Group also seeks community members for paid opportunities to review applicationsBaltimore, Maryland — The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC) is now accepting applications for its 2025 summer programs, offering a unique grantmaking process that brings together public and private funders with community decision-makers to shape the distribution of more than $3 million in summer funding.
Grants are available for nonprofit organizations (or those operating with a fiscal sponsor) that provide youth-serving summer programs for Baltimore City children and youth, ages 0-24, from low-income families. Programs must meet certain accessibility requirements, which were determined through community input, such as plans for providing a safe physical and mental space; healthy meals and snacks; safe arrivals and departures; and fee accommodations. The deadline for grant applications is November 20, 2024. Full eligibility and the application portal can be found at bmoresfc.org. This year’s grants are made possible by the SFC partners: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation. Community Reviewers to Help Direct Funding In addition to opening the grant application process, the SFC is inviting community members to participate as paid application reviewers, playing a key role in deciding how summer funding is allocated. Baltimore City youth aged 14-24, as well as parents and caregivers of children aged 13 and under, are encouraged to apply to become community reviewers. Reviewers will use an established rubric to evaluate grant applications and make recommendations that guide funding decisions for the SFC. Since the community review process was established, more than 500 community members have taken part. “The Community Review Process is vital to ensuring that the grants awarded each summer meet the needs and wishes of our community—and marks an important step in collaboration between philanthropy and community. After all, who better to share with funders what kinds of programs will be most beneficial to our communities—and thus a better investment—than the youth and caregivers who live there?” said Julia Baez, CEO of Baltimore’s Promise, which serves as the SFC’s administrative backbone. “Last year, we set a 100% alignment goal between funding and community recommendations. We’re thrilled to say that we met that goal—every single one of the programs receiving funding in Summer 2024 were marked as either Highly Recommended or Recommended by our community reviewers.” Applications for community reviewers are open through November 18, 2024. Each community reviewer will receive a stipend for their time, and training is provided. Transportation, meals, and childcare assistance will be available. More information and the application form can be found at bmoresfc.org. Media interested in learning more about the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative process are invited to attend an information session or community review session. We can also arrange an interview with a member of the SFC and/or community reviewer. Please contact Melanie DeStefano, Manager of Communications, Baltimore’s Promise, at [email protected], if you plan to attend. Timeline of Key Dates
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The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC) is proud to announce the awarding of more than $4 million in grants across 70 high-quality summer programs for children and youth living in families with low incomes in Baltimore City.
These grants help fund summer programs that provide academic support to reduce summer learning loss, connect youth to valuable work experiences, and engage young people in enrichment activities that allow them to pursue interests, discover talents, and develop skills. The SFC’s grant process includes a community review of applicants. This year, nearly 150 youth 14-24 and caregivers to children 13 and under categorized applications into funding priority levels, from highly recommended to not recommended. Another 36 community members facilitated the review sessions. This community review is vital for helping SFC funders align their spending with high-impact programming that meets the needs of our young people. SFC funders relied on community review results for decision-making or incorporated the scores and feedback into an existing decision-making process. The SFC’s funding members include some of Baltimore’s largest public, private, and nonprofit institutions: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, BGE, the Blanket Fort Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Richman Foundation, and the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation. Baltimore’s Promise acts as the collaborative’s administrative backbone. While each funder has its own priorities for grantmaking, ranging from literacy and STEM to youth employment and social-emotional wellness, they work collaboratively to make complementary funding decisions to support a diverse set of summer programs, as evidenced by this year’s recipients:
The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC) is now accepting applications for summer 2024, seeking summer programs that provide meaningful opportunities to Baltimore City youth from families with low incomes.
