The Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) is happy to announce that a new Request for Proposals (RFP) is underway for 2022. As part of a multi-layered approach to community-centered grantmaking, the upcoming RFP will be the BCYF Grassroots Fund.
The Grassroots Fund is designed to support, through seed capital, smaller organizations whose operating budget does not exceed over $250,000 in one fiscal year. Organizations led by Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian people are prioritized in this Fund; decision-making processes are structured through a community-based grants review panel.
“The launch of this RFP is exciting for BCYF and for Baltimore! Our decision to offer multi-year general operating support to grassroots organizations helps position our small nonprofits in Baltimore to succeed,” said Dion Cartwright, Board Chair for BCYF. “The Grassroots Fund also helps build the organizational capacity of these programs to a point where they can be responsive to their own needs and responsive to crises. It also encourages innovation and helps them explore new opportunities to serve our youth.”
“We believe that the Grassroots Fund is an excellent opportunity to invest in community driven programming for Baltimore youth,” said Alysia Lee, president of BCYF. “Grassroots, youth-serving programs in Black and Brown communities are often seeking resources each year for their programming. This means that organizations in our communities are lacking the necessary resources to build the infrastructure for our organizations to thrive. We believe this investment strategy will have a tremendously positive impact on the sector and – more importantly – Baltimore City youth.”
Eligibility
You should apply if your organization:
…is Baltimore City-based and serves children and youth ages 24 years and under.
…is a Maryland 501(c)(3) organization or has a confirmed Fiscal Sponsorship.
…has an organizational budget that totals $250,000 or less.
Important Dates
The full Request for Proposals (RFP) – which will contain the grant application questions and key details about the grantmaking process – will become available March 15th, 2022.
The submission portal will open on April 15th, 2022 and close on May 15th, 2022.
All information related to the Grassroots Fund will be available on the BCYF website – www.bcyfund.org. Please email info@bcyfund.org if you have any questions.
