BCYF is seeking community grant reviewers for the Spring 2025 Grant Cycle!
Application opens December 1 - December 15, 2024
Applicants* must:
- Reside in the Baltimore Region;
- Be familiar with Baltimore’s youth service landscape;
- Adults should have some experience working in, designing, and/or operating youth programs;
- Youth ages 16 and up who have participated in youth programs are encouraged to apply!
- Must have a laptop or access to a laptop during the review period of March 2nd – March 29th.
* Individuals selected as Grant Reviewers are ineligible to apply for BCYF grant funding in the same year.
The grant review panel recommends organizations to receive grants from the $3 million Grassroots Fund. Reviewers will serve on a grant review panel, reviewing applicant responses to the grant application and scoring responses using a rubric. Feedback from this review process will inform funding decisions. BCYF will assess the panel’s recommendations and determine award decisions early Summer.
Guiding Principles for the Grant Review Process:
The following BCYF values will inform how the Grant Reviewers will be selected and how they will do their work.
Ubuntu: (n.) I am what I am because of who we all are. Ubuntu is the South African philosophy that describes the interconnectedness of all people. It emphasizes that an individual’s well-being is intricately tied to the community’s well-being. The philosophy promotes humanity, service, sharing, healing, and reconciliation.
Racial equity: We honor and celebrate the cultural resources and assets within the Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities in Baltimore City. We acknowledge their history and power. We work to address the role of philanthropy in dismantling structural racism by engaging in internal and external work to center Black and Brown wisdom in our approach.
Intergenerational Leadership: We include youth along with adults in all aspects of our work. Having different generations work together reflects how our entire community must work together to improve the quality of life in our city.
Community Ownership: The community has equal, authentic decision-making power in distributing BCYF’s resources. Embracing collective decision-making ensures that all voices are heard, promoting community accountability and equitable access to resources and opportunities. Additionally, the organization must include a variety of people who are highly committed and accountable to the communities they serve.
Selected applicants will be notified via email by January 6, 2025. Grant reviewers will be paid a $2000 stipend for serving as a Grant Review Panel member. Panel members must attend all 5 sessions, score all applications assigned and actively participate in decision making discussions to receive the stipend. No partial stipends will be provided. All sessions are held in-person.
The location will be shared upon selection. The schedule is below:
- Attend an In-Person Onboarding training (4 hours):
- Saturday, March 1, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Attend Session Two (4 hours)
- Saturday, March 8, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Attend Session Three (4 hours)
- Saturday, March 15, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Attend Session Four (4 hours)
- Saturday, March 22, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Attending a final in-person Consensus meeting (4 hours):
- Saturday, March 29, 2025, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Reading and scoring assigned applications from March 8th – March 22nd
Apply to be a Grant Reviewer! The application opens on December 1, 2024 and the deadline to apply is December 15, 2024 at 5pm. Grant reviewer applicants are ineligible to apply for BCYF grant funding in the same year.
For questions, please contact us at grantmaking@bcyfund.org.