In 2024, the SFC is prepared to grant approximately $4 million to youth-serving summer programs. The application period will be open until Nov. 15, 2023. The SFC will consider nonprofit programs (or those operating with a fiscal sponsor) that serve Baltimore City children and youth (ages 0-24) from families with low incomes. The programs must be accessible to participants, with plans in place for healthy meals and snacks, safe arrivals and departures, and any necessary fee accommodations. This year’s eligibility criteria also reflect six priorities that Baltimore’s Promise heard directly from local youth and families. Specifically, programs must demonstrate how they are accessible, youth-centered, and operated by engaged and professional staff; and how they provide safe mental and physical spaces, relevant knowledge and skill-building, and exposure to diverse experiences. More details about upcoming information sessions, program eligibility, and the application process, which will be open until Nov. 15, 2023, are available on the SFC website (bmoresfc.org). Funders with a shared mission The SFC is a partnership of public, private, and nonprofit organizations. While each member has its own priorities, all members share the goal of funding a variety of high-quality programs that engage children and youth, encourage summer learning, and support Baltimore’s next generation as they reach for their full potential. Together, the partners aim to provide high-quality summer programs that help reduce the learning loss –or “summer slide” – that can occur when youth are disengaged from learning and skills-development over the summer months. SFC partners are also committed to including the community in decisions about resource allocations. Over the past five years, more than 500 Baltimore City youth, young adults, and parents and caregivers helped evaluate applications, informing funding decisions and ensuring they reflected community priorities. Community reviewers will support all SFC funding decisions this year. Current SFC members include The Annie E. Casey Foundation, BGE, the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, the Blanket Fort Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Richman Foundation, and the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation. Programs with a vital vision SFC-funded programs expose young people to exciting opportunities that can spark new passions – from drone flying to international travel – and provide youth with safe, accessible, and engaging activities led by caring and dedicated adults. Examples of the types of programs funded in previous rounds include: ● A pre-K center that provided education-based programs for Baltimore’s littlest learners. ● A Baltimore City farm-based summer camp that exposed youth to gardening, foraging, and cooking with locally grown ingredients. ● A Black-owned, youth-led program that integrates life skills into education on bike mechanics and rider safety. To learn more about the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative, access the application, and register for an info session, visit bmoresfc.org. SFC 2024 Timeline ● October 12, 2023: SFC ‘24 RFP Launch ● October 19, 2023: SFC Virtual information session 1:30-3:00 PM on Zoom ● October 23, 2023: SFC In-person information session, 5:30-7:00 PM at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Waverly Branch ● Nov. 15, 2023 at 5:00 PM: Deadline for applications. ● Feb. 21, 2024: Grant decisions announced. How do you determine if summer programs are meeting the needs of Baltimore youth and families? Ask them.
That was Baltimore’s Promise’s approach to steering the review process of the Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC). The nearly decade-old partnership pulls together over 10 public, private, and nonprofit organizations that support high-quality summer programs for local children and youth from low-income backgrounds. By asking youth and parents/caregivers to weigh in on funding applications, Baltimore’s Promise aims to meaningfully incorporate power-sharing and align funding decisions with community priorities. Reviewers’ decisions directly affect more than $2 million in funding for local summer programs. To Sylvia Witt, a mother of four who participated in the 2023 review, the need for these voices seemed clear. “I'm not very learned about how programs go about getting their funding or how they go about giving funding. But I will say it sure makes a lot of sense to consult your constituents about what they would like to have happen in the summer for their youth. That sort of feedback seems invaluable. You can't put a dollar amount to the sort of thing that's happening around the tables here,” she said. Saidah Ervin, a 16-year-old community reviewer agreed, adding that she aimed to align the funded programs with the interests of her peers and those of the communities around her. “I hope that I'll affect what actually does get funded,” she said. “If we're not getting feedback from … the types of community members that would be doing the program, we don't know if it actually serves who it's supposed to serve, and we don't know if it's something that people want or need. Hear more from Saidah in this short video. Weighing in from different angles Baltimore’s Promise, which serves as the administrative backbone for the SFC, developed the participatory grantmaking approach with a firm belief that improving program quality requires the voices of — and decision-making by — diverse groups of young people and their families. SFC’s review process leads to better-quality programs and, in turn, better outcomes for youth. To recruit community reviewers — Baltimore City-based parents or caregivers of children ages 0-13 and youth ages 14-24 — Baltimore’s Promise relied on its own channels, and those of community-based partners. Baltimore’s Promise paid reviewers for their time, paid for transportation, and provided food and child care to ensure more community members would be able to take part. Reviewers brought their own experiences and interests to the discussions and didn’t always agree on their evaluations. “I love having a seat at the table, having a voice at the table, and being able to hear other people’s perspectives and know that I'm not always right,” said Montaze Cooper, an older youth participant. “Hearing other people’s perspectives at a collaboration table, it makes me understand because I'm an open heart. Wow. I didn't look at it from that way. But let me add that into my perspective … and that might change my decision.” Ebony Simmons, a mother of five whose children range in age from 13 to 24, said she understood some programs