Past Grants

Housing Authority of Baltimore City

To provide 60 low-cost used cars through the Vehicles for Change program to families participating in the Special Mobility Housing Choice Voucher Program. The recipients will also receive funds for driver education training, licensing, and vehicle registration fees. The purpose of this initiative is to facilitate transportation to and from employment for low-income families who have moved to the suburbs and are poorly served by mass transit.

Job Opportunities Task Force

For support of JumpStart, a pre-apprenticeship program in the building and construction trades for 100 unemployed and underemployed Baltimore City residents referred by Goodwill Industries. Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) provides 13 weeks of training, two nights a week, for three hours each night. Following a successful 90-day job placement in the building trades, a trainee can apply for a four-year apprenticeship with ABC.

Second Chance Project, Inc.

To provide housing, employment, mental health services, and transportation to 300 ex-offenders released from Maryland State Correctional facilities. Second Chance will help ex-offenders obtain needed identification, including Social Security cards, Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) identification cards, and birth certificates. Second Chance will work with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Vital Records, the MVA, the Division of Corrections, and MOED to systematize the process by which ex-offenders obtain identification documents.

Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS)/Baltimore Freedom Academy

Toward costs of Family Matters, a job readiness program operated by BCPSS, designed to develop and implement art workshops for youth and families with young children in an after-school setting. By offering Baltimore Freedom Academy students job readiness skills and opportunities to serve as assistants in art workshops, the program is expected to instill positive work habits.

Seedco, Inc.

For the development of a customized EarnBenefits Baltimore, a web-based initiative to help low-wage workers in Baltimore City determine what federal and state benefits they qualify for, and how to apply for them. EarnBenefits Online is designed to streamline eligibility screening, application submission, and tracking of submitted applications. Low-wage workers will be encouraged to apply for under-utilized benefits such as tax credits, health insurance, Food Stamps, Maryland Energy Assistance Program Tel-life, child care, and the school lunch programs.