Baltimore has been known historically as a city of neighborhoods, providing deep family and community ties for its residents. BCF defines successful neighborhoods as those in which residents are willing to invest time, energy and resources and that are supported by a range of amenities.

BCF believes in a strengthened network of neighborhoods where people choose to live due to the high quality of life and welcoming environment they offer. BCF focuses its investments in supporting informed citizen action, which is at the core of neighborhood revitalization.

BCFs Neighborhoods Path focuses grants on:

• Increasing residents and businesses involvement in their communities and nurturing resident leadership;
• Improving communication among neighbors;
• Making communities more welcoming and diverse;
• Improving neighborhood housing markets while preserving affordable housing;
• Promoting Baltimore City neighborhoods;
• Supporting advocacy to increase the availability of community development funds.

A large part of BCFs work in neighborhoods is through our Neighborhood Grants Program (NGP), which offers funding for community organizations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County neighborhoods. NGP grants focus on:

• Mobilizing residents to complete a community project;
• Building new leadership or strengthening existing leadership within neighborhoods.

BCF invites all who share our vision for this region to join us and Invest in Baltimore. We believe that no one path leads to our common goal, but that by investing strategically in many paths we can create a Baltimore with a growing economy in which all have the opportunity to thrive. BCFs grantmaking is built around these nine paths, one of which is Neighborhoods.