focus on academic skills but was particularly interested in programs that introduced young people to potential careers. “One application was on video and coding, for example. And I know my son would love that as a camp. To … expose yourself to that — and not in college where you're spending thousands — you get a chance to see if that's something you want,” she said. “It could be a great opportunity for a lot of students because, the thing is, a lot of times in these communities, they're not even exposed to certain career options.” Affecting opportunity Participants also mentioned the benefits of learning more about the variety of available opportunities across Baltimore. “I have a lot to learn about what goes on where and what summer programs are happening — much less, which ones are good or bad,” said Witt, who moved to Baltimore with her family from Detroit three years ago. “As a parent, we all have our different ideas about what’s good for our family, and what’s not good for our family. So it’s just nice to see this side of the application to know what the programs are intending to do.” Ervin said she plans to serve as a community reviewer again next year. “I plan on doing it until I age out!” she said. “Not only do you get paid for doing this, but you also can actually affect what gets funded in the city. You can affect the programs that you might do, which is really, really cool, really beneficial. You also just learn a lot more about how these kinds of things work. … I told all my friends to get involved.” Range of public, corporate and nonprofit funders work collaboratively to provide great summer opportunities for Baltimore’s young peopleBALTIMORE – Working together to pay for summer opportunities for young people, the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (the Collaborative) announced today it has awarded just over $5 million in grants to support 90 high-quality summer programs for children and youth living in families with low incomes in Baltimore. The grants will help fund summer programs that provide academic support to reduce summer learning loss, connect youth to valuable work experiences, and engage young people in enrichment activities that allow them to pursue interests, discover talents, and develop skills. The Collaborative is a partnership between public, private and nonprofit institutions that aims to create summer program opportunities for families. The Collaborative’s members include some of Baltimore’s largest public, private and nonprofit institutions: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, BGE, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, Blanket Fort Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Hinkey-Benson Family Fund, The Richman Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, and the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation. Baltimore’s Promise serves as the backbone administrator for the Collaborative. Funders who are members of the Collaborative have varying priorities for grantmaking, ranging from literacy and STEM to youth employment and social-emotional wellness, but work collaboratively to make complementary funding decisions to support a diverse set of high-quality summer programs to help Baltimore youth have the chance to reach their full potential. This year several new funders joined the Collaborative, including BGE, the Blanket Fort Foundation, and West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation, all attracted to working in partnership on summer grant decisions. “Blanket Fort Foundation was excited to be a part of the 2023 Summer Funding Collaborative. The SFC is an excellent opportunity to work alongside community members and peer funders to help provide high quality summer experiences for children and youth in Baltimore,” said Sara Lerner, Executive Director of the Blanket Fort Foundation. “We are pleased to join the Summer Funding Collaborative and work in partnership with so many other funders committed to supporting Baltimore’s young people,” said Kristen Bucher, BGE Workforce Development Manager. “This collaborative approach helps us all make better funding decisions that ensure we support strong programs that will give Baltimore children and youth the kinds of summer experiences they need and deserve.” The Collaborative’s funding decisions were informed by an in-depth community review process through which more than 150 Baltimore residents, both adults and youth, reviewed all 178 funding applications. Review sessions took place both online and in-person, and all participants were paid for their time. For the in-person review meetings, reviewers were also provided with meals, transportation assistance and child care. Assessments of grant applications by members of the community provided SFC funders with valuable perspective from young people and families. Many SFC funders either directly relied on community review results for decision-making or incorporated the scores and feedback into an existing decision-making process. In addition, all SFC applicants received feedback from the review process to support planning for their summer programs and future grant applications. “The community review process was extremely valuable in helping The Annie E. Casey Foundation make informed decisions for this upcoming summer funding cycle,” said Adrian McLemore, Program Officer with the Baltimore Civic Site of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “The community provided thoughtful insights and analysis on the critical summer needs for Baltimore’s youth. The SFC is grateful for the time, attention and care each member provided to this process.” The following organizations will receive funding from the Summer Funding Collaborative:
This is the ninth year of summer youth funding provided by the Collaborative. Last summer, the Collaborative provided over $5.3 million in funding throughout Baltimore City and funded more than 9,500 summer youth opportunities.
This year, the SFC received 178 applications and over $12 Million in requests with just over $5 Million in funding available to support summer programs. For the ninth year in a row, over 10 public and private organizations will work together to support high-quality summer programs that serve youth from families with low incomes in Baltimore City. The application period runs from today, December 1 at 5pm, to Friday, January 13, 2023 at 5pm. This year, $4.8 million is available in funding for summer programs. BCYF is investing $2 million in funding for summer programs. This year they are prioritizing organizations led by Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian leaders and summer programs serving older youth.
