Maryland Philanthropy Network is pleased to welcome Elaine Carroll as Program Manager for the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative! Working with the Director of the BWFC, Linda Dworak, Elaine will facilitate the formation and implementation of the new Baltimore Climate and Infrastructure Workforce Hub (The Hub).
The Funders Together to End Homelessness Baltimore at Maryland Philanthropy Network is pleased to launch its 2024-2026 Strategic Direction. FTEHB’s robust three-year plan outlines specific actions this funder network will carry out. FTEHB is committed to adapting to the changing circumstances of those who are unhoused; the realities faced by government leaders, public and private funding; and what it can learn from emerging best practices. The group’s members are excited to have come this far and recognize this as the beginning of a new chapter in their work together.
We are proud to share our Baltimore Workforce Funder Collaborative, along with our local partners, was included among the awardees of The Families and Workers Fund Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers Challenge! Totaling more than $12 million in grant funding and technical assistance, the Challenge awards will help community organizations and state and local governments tackle the serious workforce challenges facing the United States on its path toward a sustainable economy and 21st-century infrastructure.
On November 13th, Danista E. Hunte, President and CEO of Maryland Philanthropy Network, Linda Dworak, Director of the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative (BWFC), and members of the BWFC attended the annoucement of the new Baltimore Workforce Hub at Carver Vocational High School in Baltimore. MPN’s BWFC will collaborate with the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Baltimore City Schools, and the Baltimore DC Building Trades Council to coordinate the project.
The Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative (BWFC) at Maryland Philanthropy Network is thrilled to launch its new strategic and operating framework. This document sets forth a new vision, mission, and set of values. It recognizes the rich history of the BWFC dating back to 2006 and then sets forth a new set of strategic principles, pillars, and tactics for the future. This framework also lays out a plan for how the Collaborative is structured to operate.
The Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative recently signed onto a national statement on good jobs. The broadly shared, widely endorsed definition of what constitutes a good job was released by the Good Jobs Champions Group, convened by the Families and Workers Fund and the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, in October 2022. Signed by over 100 leaders from business, labor, policy, philanthropy, academia, and workforce development it represents a historic step forward toward a future in which all work is valued; no one working full-time lives in or near poverty; companies and workers thrive alongside each other; and diverse talent is never overlooked.
The Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition’s 2021 Annual Report highlights the progress they made in 2021. Some of that progress is easy to see, such as the number of issues resolved from callers to the BDEC Tech Support Hotline — Baltimore’s first-ever tech support hotline. Their progress also serves as a reminder of what is still left to do.
BDEC was launched in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic with the resolve to close the digital divide in Baltimore City. That remains their focus today, and we will work collaboratively to do so through four main goals:
The Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative is working with Byte Back, Pass IT On, and the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition to identify a trainer(s) who will develop and facilitate a trauma-informed care training for up to 15 workforce development nonprofit professionals. The goal of the training will be to increase the capacity of direct service agencies by applying trauma-specific strategies to their normal service deliveries, improving the services provided to clients who have experienced trauma, and advance digital equity.
