Newly launched Philanthropy Tank invites Baltimore students to become social entrepreneurs

When she was in seventh grade, Ania McNair saw a presentation by an FBI Victims Specialist that stuck with her. The Victims Specialist relayed stories of human trafficking — many involving girls Ania’s age — and Ania immediately knew she wanted to do something about it.

Ania, now in twelfth grade at Reginald Lewis High School, has been involved with initiatives to combat human trafficking in Baltimore. According to the Victims Services Committee of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, major interstates through the state and its position between several East Coast cities make it a hot spot for human trafficking. The task force’s latest data found 396 survivors of human trafficking — 124 of whom were trafficked as children — in Maryland in 2014.

Recently, while working with Baltimore nonprofit HeartSmiles, Ania gave a presentation on human trafficking entitled “Not for Sale.” When she saw an opportunity to apply for a grant to put her solutions to action from the newly launched Philanthropy Tank Baltimore, Ania applied.

Philanthropy Tank, which originated in Palm Beach County and recently launched a program in Baltimore, seeks to empower students to actualize their solutions to community problems through funding and mentorship. Students can apply to receive up to $15,000 in funding and a year of mentorship from Philanthropist Mentors.

Philanthropy Tank has five Philanthropist Mentors who come from the Baltimore business, philanthropy and nonprofit worlds. Kera Ritter, founder of the consulting firm The Ritter Group, and Anthony Rodgers, a real estate development executive with over 20 years of experience, will work as a mentorship team. Other mentors include Traci Callendar, senior associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Stephanie Amponsah, vice president of Dream BIG Foundation, and Kabir Goyal, a managing director and senior portfolio manager at Brown Capital Management.

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Source: Baltimore Fishbowl