Does this sound like a good fit for your summer program? Learn more about the application requirements and apply for funding at bmoresfc.org. Online Application Portal This year, the SFC is excited to launch our new online application portal! Your application for SFC 2023 funding must be completed via the online portal, which will be released Wednesday, December 7. Live trainings for the online portal will be provided at our in-person and online information sessions on December 7 and 8. In addition, we will upload a training video for anyone who is unable to attend an information session, and will provide technical assistance for any applicants who have questions about completing the portal and online application. In advance of next week's information sessions, we encourage you to read through the full SFC 2023 Request for Proposals. The RFP contains all the information you need to learn how to apply for SFC 2023 funding. It also contains a list of the application questions that will be asked in the online portal. Application Info Sessions Potential applicants are encouraged to attend one optional virtual info session to ask questions about the application and its requirements:
Application Technical Assistance and Capacity Building The SFC is excited to offer many different capacity building opportunities to support Baltimore-based organizations whose participants are youth and young adults ages 0-24. Some of our sessions will specifically help you to complete your SFC 2023 funding application. Please be sure to register for sessions in advance so that facilitators are able to plan accordingly. Please contact [email protected] with any questions. Click here for more information about our:
In 2016, Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative applicants expressed interest in building partnerships with other enrichment organizations and service providers in advance of the RFP release so that they are better prepared to submit applications for funding. To this end, the Summer Funding Collaborative assembles and maintains the Baltimore Summer Enrichment Directory: a directory of organizations seeking and/or offering specific kinds of partnership, contractors, professional development, technical assistance. This directory is linked as an additional resource related to the Summer Funding Collaborative RFP. View the directory by clicking here. If you would like to be included in the Directory, or update information from previous years, you are invited to (re)submit your information here. Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative Announces $5.3 Million for Children & Youth Programs3/16/2022 BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (the Collaborative) has awarded $5.3 million in grants to support 93 high-quality summer programs for children and youth living in low-income families throughout Baltimore City. The Collaborative is a partnership between public, private and nonprofit institutions that aims to create summer program opportunities for families that provide academic support to reduce summer learning loss, connect youth to valuable work experiences, and/or engage youth in enrichment activities that allow them to pursue interests, discover talents, and develop skills.
Collaborative members – some of Baltimore’s largest public, private and nonprofit institutions – include the Abell Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Clayton Baker Trust, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, France-Merrick Foundation, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Hinkey-Benson Family Fund, Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, Lockhart Vaughan Foundation, The Richman Family Foundation, and United Way of Central Maryland. While members of the Collaborative bring their own priorities to the table – including literacy, STEM, youth employment, and social-emotional wellness – they work together to make complementary funding decisions with the goal of supporting a diverse set of high-quality summer programs to reduce summer learning loss and ensure more youth have the chance to reach their full potential. The Collaborative is committed to ensuring that Baltimore City youth can access programs that allow them to learn and grow during the summer months and prepare them for success throughout the year. This year, the Collaborative welcomed the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, which committed $2 million in funding for summer programs run by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led organizations and for programs serving older youth ages 14-24. The older youth priority was identified as a result of the Baltimore City Youth Opportunities Landscape (BCYOL), a citywide data collection and analysis effort conducted by Baltimore’s Promise that showed that older youth disconnected from school and work had the fewest out-of-school time opportunities available to them. Employing an explicit equity lens, BCYF and the Collaborative have expanded funding for stakeholders that public and philanthropic funding have historically under-resourced. “BCYF is honored to make an investment in older youth who are often overlooked and lack access to out-of-school time enrichment,” said Alysia Lee, President of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund. “These young people are close to or in the beginning phases of adult-hood and they need to know they still have the support of their city and its institutions.” In addition, Baltimore’s