The following opportunities focus on fellowships and grants in the area of strengthening communities. Please add additional opportunities in this category by submitting them as a reply to this post.
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The Baker-King Foundation has a nearly 30-year history of offering grants to resident-led groups and community projects in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. These grants give residents the resources they need to accomplish a small project, get more people involved, and encourage the next generation of neighborhood leaders. They support nonprofits operating in the greater Baltimore metropolitan area but have a particular emphasis on medical, educational and child welfare organizations. Grants amount: Ranges from $500-$2500. To apply, send a letter and supporting documents with your request via e-mail to bakerkingfundbcf@gmail.com
Baltimore Corps’ program exists to promote the success of individuals and communities in Baltimore. Their focus extends to organizations, future leaders, youth and families, but everything begins and ends with creating opportunity for people.
Place for Purpose is a conduit -- a service that connects organizations dedicated to change-making, with talented, innovative job seekers. Through this service we contribute to building an equitable Baltimore, by putting people in places that spark social impact.
The Mayoral Fellowship is an opportunity that provides a 10-week, full-time, placement in a mayoral office or Baltimore City agency. Placements are based on the Fellow’s background and interests, coupled with the needs of city agencies and departments.
Additional Internal Positions with Baltimore Corps are available.
Open Society Baltimore (OSI)’s mission is to disrupt the long-standing legacy of structural racism in Baltimore by supporting powerful social change movements led by, and centering the needs, interests and voices of, historically marginalized communities and communities of color.
OSI’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice program seeks to reduce the use of incarceration and its social and economic costs without compromising public safety, and promote justice systems that are fair, are used as a last resort, and offer second chances. It supports advocacy, public education, research, grassroots organizing, litigation and demonstration projects that focus on reforming racial and social inequities at critical stages of the criminal and juvenile justice systems-from arrest to reentry into the community.
The Education and Youth Development program seeks to ensure that all student groups are fully included in schooling and other opportunities that prepare them for success in adulthood. Youth in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) overwhelmingly experience the effects of concentrated and, most often, generational poverty, coupled with limited exposure to opportunities, which is compounded by discriminatory treatment in and out of school. For more information, email Education and Youth Development Program Specialist Jennifer Kim, jennifer.kim@opensocietyfoundations.org
The Addiction and Health Equity program seeks to generate and promote innovative ideas that improve health equity and lower the threshold to high-quality behavioral health services, reduce stigma, and support community engagement to improve public health in Baltimore.
The Baltimore Progress Fund addresses Baltimore City’s many challenges, including outdated or problematic structural issues. BPF seeks organizations who have been historically left out of traditional funding streams and whose organizations are taking on BOLD structural reform campaigns. These campaigns should be radical and visionary in nature, and have the ability to shift power from the people who have it to the communities who need it.
The Eddie and Sylvia Brown Family Foundation was established at the Baltimore Community Foundation in 1994 as a vehicle for the family to support charitable organizations addressing needs in the areas of health, the arts, K-12 education, and health (HIV/AIDS and cancer). The Brown Family Foundation will consider grants that have direct impact on the African American community in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Typical grants of $2500 are awarded to organizations (or their fiscal agents) serving the Baltimore area that qualify as public charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code).
The Mitzvah Fund for Good Deeds was established in 2012 to provide gap funding for non-profits in the Baltimore community. To apply, you (or a fiscal agent) must have 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and serve the Baltimore region. Typical grants are for $3500 and deadlines are on a rolling basis as funds are available. The Mitzvah Fund does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, color, physical handicap, gender or sexual orientation.
The Baltimore Community Foundation’s West X Northwest Baltimore Impact Grants promote the success of Baltimore’s communities, its residents and particularly its young people by supporting effective public schools and equipping neighborhoods with the resources they need to build on community assets, attract investment and develop social capital. Typical grants are for $50,000 in the areas of arts, culture, and humanities; education, youth and early childhood; community improvement or environment; human services; civil rights, social action, and advocacy; leadership development; and health and mental health.
The Abell Foundationis dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life in Maryland, with a focus on Baltimore City. The Foundation is committed to improving the lives of underserved populations by supporting innovative, results-oriented efforts to solve systemic social, economic, and environmental problems. Typical grants are for $5,000. Requests of grants $5,000 or less are accepted on a rolling basis
Each month,Social Health Labs, with support from the Well Being Trust, gives out $1,000 to fund a community builder anywhere in the United States who has an idea for weaving locally. You can learn more and apply here, or help us spread the word by sharing it with your networks! Decades of research have shown that strong relationships contribute to greater happiness, better health outcomes, and longer lifespans. Yet many people experience isolation and loneliness on a regular basis. The organization is dedicated to supporting diverse projects and individuals across the country.