Job Opportunities Task Force
$75,000 / 2011 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the Baltimore CASH Campaign, an initiative designed to increase the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit. The campaign plans to serve 9,000 residents while operating 15 to 17 free tax preparation sites. Plans call for strengthening and expanding its financial education program to help clients save more of the money they earn; enrolling tax filers into public benefits programs through EarnBenefits; and building assets of low-wage tax payers through savings accounts and the purchase of savings bonds.
Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers
$50,000 / 2011 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative. The focus of the grant is to analyze wage gains of participants in three sector-based job-training programs, as well as training programs supported through the Baltimore Integration Partnership Training Fund. The collaborative will use the wage record analysis to determine which program proves to be most effective in moving participants to higher wages.
Maryland Center for Arts and Technology, Inc. (MCAT)
$80,000 / 2011 / Workforce Development
For continued support and expansion of job-training programs for unemployed and underemployed youth and adults in Baltimore City. MCAT plans to offer an evening GED training program for 40 young men, ages 17 to 24. The course curriculum will emphasize employment opportunities, job readiness, and weekly individual counseling sessions devoted to addressing educational and criminal background issues. The goal of the initiative is to prepare 36 students for the GED exam, and to place students into jobs.
Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare, Inc.
$90,000 / 2011 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the Pre Allied Health Bridge Project and the Career Coaching Program designed to prepare health-care institution employees to meet the entry requirements for health-care training programs. The Alliance is launching an initiative in which students from Baltimore City public schools can complete the Baltimore City Community College’s developmental math requirements during their senior year of high school.
Maryland Community Health Initiatives, Inc.
$219,838 / 2011 / Workforce Development
For support of the Partnership for Growth initiative, an education and job-training program serving 40 clients of Penn North. In an effort to reduce re-arrest and incarceration rates of program participants, Penn North will provide training for street cleaning, lawn maintenance, ground-level tree trimming, touch-up painting, and hauling. The goal is to place 20 graduates into full-time employment and 10 workers into part-time employment.