Baltimore Integration Partnership Update - September 2012

"New Momentum in Baltimore”
Betsy Nelson pauses to reflect on the Baltimore Integration Partnership halfway through the initiative's initial three years. She notes "when we first announced Baltimore as one of five sites selected to remake America's great urban places and reconnect residents to economic opportunity, I declared that there was no more important work that we could undertake. Halfway through this three year effort, I stand behind these words.” Read More

MICA and UMB Moving Forward with Community Hiring; Anchor Career Coaching Support Funded
Congratulations to BIP Partners Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the University of Maryland - Baltimore (UMB) for their ongoing leadership to connect area residents to institutional employment opportunities. The Mayor's Office of Employment Development (MOED) has been working with both schools to help identify candidates in positions that are available in facilities and operations. MICA is also helping connect to employment opportunities through their food vendor Parkhurst Dining Services as well as a planned construction project. Local hiring is a critical way area anchor institutions can leverage their investment power to help support area residents and communities. As a complementary component, the BIP has awarded a Workforce Training Fund grant to the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) to provide career coaching to existing employees of higher education institutions to help them identify career ladders and the skills they need to move up within institutional opportunities. This effort in higher education is new to BACH and is expected to begin initially at MICA and Johns Hopkins University.

TRF Closes Financing on East Baltimore Grocery
The Reinvestment Fund closed on financing last week for the Apples & Oranges Fresh Market which will provide grocery and healthy food options to residents of East Baltimore. Located on the corner of Broadway and East North Avenue, the store is expected to be open later this year. The store will offer healthy, prepared foods and fresh groceries which are in critical need in this area of the City. The project will also help expand investment in East Baltimore northward. Owners Michele Speaks-March and Erich March have expressed their interests in working with BIP workforce partners East Baltimore Development Inc., MOED, and Humanim to help identify candidates for hiring consideration. Additional financing for the store is being provided by the Baltimore Development Corporation and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority. Congratulations to everyone on this great project.

Redefining Financial Capital: Investing in Communities
The Baltimore Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is hosting the third in the four part series "Redefining Capital” this Thursday, September 13th and will examine innovative sources of capital to promote community redevelopment. A range of BIP partner representatives are part of the agenda. Please be sure to RSVP if you have not yet done so.

Tearing Down The Silos 
Michele Whelley, President and CEO of BIP Partner Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, argues in this blog entry that transportation planning in the Baltimore/Washington region is siloed. Area business organizations must come together to address these challenges as it has huge implications on workforce access, business location decision making, and regional economic health.

Biotechnical Institute of Maryland Awarded Funds for Curriculum and Training
The BIP has awarded Workforce Training Funds to the Biotechnical Institute of Marylandto expand its existing Research Laboratory Assistant training program to include preparation of participants for Clinical Laboratory Assistance careers. The work will include research, curriculum development and implementation of a pilot course serving approximately 20 residents. This training will help prepare pipeline participants for a broader set of job opportunities including those linked to the East Baltimore Biotechnology Park. This award is one of six that the BIP and the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative have made in recent months to help prepare area residents for employment opportunities in BIP Partner projects and other key industries in Baltimore.

Maryland Tax Credits Available to Support Microenterprise Lending
Maryland Capital Enterprise, which is now operating in Central Baltimore to help move small business lending forward, has been awarded Community Investment Tax Credits by the State of Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Businesses and individuals can reduce their state tax liability AND help build capacity for small business development. Please visit MCE's website for more information.

To Grow City Population, Start in the Middle
This Daily Record Column by Betsy Nelson highlights the recent Goldseker Foundationstudy by Paul C. Brophy called "Great Neighborhoods, Great City.” The report analyzes what happened in Baltimore's neighborhoods during the past decade and suggests strategies for going forward.

The goal of the Baltimore Integration Partnership is to reconnect low-income Baltimore City residents who are predominantly African American to the regional economy, maximize the linkage between physical and human capital development, and to reinvest in targeted inner-core neighborhoods so that they become regionally competitive, economically diverse, sustainable communities of choice.

Learn more about the Baltimore Integration Partnership by visiting our website.