Grant Program Funds Locally-Driven Community Development Projects

BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, July 10, 2023) - On Friday, July 7, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) awarded $1.9 million in operating fund grants to 22 community organizations through the Community Catalyst Grants Program (CCG). This is the third round of CCG awards for operating funds.

This transformative grant program launched in 2018, and has consistently delivered on the promise to bring new resources into neighborhoods within the City of Baltimore. The operating grants awarded tonight strengthen and build capacity for community organizations working in partnership with DHCD to drive resident-led community development and neighborhood transformation.

"The Community Catalyst Grants aim to spark innovation and empower local changemakers that demonstrate a strong commitment to transforming our city for the better," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "The awards the grantees received tonight will help fuel the collaboration and resources our neighborhoods across the city need to deliver positive change in the lives of Baltimoreans. Ensuring our city is able to achieve its highest potential is going to take every single one of us, and these grantees are paving the way."

Beyond the awards, the CCG program has provided $10.6 million of capital grants and $5.9 million of operating funds, totaling more than $16.5 million. This funding goes directly to the on-the-ground community organizations that are key to the neighborhood revitalization work happening all around Baltimore.

The following organizations were awarded grants ranging from $50,000 to $125,000:

Action Baybrook, Inc.; Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network; Baltimore Furniture Bank, A Project of Fusion Partnerships, Inc.; Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation; BOCA Corp. DBA Baltimore Oliver Community Association; City of Refuge Baltimore; Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation; Druid Heights Community Development Corporation; Edmondson Community Organization; Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake; HTP Homes, Inc.; Mission First Housing Development Corporation; Network for Developing Conscious Communities; Open Works, Inc.; People's Homesteading Group; Phase 3 Training Corporation; PIVOT Inc.; Requity Foundation; Southwest Partnership; The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, Inc.; The Neighborhood Design Center; and Women's Housing Coalition.

"Community partnership is the cornerstone to DHCD's framework for development," said Department of Housing & Community Development Commissioner Alice Kennedy. "These grants ensure that our essential partners in this work are able to keep serving their communities in revitalization efforts."

The Community Catalyst Grant reaffirms the City of Baltimore's commitment to fostering a dynamic, inclusive, and sustainable community. By supporting local visionaries and change agents, the CCG program aims to create a lasting impact that improves the well-being and prosperity of our city and its residents.