Expanded Partnership Seeks Proposals for Summer Programs Serving Baltimore Youth

Pho­to cred­it: Dig­i­tal Har­bor Foundation

Baltimore’s largest char­i­ta­ble fun­ders are team­ing up, for the sec­ond year, to cre­ate new sum­mer learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for city youth. This year’s Bal­ti­more Sum­mer Fund­ing Col­lab­o­ra­tive has grown from three fun­ders invest­ing $1.5 mil­lion last year to eight fun­ders invest­ing more than $2 mil­lion for this com­ing sum­mer. Those fun­ders are the Abell Foun­da­tion, the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, Clay­ton Bak­er Trust, Fam­i­ly League of Bal­ti­more, France-Mer­rick Foun­da­tion, The Har­ry and Jeanette Wein­berg Foun­da­tion, Lock­hart Vaugh­an Foun­da­tion and The Mor­ton K. and Jane Blaustein Foun­da­tion. Last year, 77 Bal­ti­more non­prof­its received grants through this program.

The new­ly expand­ed part­ner­ship aims to fund high-qual­i­ty sum­mer pro­grams that serve Bal­ti­more City youth in low-income fam­i­lies. These pro­grams should address one or more of the fol­low­ing areas: lit­er­a­cy; sci­ence, tech­nol­o­gy, engi­neer­ing and math (STEM); youth employ­ment; col­lege and career readi­ness; envi­ron­men­tal edu­ca­tion; health and over­com­ing stress and trau­ma; and enrich­ment such as sports and the arts.

Appli­cants should meet the fol­low­ing eli­gi­bil­i­ty requirements:

• Pro­vide a Cer­tifi­cate of Good Stand­ing with the state of Maryland
• Be an organization/​summer pro­gram that has been in oper­a­tion for at least two years
• Pro­vide proof of 501(c)(3) or 509(a) tax status
• Pri­mar­i­ly serve chil­dren and youth from low-income fam­i­lies who live in Bal­ti­more City
• Have a plan to pro­mote literacy
• Have a plan to serve healthy meals

While each orga­ni­za­tion has spe­cif­ic cri­te­ria for fund­ing, all eight share the same appli­ca­tion process and goal: ensur­ing city youth can access edu­ca­tion­al activ­i­ties that allow them to con­tin­ue learn­ing and grow­ing dur­ing the sum­mer months.

By sup­port­ing sum­mer pro­grams through­out the city, par­tic­i­pat­ing fun­ders hope to reduce sum­mer learn­ing loss and ensure more youth have the chance to reach their full poten­tial dur­ing the sum­mer and beyond. Unlike their peers from high­er-income fam­i­lies, youth in low-income fam­i­lies often lack access to activ­i­ties — whether through camps, libraries, or even muse­ums — that keep their minds engaged over the sum­mer. As a result, they expe­ri­ence ​“sum­mer slide,” los­ing one to three months of knowl­edge and skills gained dur­ing the pre­vi­ous school year.

The dead­line for appli­ca­tions is 5 p.m. Wednes­day, Feb. 17, 2016. To learn more about each organization’s eli­gi­bil­i­ty cri­te­ria and to access the appli­ca­tion, vis­it www​.aecf​.org/​s​u​m​m​e​r​g​rants.