The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (the Collaborative) has awarded $3.46 million in grants to support 87 high-quality summer programs for children and youth living in low-income families throughout Baltimore City. The Collaborative is a partnership between public, private and nonprofit institutions that aims to create summer program options for families, including academic support to reduce summer learning loss, youth work opportunities and a variety of enrichment activities.
Collaborative members—some of Baltimore’s largest public, private and nonprofit institutions—include the Abell Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Clayton Baker Trust, Constellation, Family League of Baltimore, France-Merrick Foundation, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Hinkey-Benson Family Fund, Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, Lockhart Vaughan Foundation, Under Armour, and United Way of Central Maryland as funding partners.
While members of the Collaborative bring their own priorities to the table—including literacy, STEM, youth employment, environmental education, sports and arts—they work together to make complementary funding decisions with the goal of supporting a diverse set of high-quality summer programs to reduce summer learning loss and ensure more youth have the chance to reach their full potential. SFC members are committed to ensuring that Baltimore City youth can access programs that allow them to learn and grow during the summer months and prepare them for success throughout the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the learning disruptions that have occurred as a result, the need for engaging, enriching, and supportive summer programming is even more important. As a result, Collaborative members considered virtual, in-person, and hybrid program models to increase accessibility to high-quality programs aligned with public health guidance.
To learn more about the Summer Funding Collaborative, and to view a list of this year’s grantees, click here.
