B’More Invested and Beyond

Back in October 2020, we heard from the Open Society Institute – Baltimore and Baltimore’s Promise as they were launching B’More Invested, a transformational grantmaking strategy.

In late March, the B’More Invested Grant Advisory Committee, consisting of 23 Community Stakeholders and 11 Funders, will distribute $2.3 million in pooled, private capital to local leaders of color who are working at the grassroots level to reimagine community-serving systems and advance community-based alternative approaches that promote healthy, safe, and thriving neighborhoods.

The pilot grant cycle identified and funded efforts to support community safety-related alternative models and systems in three areas: 

• Shifting Crisis Response: Community-based alternative systems and interventions that respond to personal, group, or community crisis in an equitable and restorative manner. Examples include Black food sovereignty to address food access and community mediation to address interpersonal conflicts.
• Stabilization: Community-based alternative systems and interventions that facilitate the stabilization and holistic growth and development of people. Examples include workforce development, housing and educational support, coaching and mentorship, and addiction treatment. 
• Healing and Restoration: Community-based alternative systems and interventions that ameliorate the intergenerational trauma and harm experienced by communities at the hands of unjust and inequitable systems. Examples include therapy and mental health support, holistic mind-body healing, trauma-informed care, truth and reconciliation work, and restorative practice.  

Join members of the Bmore Invested Grant Advisory Committee to learn about the experience of this participatory grantmaking process and the organizations that were and were not funded. We will discuss ideas and opportunities for future collaboration.

This briefing is for Maryland Philanthropy Network members only and was rescheduled from an earlier date.