Technical Assistance Providers Needed!

Technical Assistance Providers Needed!

In an effort to support applicants, the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) hosts public-facing activities designed to provide an opportunity for organizations to obtain technical advice prior to submitting an application and increase the likelihood of approval. In preparation for the 2024 grant cycle, BCYF will provide Pre-Application Technical Assistance (PATA) to Baltimore-based youth-serving organizations and seeks experienced consultants to partner with the Grantmaking & Technical Assistance (GMTA) team to deliver PATA to prospective applicants.

Qualifications for this project include:

• Prior experience providing technical assistance and accessibility of services;
• Specific experience working with youth-serving and grassroots community organizations;
• Knowledge and understanding of Baltimore City’s historical and current landscape;
• Demonstration of alignment with the mission, vision, and values of BCYF; and
• Track record of work grounded in Black liberation, racial justice, and intersectionality.

If you have any expertise in the identified areas outlined in the Technical Assistance Request – 2024 Grant Cycle, please send your cover letter and proposal to Hana Machover, Program Officer, at hmachover@bcyfund.org by noon on August 25, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Hana Machover at the aforementioned email.

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Baltimore Children and Youth Fund

Technical Assistance Request- 2024 Grant Cycle

Overview/Purpose

The Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) seeks experienced consultants to provide Pre-Application Technical Assistance (PATA) to prospective applicants, youth-serving organizations in Baltimore, for the 2024 Grant Cycle. 

Technical assistance (TA) is broadly defined as any specialized service or skill a nonprofit/organization/program does not currently possess but may need in order to operate more effectively. BCYF is committed to providing TA in an effort to challenge the philanthropic sector’s traditional and historically harmful power dynamics. Creating a model for TA that incorporates the core values of BCYF will shift the dynamics of grantmaking by empowering communities, uplifting youth voices, and strengthening grantee organizational capacity to ensure the delivery of equitable and effective programming to our youth. The TA plan incorporates these core values:

• Eliminating barriers to funding confronting many local grassroots organizations;
• Creating more opportunities for capacity building and technical assistance to strengthen community organizations;
• Building community with local service providers; and
• Committing to achieving racial equity in the philanthropic sector.

BCYF supports grantee efforts and hosts public-facing activities to provide an opportunity for organizations to obtain technical assistance prior to submitting their application. Activities are responsive to grantee needs and requests, and integrate an analysis of prior learnings from previous grant cycles. 

Mission

BCYF is a nonprofit organization stewarding public funds to ensure our children and youth are healthy, ready to succeed in school, and live in stable, safe, and supportive families and communities. 

Vision

Our vision is that children and youth throughout the city enjoy access to high-caliber enrichment and learning opportunities, and children and youth programs have the resources they need to equitably serve all our young people. 

Values

Racial Equity: BCYF must be built on racial equity. The evaluation of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund’s work should include a basic understanding and appreciation of the cultural resources and assets within each community. We should identify and address how society’s power structures show up in the organization’s operations, including how assumptions about race may influence decision-making processes. Specifically, white people should not dominate or drive the conversation.

Intergenerational Leadership: BCYF must include youth leaders and adults in all aspects of its work. Having different generations work together will reflect how our entire community must work together to improve the quality of life for our young people. In Western culture, we often greet each other by saying, “How are you doing?” The Maasai people of East Africa greet each other by asking, “How are the children?” This greeting represents the idea that the well-being of the children defines the well-being of the community. The purpose of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund is to help the whole city of Baltimore to embrace and live out the worldview embodied in this Maasai greeting. Specifically, the well-being of our children is everyone’s responsibility.

Community Ownership: The purpose of BCYF is to provide the communities typically seen as merely recipients of services with equal, authentic decision-making power to disperse BCYF’s resources. This means that the organization should reflect the totality of our community. Specifically, BCYF must include a variety of people who are highly committed to the communities they serve. 

Collection Decision-Making: BCYF will strive to have collective decision-making processes. “Gatekeeping,” when one person has too much power in a decision-making process, marginalizes the people and communities who are most hurt by structural racism. Gatekeepers can use their power to circumvent community accountability and limit access to power and resources. 

Scope of Work

The consultant(s) will work with the GMTA Team for approximately seven (7) months to plan and facilitate a process for application support that aligns with the mission, vision, and values of BCYF. Anticipated consultant activities and deliverables will include the following: 

• Attend PATA kick-off meeting, date TBD
• Work with BCYF staff to finalize and execute the technical assistance plan and the timeline for pre-application support offerings between January – March 2024 

• Participate in the Grassroots Fund Kick-Off Webinar, to include a grantee panel and a review of the Grassroots Fund and important dates.
• Deliver/facilitate three (3) in-person Computer Lab sessions
• Develop 10-12 tools and reference materials for prospective applicants
• Coordinate and provide up to fourty (40) hours of 1:1 application support with both virtual and in-person offerings
• Attend scheduled virtual bi-weekly TA team meetings
• Present a final report with summaries, highlights, key learnings, and recommendations

Technical Assistance Offerings

Consultation

• Support with the planning/decision-making associated with developing the PATA offerings for the 2024 grant cycle

Events/Activities

• Three (3) In-Person Computer Lab Session Series 
  • Supporting accessibility, and application development and support
• Grassroots Fund Kick-Off Webinar
  • Includes:
    • Grantee Panel
    • Grassroots Fund overview 
    • PATA resources and offerings shared (review of how to register, access support, etc.)

Application Support

• Up to forty (40) hours of 1:1 Application Support: application structuring, review, and feedback
  • Virtual and in-person 

Application Resources (10-12; to be created and shared with applicants)

• Checklists
• Worksheets (ex. How to develop your mission statement) 

To Apply

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your cover letter and proposal to Hana Machover, Program Officer, at hmachover@bcyfund.org by noon on August 25, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Hana Machover at the aforementioned email.