Emphasizes life-changing impact of awarding $29 million over four years to organizations that help Baltimore’s children and youth thrive.
(Baltimore, Maryland) — For the fourth year in a row, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF), a public charity stewarding public dollars to build partnerships that support the ecosystem focused on building opportunities for Baltimore youth, will steward funds to city nonprofits who help Baltimore’s children and youth thrive. On February 1, 2024, BCYF’s 2024 Grassroots Fund will be open to applicants. In 2024, BCYF will award $250,000 each in Grassroots Funds to 12 grantees, to be paid over the next five years, totaling $3 million. Grantees say the multi-year funding has provided impact in three key areas – supporting the stability of their organizations, helping their organizations innovate and plan long term by allowing them to project resources and make strategic investments.
To date, the fund has awarded $23 million to 101 grantees. However, BCYF will have awarded more than $60 million by the year 2028 in Grassroots Funds alone to those grantee organizations. BCYF officials say that while these numbers are a staggering measurement of impact, the true impact can be found in the thousands of success stories reported by young people, their families and the nonprofits who serve them.
An example of this transformation can be found in AZIZA PE&CE, a non-profit that primarily serves girls, gender expansive and LGBTQ+ youth, ages 14 to 24 – with a focus on Black, Latinx and indigenous youth. AZIZA PE&CE has been transforming the lives of young people for 15 years. A former teacher, Executive Director Saran Fossett founded the organization in 2008 in response to the lack of Black history her daughter Aziza was learning in a Baltimore independent school.
“I decided to be the change I wanted to see,” she says. Saran began the program while working in local school systems with Black girls who were labeled “problematic” by administrators because they were getting expelled or suspended from school at alarming rates. “Then we found out that LGBTQ+ youth weren’t coming to school because of bullying,” she added.
Saran used engagement tools like fashion and the arts to create a sense of self-love in the young people. “All of those girls they said were problematic excelled in school, graduated and went to college.”
Today, through its school year and summer programs (focused on the arts, fashion, fitness, music and mentoring to address social, emotional, cultural life and critical thinking skills), AZIZA PE&CE serves up to 130 young people each year. To date, the organization has provided safe spaces and tailored mental health services for thousands of young people, many of whom have been sexually abused and/or have become homeless due to their gender identities.
Another example can be found in Baltimore-based Global Air Drone Academy (GADA). Since its inception in 2015, GADA has reached 10,000 children and youth with STEM programming, robotics training, coding and drone construction. Founders Austin Brown and Eno Umoh attended Gilman School together, and came together to provide drone instruction to kids because they saw drones as a fun opportunity to engage young people. “Drones aren’t just toys. We teach young people that they are also tools,” he says.
“Drones are saving lives, they’re delivering medicine, they’re helping people who are lost in the woods, they’re helping police officers solve crimes, etc. And if you stop looking at a drone as simply a toy, you may find that you can use it as a tool to actually make a living.”
Brown says there are many testimonials he can share about the ways in which drones have touched the lives of the young people he serves, but a few examples can be found in the story of a 15-year-old girl who came to GADA with the intention of becoming a nurse, and left with the desire to become an engineer. Another can be found in the story of a 12-year-old boy who came to GADA painfully shy and left a confident 16-year-old who decided to get his drone pilot license and join the Air Force.
BCYF President Alysia Lee says the stories of each and every one of its 101 grantees should be told often and widely because all of these organizations are diligently and systematically transforming the lives of children and youth across the city.
“Grantee organizations, and their individual and collective impacts are a beacon of hope for Baltimore,” Lee says. “The commitment that Baltimore’s voters made that ultimately became Baltimore Children & Youth Fund is a living and breathing testament to what we can all achieve if we work together and combine our individual talents in the direction of promoting those of children and youth. We invite everyone to continue to join us on this quest to realize the City of our dreams – where the collective impact of the investment in our young people results in a more equitable, safe and flourishing Baltimore for all.”
To apply for the 2024 Grassroots Fund, go to bcyfund.org.
About BCYF
The Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) is a public charity stewarding public dollars to build partnerships that support the ecosystem focused on building opportunities for Baltimore youth. The organization amplifies Black and Brown-led youth-centered programs in Baltimore City while providing capacity building, resources and funding.
BCYF envisions a more just, creative, and abundant Baltimore where all young people live, thrive, and lead. We imagine an ecosystem of sustainable youth programs with full agency, liberated from the harm of structural racism and inequity and able to thrive in abundance. Since 2020, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund has awarded $23 million to primarily youth-serving organizations thanks to generous donations and the tax dollars of Baltimore City residents.
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. The fund was 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.
BCYF is guided by one central value, Ubuntu (n.) “I am because of who we all are.” Ubuntu is the southern African philosophy that describes the interconnectedness of all people. It emphasizes the idea that an individual’s well-being is intricately tied to the well-being of the community. The philosophy promotes humanity, service, sharing, healing, and reconciliation.
About AZIZA PE&CE
AZIZA PE&CE is a non-profit organization that primarily serves girls, gender expansive and LGBTQ+ youth ages 14 to 24 – with a focus on Black, Latinx and indigenous youth. The organization was originally founded in Baltimore, Maryland, but has grown regionally, nationally and has developed global partnerships. For more information visit aziza-pece.org.
About Global Air Drone Academy (GADA)GADA is a non-profit organization dedicated to training the next generation of professional drone pilots and STEM professionals. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. GADA has been a part of the drone industry since its inception. Our team of experts has been at the forefront of the industry, working with some of the most innovative companies and organizations in the world. For more information visit: www.globalairdroneacademy.org.
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