Promise facilitated a robust community review process for all 190 funding applications. The process engaged 11 community-based organizations and 150 individual reviewers. Reviewers used a Community Review Rubric developed from the findings of BCYOL, which in addition to mapping youth opportunities also engaged 161 young people, parents, and caregivers to understand local priorities for out-of-school time opportunities. The community review process provided SFC funders with in-depth insight into stakeholder perspectives. Many SFC funders either directly relied on community review results for decision-making or incorporated the scores and feedback into an existing decision-making process. The Baltimore Children and Youth Fund’s $2 million in funding, for example, was directly determined by community review results. In addition, all SFC 2022 applicants received feedback from the review process to support planning for their summer programs and future funding applications. "The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is deeply appreciative of the time, effort, and expertise shared by community members and partner organizations throughout the SFC Community Review Process," said Rachel Duden, Weinberg Foundation Program Officer, Education. "The comprehensive Community Review Process enabled the Foundation to directly incorporate reviewers' insightful feedback into the grants decision-making process. It is incredibly rewarding to see how the Collaborative and its impact have grown since its inception in 2015, both creating and expanding educational and employment opportunities for young people in Baltimore.” The following organizations will receive funding from the Summer Funding Collaborative: 10:12 Sports ¡Adelante Latina! A Revolutionary Summer Access Art, Inc. Afrikan Youth Alchemy Art with a Heart Arts for Learning Maryland AZIZA PE&CE B-360 Backyard Basecamp Baltimore Clayworks, Inc. Baltimore Curriculum Project Baltimore Youth Arts Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation Beadly Speaking Jewelry LLC Black Girls Cook Black Wall Street Charm City Bon Secours Baltimore Community Works Bridges Baltimore Brittany K. Booker Foundation Inc. BYKE Collective CASA Catherine's Family and Youth Services, Inc. Child First Authority, Inc. Civic Works Code in the Schools Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland Corner Team, Inc. Creative City Public Charter School Foundation, Inc. Dance and Bmore Programs Dent Education DewMore Baltimore Digital Harbor Foundation Downtown Sailing Center Elev8 Baltimore, Inc Enoch Pratt Free Library Excellence & Ambition Inc. From Prison Cells To PhD Hampden Family Center HeartSmiles Holistic Life Foundation I'm Still Standing Community Corporation Intersection of Change Islamic Leadership Institute of America Johns Hopkins University KEYS EMPOWERS, INC. Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center Inc LET'S GO Boys and Girls, Inc. Let's Thrive Baltimore Little Flowers Early Childhood and Development Center, Inc. Living Classrooms Foundation Medical Education Resources Initiative for Teens Mending Broken Wings, LLC Mentoring Mentors Inc Middle Grades Partnership Mindful Mentors Inc. MOMCares Moving History MTM Foundation, Inc. National Aquarium No Boundaries Coalition Omega Baltimore Foundation. Inc. P.O.P. Inc. Parks & People Patterson Park Public Charter School, Inc. PeacePlayers International Project Pneuma R.I.S.E Arts Center of Baltimore Safe Alternative Foundation for Education Soccer Without Borders Maryland Springboard Collaborative St Veronica Roman Catholic Congregation Inc St. Francis Neighborhood Center St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore the Board Room Chess The Loyola School: Early Learning Center - Elementary K-4 The Marching Elite Foundation The Movement Team The Nolita Project Inc UMBC Foundation Unique Fabrics Nonprofit University of Maryland, Baltimore Foundation, Inc Village Learning Place W.O.M.A.N.(Working Organizing Making A Nation) Wide Angle Youth Media Women in Transition Y in Central Maryland Youth As Resources This is the eighth year of summer youth funding provided by the Collaborative. Last summer, the Collaborative provided over $3.4 million in funding throughout Baltimore City and funded more than 6,700 summer youth opportunities. ### About Baltimore’s Promise Baltimore’s Promise is a cradle-to-career collective impact nonprofit that is the administrative backbone of the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (www.bmoresfc.org). The mission of Baltimore‘s Promise is to coordinate strategy, identify quality programs, support alignment activities, establish shared measures for meaningful results, build public will, and advance policy on behalf of Baltimore City’s youth. For more information, please visit www.baltimorespromise.org. For more information about the Baltimore City Youth Opportunities Landscape, please visit www.baltimorespromise.org/bcyol. For the eighth year in a row, over 10 public and private organizations will work together to support high-quality summer programs that serve youth from families with low incomes in Baltimore City. The application period runs from today, November 1, to Friday, December 3, 2021. This year, more than $5 million is available in funding for summer programs. $2 million are reserved specifically for Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color-led organizations and for organizations primarily serving older youth.
