Baltimore Children & Youth Fund Engages Baltimore Residents in Funding Decisions through Community Grant Making Initiative

BALTIMORE, March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) is deepening its commitment to grassroots leadership with the launch of this year's Community Grant Review (CGR) initiative. Designed to center community voices in funding decisions, CGR empowers Baltimore residents to directly influence how BCYF resources are allocated to youth-serving organizations.

Through CGR, BCYF leverages participatory grantmaking to ensure funding decisions reflect the needs and priorities of the communities they serve. This initiative enhances transparency, builds trust, and strengthens local organizations by equipping community members with the tools to assess and recommend funding allocations.

Key features of the CGR initiative include:

• Community-Led Decision-Making: Residents play a central role in evaluating grant proposals and determining funding distributions.
• Equitable Grantmaking: Ensures grassroots organizations have access to critical funding opportunities.
• Capacity Building: Provides training and support to community members participating in the review process.

"BCYF's Community Grant Review initiative is about shifting power and putting decision-making in the hands of those closest to the work we do," said Alysia Lee, President & CEO of BCYF. "By trusting and investing in the Baltimore community, we can ensure that funding reaches the organizations making the greatest impact on our young people."

BCYF has long prioritized equity and inclusion in its funding model, and CGR represents a further step toward reimagining philanthropy by centering community voices. This grantmaking approach ensures that resources are directed to where they are needed most, fostering stronger community-led solutions that will have a lasting impact on Baltimore's children and the city's future.

The initiative follows a structured timeline, with applications for community reviewers opening in December, training sessions held in March, and the grant review process wrapping up by the end of March. Final funding decisions will be announced to the public in August, ensuring ample time for thorough evaluation and community engagement. The initiative is part of BCYF's broader strategy to foster sustainable change by strengthening the local youth development ecosystem.

For more information about the Community Grant Review and how to get involved, visit bcyfund.org.

About the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund:

Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) builds partnerships that support the ecosystem focused on opportunities for Baltimore youth by providing support to leaders and organizations. The effort to create a dedicated fund to support programs for Baltimore's young people was launched in 2015 by then-City Council President Bernard "Jack" C. Young — a response to the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, an event that sharply illuminated longstanding inequities in public funding in Black communities. Supported by Baltimore City residents' tax dollars, since 2020 BCYF has awarded over $31M to Baltimore programs serving children and youth.

SOURCE Baltimore Children & Youth Fund