The grant is only the beginning of the discussion

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation believes in the sharing of ideas and information for better, smarter, more effective philanthropy.  To that end, the Foundation has started a blog that will include contributions from our president, program directors, and director of community affairs.  We hope you will take the opportunity to review these thoughts, discussions, and related resources.

Most Recent Blog Post

It is hard to believe the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project (The Library Project) was launched only this past December. Since then, the project has grown - in the number of partners participating, in the amount of funds committed, and in the overall sense of how much of a difference we can all make together through this work.

Three of the first libraries will begin renovation and construction soon, with dedications at the start of the school year. The Weinberg Foundation recently announced an additional $1M commitment for the 2nd year of this project - the 2nd round of schools that will receive new libraries will be announced by June.

Today, on the birthday of Dr. Seuss, we begin the next chapter – filling the new libraries with new books! In partnership with Baltimore Reads, the Foundation is leading a community-wide Book Drive throughout the month of March (Read Across Maryland Month). More than 40 community partners have committed to place book drop-off bins at roughly 80 locations across the Baltimore area to collect new books for students ages 3 - 14. We are also partnering with Heart of America Foundation to purchase new books for the libraries and for students to take home and build their home libraries. Finally, today also marks the launch of the Library Project’s new website at www.baltimorelibraryproject.org.  We hope you will take a few minutes to visit this site for the latest on the Library Project as well as information on the role you can play in this story, which has just begun to be written.

Special thanks to the more than 20 nonprofit, philanthropic, business, government and school partners in the Library Project who share a vision for the children of Baltimore City – to better equip children for success in the classroom and in life. In the best spirit of collaboration, these partners are working to transform school libraries into catalysts for learning and a love of reading as well as creating modern, fun and well-resourced spaces for the entire community.