Serving Baltimore, No Matter What
2020 Annual Report
In a difficult year, we joined together with out partners to confront COVID-19, finding innovative ways to continue providing responsive services for Baltimore communities.
Letter from Our President
HyeSook Chung
When I joined the Baltimore Civic Fund in 2018, I could never have imagined what we would face in 2020. In the best of times, the Baltimore Civic Fund’s work as the financial backbone and fiscal sponsor for the City of Baltimore means supporting a range of priority projects in workforce development, health, youth development, and Baltimore’s arts scene.
But 2020 was not the best of times. The COVID-19 pandemic ripped through our communities, creating unprecedented unemployment, fatal sickness, and grief. Our partners in the City of Baltimore and the nonprofit community did not sit idly by -- and neither did we. Working together with the Mayor’s leadership team and the Office of the Mayor, key partners, and funders, we worked to address the most pressing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bright spots in a difficult year happened when we collaborated with dedicated public servants to find innovative solutions -- such as addressing both rising unemployment and the urgent need for contact tracers through the Baltimore Health Corps, or working with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) to reach Baltimore’s immigrant communities with safe, accessible relief funding at the height of the pandemic.
Through it all, we worked to deliver quality, responsive services for our partners and for Baltimore residents, no matter what. We were proud to serve as the steward of more than $7.94 million in funding in FY20 that addressed the impacts of COVID-19 and built long-term sustainability for Baltimore. This report highlights four of our incredible partnerships, demonstrating the power of collective action and our commitment to serving Baltimore.
These stories and the work of the Baltimore Civic Fund would not be possible without the generous philanthropic partners who donated their resources and time to the challenges we faced this year. I thank you deeply.
Sincerely,
HyeSook Chung
President, Baltimore Civic Fund
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Innovating to boost employment and combat COVID-19
The Baltimore Health Corps tackled twin challenges facing Baltimoreans: a need for stable, family-sustaining jobs in a time of record unemployment, and the huge demand for contact tracers to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Baltimore Health Corps pulled together multiple partner organizations in a first-of-its-kind project to build public health jobs while also addressing COVID-19. The Baltimore Civic Fund was proud to serve as the fiscal sponsor and project manager for this innovative project.
“Everyone was aligned around wanting to prioritize hiring in communities of color, those communities most impacted by COVID-19 in Baltimore.
Dr. Letitia Dzirasa,
Baltimore Health Commissioner
Showing off new Baltimore Health Corps swag
READ MORE
from the Baltimore Health Corps
Link to the Early Lessons Report
HEAR MORE
Contact tracers share their stories
Link to the Article
Baltimore Health Corps workers in action
The Baltimore Health Corps increased the speed of contact tracing, and helped connect more residents to community care.
“Right away, even in March 2020 we knew we were facing a problem: how to rapidly scale up our small but mighty team of contact tracers. All across the country people were asking -- where are all these people going to come from?
Jennifer Martin,
Assistant Commissioner, Baltimore Health
WATCH INTERVIEW
with Fagan Harris, President and CEO of Baltimore Corps, about the impact of the Baltimore Health Corps project.
Our goal was to conduct a truly equitable recruitment and hiring process for the Baltimore Health Corps. And we are proud that our applicant pool and the folks we hired were reflective of the rich diversity we have in Baltimore.
Eboni Yahudah,
Director of Technology, Media, and Communications, Baltimore Corps
Over time, the Baltimore Health Corps effort was able to move from providing information to folks who may be sick, to connecting individuals to testing, to sharing access to vaccines. Throughout, the Health Corps helped connect our communities to other resources for wellness, like access to food and health insurance.
Traci Kodeck,
HealthCare Access Maryland CEO
Baltimore Health Corps Impact
(August 2020 - January 2021)
With the Baltimore Health Corps, we quickly built a program that provided both community contract tracing and workforce development, impacting hundreds of Baltimoreans. This is an equitable model for the rest of the country.
Sarah Flammang,
Vice President of Partnerships & Special Initiatives, Baltimore Corps
Offering a hand to immigrant families in Baltimore
“When COVID arrived, immigrants in Baltimore were disproportionately impacted because of the jobs they frequently do,” says Catalina Rodriguez-Lima, director of the Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs (MIMA). “They were facing a nearly impossible choice: earn money for my family and risk getting sick, or stay home without knowing where the next paycheck will come from.”
In May 2020, the Baltimore Civic Fund partnered with MIMA, the Morton and Jane Blaustein Foundation, and the Straus Foundation to create the Emergency Relief for Immigrant Families, distributing nearly $1.1 million in aid to over 2,000 families and 240 individuals in just over 4 months.
Catalina Rodriguez-Lima, MIMA Director
We didn’t want this to just be a one-time payment -- ultimately, this is about stability for immigrant families. And the Emergency Relief program was just a first step. Through this effort, we’ve created a partnership with the Civic Fund and our philanthropic supporters to sustain immigrant families in the longer term.
