Baltimore Integration Partnership Update - October 2017

Employer Directory of Workforce Organizations to Help Hire Locally

A collaborative project of the BIP and Central Baltimore Partnership, this new directory of Baltimore nonprofit and public workforce development organizations is now available to help employers and community stakeholders find workforce partners to meet hiring needs. It summarizes the work of more than 45 organizations that support Baltimore City workers by offering skills training, eliminating barriers to employment, and facilitating job placement. These organizations range in size and focus. Some provide general job readiness coaching while others focus on training, certifications, and placement in specific fields including health care, biotechnology, manufacturing, auto repair, construction, information technology and many others. Nonprofit and public workforce development organizations are ideal partners for employers and can facilitate local hiring, reduce long-term unemployment, and mitigate the city’s systemic socio-economic disparities. City residents have immeasurable talents and aspirations that, when matched with effective support, can build careers and create paths to upward mobility. This directory can help employers tap the remarkable potential of city workers. Download the Directory

Towson University commits to economic inclusion and joins the BIP Board; LifeBridge Becomes Co-Chair

The BIP is excited about two recent developments that will help the initiative expand economic inclusion strategies while guiding the growth of our work. Martha Nathanson, Vice-President of Government Relations and Community Development at LifeBridge Health, has become co-chair of the Board. LifeBridge Health has been active with the BIP for several years working to expand local hiring as well as local and minority purchasing. They are an investor in the Park Heights community and are piloting inclusion goals to guide their hiring and investments forward. The BIP Board also welcomed Towson University as a formal member. Towson, which is the largest educational institution in the region, has been participating with the BIP for over a year. The University is actively involved in the administrative assistant training program, employment fairs, and they are implementing training for faculty and staff on structural racism and implicit bias. Towson is the first non-Baltimore City anchor institution to formally join the BIP. Learn More.

Anchors, BIP, City Seeds Kick-Off New Food Business Initiative

Anchor institutions can support the growth of local businesses and jobs through intentional purchasing strategies. The food sector is a strong opportunity as anchors have multiple ways to leverage their purchasing power such as through food service plans, catering, and student/faculty spend. Building on City Seeds business development program School of Food and a growing portfolio of anchor successes in this sector, the BIP is launching a pilot to match the food buying needs of institutions with local businesses coupled with coaching and capacity building assistance for the businesses. Participating organizations include University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland Medical Center; LifeBridge Health; Maryland Institute College of Art; Loyola University Maryland; Sagamore Hospitality; and Johns Hopkins University. The project is expected to last 6 to 8 months with a goal to create contracting opportunities between the institution or their food service provider and local and minority-owned businesses. Special thanks to food service providers CulinArt, Aramark, Metz Culinary Management, Parkhurst Dining, and Bon Appetit for participating in the initiative. Learn More about School of Food

BIP Anchor Institution Economic Inclusion Activities

Fourteen higher education institutions and hospitals in Baltimore have been working with the BIP to grow their efforts to create economic opportunity for the City. This summary highlights recent accomplishments and ongoing projects that each institution is moving forward. The institutions all bring different business models, economic strengths, capacities, and opportunities for community benefit enabling them to engage collectively on some strategies while they move forward independently on others. Through their leadership and commitments, economic inclusion strategies are unfolding and local impact is growing.Learn More About their Activities.

Central Baltimore Future Fund Helping Propel Investment and Opportunity

Launched in December 2016, the $10 million dollar Central Baltimore Future Fund has supported three redevelopment projects in Central Baltimore. Projects include the latest 12 unit phase of Telesis’ 10 year 325 unit mixed income redevelopment on over 250 parcels in central Baltimore, the construction of 4 units on the 1600 block of Barclay, and improvements to artist studios and living space at the Oliver Street Studios. The Fund requires borrowers to achieve inclusion goals including local hiring and minority contracting. Several blogs have been posted recently on the projects highlighting strategies and outcomes.

• Brick + Board Elements Shine Through at 1600 Barclay
• 1,000+ Hours of Living Wage Salaries, 2,000+ Hours of Local Labor
• Barclay's secret sauce of success

Anchored In Place: How Funders Are Helping Anchor Institutions Strengthen Local Economies

Anchor institutions can play a vital role in strengthening and connecting local economies, and can serve as powerful drivers for building inclusive and equitable communities. This new report issued by the Funders’ Network examines the potential these deeply rooted local enterprises hold to create lasting and sustainable change—and illustrates how funders are working with anchor institutions to create healthier, more equitable, and economically vibrant places to live and work. The report highlights case studies in Baltimore (!!!), Chicago, Twin Cities, Denver and Albuquerque. Read the Full Report

In the News

• When Big and Small Businesses Team Up, Both Benefit
• From West Baltimore
• Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg Philanthropies invest $10M to bring small-business program to Baltimore
• Labor union, UMMC Midtown launch hospital apprenticeship program

Financing Baltimore’s Growth: Measuring Small Companies’ Access to Capital

This new report by Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative explores Baltimore’s financing system and the flow of equity, loan, and grant capital to the city’s small businesses, from tech startups to Main Street mainstays. Baltimore has the potential to be a city that is truly hospitable to small business growth, with all the economic benefits of jobs and tax revenue such growth would bring. But for new and established small businesses to thrive, the city needs a financing system with capacity to meet their needs. Read the Full Report