80 percent of awardees have a staff comprised of at least 75 percent Baltimore residents.

More than 85 percent of 2022 grantees support Baltimoreans with critical services in accessing food, housing, employment programs, educational programs, and other basic needs. Nearly 60 percent operate from one of Baltimore’s qualified census tracts – neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. Organizations will use the funds to address the ongoing fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations, staffing, and services.

"At Charm City Care Connection, we kept our doors open and even expanded considerably during the pandemic to make sure our clients received needed services," said Anne Langley, Executive Director of Charm City Care Connection. "As a small nonprofit, the extra expenses that resulted really strained our limited resources. These funds will cover the costs of improvements we made to our space to make it safer and easier to clean and the increased staff time needed for providing services outside and for cleaning. We are grateful for the extra support!"

"JARC Baltimore promotes strong communities, businesses, and households to ensure that people who work do not live in poverty. Thanks to the support from the Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund, we continue to bring our life-changing programs to Baltimore residents and their families," said Danielle Hoske, Director of Development, Data, and Communications at Jane Addams Resource Corporation Baltimore.

This allocation is the first COVID-19 relief funding received by Charm City Care Connection and JARC Baltimore.

Following the focus on equity and support for small organizations, the Baltimore Civic Fund provided application support and technical assistance to prospective applicants throughout the process, including the opportunity to address missing documents or information before the full review process began. The Civic Fund worked with more than 60 community reviewers who live or work in Baltimore City to make grant decisions, incorporating community voice into the stewardship of Baltimore City’s federal relief funding.

A complete list of 2022 Nonprofit Relief Fund grantees is below.

• 10:12 Sports
• 4MYCITY INC
• Asylee Women Enterprise
• Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation
• Ballet After Dark
• Baltimore Abortion Fund
• Baltimore Adolescent Treatment and Guidance Organization, Inc.
• Baltimore Bar Foundation, Inc.
• Baltimore Children's Museum, Inc. / Port Discovery
• Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Inc.
• Baltimore Family Alliance
• Baltimore Furniture Bank, A Project of Fusion Partnerships, Inc.
• Baltimore International Academy
• Baltimore Jewelry Center
• Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women
• Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School
• Baltimore School for the Arts Foundation, Inc.
• Baltimore Urban Baseball Association
• Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation aka The Door
• Baltimore Youth Arts
• Black Cherry Puppet Theater
• Black Yield Institute
• Bmore Empowered
• Breath of God Lutheran Church
• Buddies, Inc.
• Center Stage Associates, Inc.
• Charles Street Development Corporation
• Charm City Care Connection
• Chazkeinu
• Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School
• Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
• City of Refuge Baltimore
• Citywide Youth Development
• Cody Young Empowerment Youth Charities, Inc. (CYEYC)
• Community Housing Associates
• Creative Nomads
• Digital Harbor Foundation
• Druid Heights Community Development Organization
• Echo Resource Development, INC
• Everyman Theatre, Incorporated
• Excellence & Ambition Inc.
• Franciscan Center, Inc.
• Friendly Loving Opportunities (FLO)
• Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO)
• Greater Baybrook Alliance
• Hampden Family Center
• Hearts of Hope, Inc
• Homeless Persons Representation Project
• House of Ruth Maryland
• Humanim, Inc.
• I AM MENtality
• iMentor Baltimore
• Impact Hub Baltimore | co: Maryland Philanthropy Network
• Intercultural Counseling Connection
• International Social Service-USA
• Intersection of Change
• Islamic Leadership Institute of America
• Italian Cultural Center INC
• Itineris
• Jane Addams Resource Corporation - Baltimore
• Jewish Community Services
• JOY Baltimore, Inc.
• Le Mondo
• Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, Inc (LTYC)
• Let’s Thrive Baltimore
• Manna House, Inc.
• Mariposa Education
• Maryland Art Place
• Maryland Center on Economic Policy
• Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
• Maryland New Directions
• MissionFit Inc
• MK Foundation fiscally sponsored by Maryland Philanthropy Network
• National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs
• Natural Born Champions
• Next One Up
• Nexus-Woodbourne Family Healing
• North East Housing Initiative, Inc.
• Ohr Chadash Academy
• Open Works, Inc.
• Outcast Food Network
• Park Heights Saints Community Center, Inc.
• Patterson Park Public Charter School, Inc.
• Penn North
• PIVOT, Inc.
• Poe Baltimore Inc.
• Public Justice Center
• Rebuild Johnston Square Neighborhood Org
• Rebuilding Together Baltimore
• Sankofa Children's Museum of African Cultures, Inc.
• Sisters Together and Reaching, Inc
• So What Else, Inc.
• Southwest Partnership
• St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, Inc.
• Susanna Wesley House
• Team of We Happyville, Inc
• The African Diaspora Alliance
• The Baltimore Museum of Art
• The Be. Org
• The City Ranch, Inc
• The Edward A. Myerberg Center
• The Ingenuity Project, Inc.
• The Neighborhood Design Center Inc
• The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
• The Pro Bono Counseling Project
• The Producers Club of Maryland dba Maryland Film Festival and SNF Parkway Theatre
• The Urban Oasis
• The Village Incorporated
• Thread, Inc.
• TIME Organization\
• Tuerk House, Inc.
• Ulman Foundation
• Unity Properties, Inc.
• Upton Planning Committee
• Village Learning Place
• Volo Kids Foundation
• WYPR
• Youth Educational Services, Inc.
• Zion Deliverance Center

About the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided $641 million to the City of Baltimore in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its negative economic impacts. Mayor Brandon M. Scott has established the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs to transparently and effectively administer this funding on behalf of the City. For the most up-to-date information regarding proposals, funded projects, and project progress, visit our ARPA Reporting center at arp.baltimorecity.gov/dashboard.

About the Baltimore Civic Fund

The Baltimore Civic Fund is committed to enhancing the quality of life for all residents of Baltimore, one grant, one program, and one partnership at a time. As the fiscal sponsor for the City of Baltimore, the Civic Fund serves as the financial backbone for public-private partnerships between innovative City programs and the philanthropic community. In this role, the Civic Fund manages $12 million annually for more than 125 City programs that promote business and economic development, education, culture, the creative economy, job growth, and more.

The Civic Fund strives to serve as a hub for connection and coordination between the City of Baltimore and the philanthropic community by building relationships and growing support for priority projects. Working alongside the Mayor of Baltimore and City leadership, the Civic Fund helps realize a vision of an inclusive city where all Baltimore residents prosper.