Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service
$25,000 / 2021 / Community Development
MVLS’s Housing Legacy Program engages families and communities across the city to raise awareness about the importance of estate planning and provide legal assistance to families living in homes where the deed has not been properly transferred from one generation to the next. MVLS volunteer attorneys are prepared to assist families with these legal documents. Their efforts to facilitate asset transfer are particularly important to communities of color that have been historically excluded from the prospect of intergenerational wealth-building through homeownership. This grant will support staff and outreach expenses and support for a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of these legal interventions in decreasing housing distress indicators and keeping families in their homes.
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Maryland Hunger Solutions
$60,000 / 2021 / Health and Human Services
More than ten percent of Marylanders struggle with food insecurity, defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life, and national data reveal stark racial disparities in rates of food insecurity. Maryland Hunger Solutions (MHS) works with state and local government agencies and nonprofit partners to maximize participation in federal nutrition programs, increase access to healthy, affordable food in low-income communities, and improve public policies in Maryland to reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition. This grant supports MHS’s Baltimore City SNAP outreach and enrollment campaign, which works to connect vulnerable populations with federally-funded SNAP (food stamp) benefits, a key strategy in reducing food insecurity in Maryland.
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Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Inc.
$45,000 / 2021 / Community Development
Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition (MCRC) provides research on economic rights and consumer protection issues; educates policymakers and the public about economic rights issues, and provides consumer awareness and education campaigns to individuals and organizations. MCRC serves low-income homeowners and renters through the Low Income Forgotten Tax (LIFT) program that helps them access the Homeowners and Renters Tax Credit programs and other public benefits. This grant will support staff and outreach expenses for the LIFT program.
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Living Classrooms Foundation
$225,326 / 2021 / Workforce Development
Project SERVE enrolls up to 150 returning citizens a year, providing them with paid, on-the-job work experience. Once participants have worked with Project SERVE for four to six months, they are placed into entry-level jobs with public and private employers. In 2019, the program maintained a 60% job placement rate, a 56% job retention rate after one year of employment, and a low recidivism rate of 9%. With funding from the Abell Foundation, Project SERVE will expand its case management and wraparound services to support 60 additional participants.
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Leveling the Playing Field, Inc.
$30,000 / 2021 / Health and Human Services
Leveling the Playing Field collects and redistributes used and excess sporting equipment to schools and organizations serving low-income children. The donated equipment enables programs to pass on the savings to families through reduced or free registration fees or expanded programming. Last year, the organization collected more than $850,000 worth of donated equipment from more than 120 different organizations and people. It was able to distribute about $475,000 worth of equipment to Baltimore-area partner organizations during COVID 19, as well as 2,100 Sports Kits to City youth through City Schools’ meal sites. This grant supports Leveling the Playing Field’s general operating costs.
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