Urban Teachers
With Abell Foundation start-up funding, Urban Teachers launched a new model of teacher preparation in 2009, recruiting outstanding college graduates, training them in a year-long clinical preparation, and linking their certification to demonstration of effective teaching practices and student learning gains. Urban Teachers is currently training 100 new incoming Resident Teachers who co-teach with mentor teachers for the first year of a four-year commitment. With this grant, Urban Teachers will implement a new digital recruiting and marketing initiative that will more efficiently target talented and diverse candidates, with a focus on men, STEM majors, people of color, and speakers of multiple languages, for its teacher prep program.The goal of the project is to increase the number of highly effective, culturally competent teachers of color hired with no decline in the quality of candidates. As importantly, the new marketing approach is projected to cut the cost of recruitment by 40%, from a current baseline of $7,000 per hired candidate.
Venture for America
Venture for America strengthens entrepreneurship, business formation, and economic growth by attracting top talent students to work in start-up and early-stage companies. Since 2013, VFA has placed 110 Fellows in Baltimore City for two-year fellowships with more than 50 high-growth companies and startups, and they have supported the launch of nine Fellow-founded companies. Of 15 participating cities, Baltimore is the second largest program and boasts the highest post-Fellowship retention rate.
Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, Inc.
Baltimore’s Mr. Trash Wheel has successfully operated at the mouth of the Jones Falls since 2014, collecting over 2 million pounds of trash and debris which would otherwise litter the Harbor, including a mattress, a keg, a guitar, a ball python, 11.3 million cigarette butts, 1 million foam containers, 880,646 plastic bottles, and 649,000 plastic bags. In need of upgrades, grant funding will enable mechanical repairs and cosmetic improvements that are beyond the scope of routine annual maintenance and operations.
Advocates for Children and Youth
Advocates for Children and Youth (ACY) is an independent organization dedicated to promoting the interests of children and families in Maryland through research, policy development, community outreach, media relations, and government relations. ACY is one of the leading champions of policies in Maryland that advance the interests of children across a broad range of issues, including education, child welfare, juvenile justice and health care. This grant supports ACY’s child welfare program, which focuses on the needs of foster and homeless youth in Maryland.
American Communities Trust, Inc.
American Communities Trust partners with organizations to create community investment strategies that maximize community benefit and encourage long-¬term partnerships and accountability. The Last Mile Park pilot project will increase public safety through improved lighting and activation of a new public space. This grant provides support for implementation and engineering documents.