Baltimore Children and Youth Fund Selects a 25-person Proposal Review Panel

Committee Will Make Recommendations to Associated Black Charities on BCYF Grantees

BALTIMORE – The cohort managing the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) today announced the formation of a 25-person Proposal Review Panel to assess grant applications for year one of the BCYF. The purpose of the review panel is to ensure that community members have an opportunity to recommend organizations who should receive grants from the $12 million fund. Associated Black Charities, the BCYF fiscal agent, will assess the panel’s recommendations and determine award decisions in August.

“From the beginning, the Children and Youth Fund has relied on community input and participation,” Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young said. “That is why I am so excited for the work that the Proposal Review Panel will be completing in the coming months. By creating a process where the community distributes grants back to their neighborhoods, we are ensuring that grants go to the communities that need them most.”

Notably, at least 40 percent of the Proposal Review Panel members are under 30, with key representation by residents 24 or under. This ensures that the individuals and groups who ultimately receive funding will understand services and programs that meet the needs and desires of Baltimore City’s children, youth and young adults.

The BCYF grants range from $5,000 to $500,000. The review panel will evaluate grant applications submitted through the BCYF portal and assess each applicant’s ability to impact in the following priority funding areas of the Fund:

• Strengthening the Village;
• Fostering Authentic Youth Leadership, Empowerment + Self Actualization;
• Building Sustainable Bridges to Educational and Economic Advancement Opportunities, and to Business Ownership

The Baltimore Children and Youth Fund was launched in 2015 by Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young. It was approved by voters in November 2016 with over 80 percent support. The non-lapsing Fund is supported through an annual set aside of property tax revenue. Baltimore is only the third city in the nation to create such a fund.

Panelists were chosen via an open application process. The applications were reviewed by the BCYF planning team and scored using a rubric made available to the public on the BCYF website.  For more details on criteria for selection and the review process to determine the Proposal Review Panel for the inaugural year, visit: https://bcyfund.org/proposal-review-panel/.

Click here to view MOU agreed upon by the Board of Estimates

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