Catalina Rodriguez-Lima,
director of the Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs (MIMA)
Our goal was to reach immigrant families quickly -- to ensure that those who needed urgent relief could get it, no matter their circumstances.
Catalina Rodriguez-Lima,
director of the Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs (MIMA)
MIMA and the Civic Fund partnered with 17 community-based organizations with deep ties to immigrant communities to refer clients and help distribute funds.
Supporting the journey home for Baltimoreans experiencing homelessness
Making homelessness rare and brief isn’t the job of one organization or individual. It takes a community to address the challenges, both obvious and unseen.
Many funding sources for rehousing programs don’t allow for spending on furniture or household goods like towels and bedding.
Most folks, understandably, don’t want to move into an empty apartment. The resources we are able to provide in partnership with the Baltimore Civic Fund helps smooth the transition into housing.
Katie Yorick,
Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS)
The Baltimore Civic Fund helps MOHS and The Journey Home to center the voices and perspectives of individuals with a lived experience of homelessness through stipends and, during COVID-19, digital access for members of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee.
You must listen to the people most impacted by our work there when you are making decisions about funding, about policy -- and the transition to digital and telephonic services made it more difficult for some of our committee members to participate.
Winston Philip,
The Journey Home Continuum Board
Baltimore nonprofits are essential, period.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Baltimore’s nonprofit community swung into action. Nonprofits provide critical services that many Baltimoreans rely on, such as accessing fresh food, staying healthy, and enriching our city with art and music. Nonprofit organizations found themselves rapidly expanding services, all while shifting operations overnight to keep employees and clients safe.
To help, the City of Baltimore dedicated $5 million to the Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund to help nonprofits cover unexpected pandemic-related costs. The 2020 Nonprofit Relief Fund helped 124 Baltimore nonprofits to continue serving our city during a difficult year. Here are some of their stories.
Art with a Heart
Art with a Heart received funding to reimburse the cost of assembling individual art boxes for thousands of students to participate in art classes, among other needs.
The grant received from the Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund allows Art with a Heart to continue providing a wide range of art programs to our community during this time of great need.
Randi Pupkin,
Executive Director
WATCH INTERVIEW
The Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund with WMAR-Baltimore
Holistic Life Foundation
Holistic Life Foundation provides stress reduction, mindfulness, yoga, and self-care programs and trainings to nurture the wellness of young people in Baltimore.
Holistic Life Foundation experienced a drastic decrease in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund, we were able to continue our mindfulness-based stress reduction programs for Baltimore’s youth at a time when people were struggling with mental health related issues.
Andres Gonzales,
Co-Founder
Asylee Women Enterprise
Asylee Women Enterprise hired additional staff to support an expanded food program and case management for families in need, as well as moving programming online.
As we respond to the food insecurity and other needs among our immigrant and refugee neighbors, including many new requests for help every day, we are limited by the resources available to us. With the Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund, we are able to say 'yes' during a time where we would otherwise have to make hard decisions about who is most in need and who we are able to help.
Tiffany Nelms,
Executive Director
Shepherd’s Clinic
Shepherd’s Clinic used the grant to support unanticipated telehealth, staff support, and technology spending.
There have been countless uncertainties since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Receiving reimbursements from the Nonprofit Relief Fund gave us security and peace of mind in a time where we needed it most. More importantly, this support allowed us to continue serving our patients without interruption. We are filled with gratitude.
Adongo Matthews,
Executive Director
Our Impact
Statement Of Financial Position
| 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | ||
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | $ 3,396,999 | $ 1,568,345 |
| Investments | $ 7,467,519 | $ 7,255,391 |
| Other Assets | $ 44,949 | $ 286,963 |
| Total Assets | $ 10,909,467 | $ 9,110,699 |
| Liabilities | ||
| Accounts Payable | $ 12,341 | $ 20,169 |
| Other Current Liabilities | $ 210,860 | $ 432,639 |
| Total Liabilities | $ 223,201 | $ 452,808 |
| Net Assets | ||
| Unrestricted | $ 2,098,052 | $ 4,037,262 |
| Temporarily Restricted | $ 8,588,214 | $ 4,619,117 |
| Total Net Assets | $ 10,686,266 | $ 8,656,379 |
| Total Liabilities And Net Assets | $ 10,909,467 | $ 9,109,187 |
Statement Of Activities
| 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Support | ||
| Contributions | $ 7,672,605 | $ 5,160,270 |
| Investment Income | $ 275,607 | $ 538,546 |
| Total Support and Reclassification | $ 7,948,212 | $ 5,698,816 |
| Expenditures | ||
| Program Services | $ 5,382,513 | $ 4,466,416 |
| General and Administrative | $ 535,812 | $ 158,410 |
| Total Expenditures | $ 5,918,325 | $ 4,624,826 |
| __________ | __________ | |
| Increase in Net Assets | $ 2,029,887 | $ 1,073,991 |
| Net Assets At Beginning Of Year | $ 8,656,379 | $ 7,582,388 |
| Net Assets At End Of Year | $10,686,266 | $ 8,656,379 |