Does this sound like a good fit for your summer program? Learn more about the application requirements and apply for funding at bmoresfc.org Application Info Sessions Potential applicants are encouraged to attend an optional virtual info session to ask questions about the application and its requirements: In addition, a recorded session will be posted for anyone who cannot attend the scheduled sessions.Visit bmoresfc.org for more details. Apply to Become an SFC PD/TA Provider In fall 2021, the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC) is excited to offer a robust menu of meaningful professional development (PD) and technical assistance (TA) opportunities for youth-serving organizations that may be applying for the SFC 2022 funding cycle. The SFC is seeking qualified providers to facilitate professional development presentations and/or application technical assistance on the topics identified in the full 2022 Technical Assistance/Professional Development Request. If you have relevant expertise in grantwriting and/or program design that you would like to share with potential SFC applicants this fall, please complete this short application form. We will be receiving submissions on a rolling basis until November 12th for these paid opportunities. Baltimore Summer Enrichment Directory In 2016, Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative applicants expressed interest in building partnerships with other enrichment organizations and service providers in advance of the RFP release so that they are better prepared to submit applications for funding. To this end, the Summer Funding Collaborative assembles and maintains the Baltimore Summer Enrichment Directory: a directory of organizations seeking and/or offering specific kinds of partnership, contractors, professional development, technical assistance. This directory is linked as an additional resource related to the Summer Funding Collaborative RFP. View the directory by clicking here. If you would like to be included in the Directory, or update information from previous years, you are invited to (re)submit your information here. Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative Announces $3.46 Million for Children & Youth Programs3/3/2021 BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (the Collaborative) has awarded $3.46 million in grants to support 87 high-quality summer programs for children and youth living in low-income families throughout Baltimore City. The Collaborative is a partnership between public, private and nonprofit institutions that aims to create summer program options for families, including academic support to reduce summer learning loss, youth work opportunities and a variety of enrichment activities.
Collaborative members – some of Baltimore’s largest public, private and nonprofit institutions – include the Abell Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Clayton Baker Trust, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, France-Merrick Foundation, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Hinkey-Benson Family Fund, Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, Lockhart Vaughan Foundation, Under Armour, and United Way of Central Maryland as funding partners. “The Summer Funding Collaborative allows the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds to support a broad range of youth programs that serve students and young adults both in our target neighborhoods and throughout the city,” said Elizabeth “Buffy” Minkin, President of the Funds. “High-quality summer program options are important for families and participants in normal years and even more so during the pandemic. These programs help stem summer learning loss and create work and enrichment opportunities for participants.” While members of the Collaborative bring their own priorities to the table – including literacy, STEM, youth employment, environmental education, sports and arts – they work together to make complementary funding decisions with the goal of supporting a diverse set of high-quality summer programs to reduce summer learning loss and ensure more youth have the chance to reach their full potential. SFC members are committed to ensuring that Baltimore City youth can access programs that allow them to learn and grow during the summer months and prepare them for success throughout the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the learning disruptions that have occurred as a result, the need for engaging, enriching, and supportive summer programming is even more important. As a result, Collaborative members considered virtual, in-person, and hybrid program models to increase accessibility to high-quality programs aligned with public health guidance. “The need to provide supports to children and youth in Baltimore has been made that much more important in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic,” said Demaune Millard, president and CEO of Family League of Baltimore. “The programs which serve them have faced significant challenges over the past year, and the uncertainty surrounding the impacts to learning and what the educational landscape will look like in the months to come is very real. Now more than ever, philanthropic support is critical to help maintain continuity in vital summer programming. Family League remains committed to this work.” The following organizations will receive funding from the Summer Funding Collaborative:
For the seventh year in a row, over 10 public and private organizations will work together to support high-quality summer programs that serve youth from families with low incomes in Baltimore City. The application period runs from today, November 6 to Friday, December 11, 2020. Does this sound like a good fit for your summer program? Learn more about the application requirements and apply for funding at bmoresfc.org Application Info Sessions Potential applicants are encouraged to attend an optional virtual info session to ask questions about the application and its requirements: In addition, a recorded session will be posted for anyone who cannot attend the scheduled sessions. No registration is required to attend the pre-proposal conferences. Visit bmoresfc.org for more details. Additional Funding Opportunities
 Fall Splash at JHU is taking place virtually this weekend, and is free for high school students to attend! Youth can click here to register or view the course catalogue.
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AuthorThe Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative is a partnership between public, private and nonprofit organizations that supports high-quality summer programs that serve youth from low-income families in Baltimore City. Archives
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