Young people in Baltimore have a voice – and they are listened to, thanks to a decade of strong youth leadership programs. BCF’s incubation of the Safe and Sound Campaign and Youth as Resources helped get the movement started. And many of the organizations active today in Baltimore’s Peer-to-Peer Network, which emphasizes young people teaching and leading other young people, were funded early on through BCF’s A-Teams after-school initiative.

We are proud of Baltimore City’s ongoing commitment to public funding for high quality after-school programs, including A-Teams. Currently we are focusing grants on after-school programs with small budgets who don’t qualify yet for City funding through Baltimore’s “Afterschool Strategy,” but which are strong and growing, a feeder system of organizations that will become part of the public funding stream in later years.

Last year our Education, Child and Youth Development Committee, which meets five times each year to consider grants in the Youth and Education paths, decided to focus each of its meetings on one or two specific priorities. For instance, college access and workforce entry programs are all considered at the February meeting. This enables our trustees and other committee members to evaluate applications in depth, understand the issues better and make the best grant decisions possible.

One of the issues the Committee will be studying in greater depth is early childhood development, with a commitment to funding strong organizations that provide both professional development to teachers and direct service to families.

Download the 2009 Youth Path Report  PDF Download

Invest in Youth right now. Make a donation.

BCFs Youth Path focuses grants on:

• Making sure that children enter school ready to learn;
• Funding high quality programs that help our regions most vulnerable young people develop skills in the areas of academics, arts, and athletics;
• Creating opportunities for children and youth to cultivate civic responsibility and engagement in their communities;
• Ensuring that adults serving youth are well-trained, competent and caring;
• Connecting young people with college preparatory activities and workforce entry opportunities;
• Providing opportunities for out-of-school youth and adjudicated youth to re-enter the community and re-connect with school;
• Encouraging students, parents, and community members to speak out on issues related to children and youth;
• Sustaining public funding for child and youth development.

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 Youth.