Baltimore, MD — Family League of Baltimore and Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy in partnership with Share Our Strength and CLLCTIVLY, announce the 21 recipients of over $200,000 in Adaptive Village Small Grants.
The Adaptive Village Small Grants program is dedicated to supporting grassroots leaders in the City of Baltimore who create healthy spaces for children and the community. “This pilot project illustrates power and agency in community voice,” said President and CEO of Family League, Demaune Millard. “It was not conceived from a Zoom meeting or conference room, but it is a manifestation of residents telling the gatekeepers; [that] we know better than anyone else what is in our best interest. So, if you really want to help then fund us because we can do it better.”
As a result of this initiative, grant recipients are given the opportunity to create or strengthen innovative projects addressing issues of public safety, education, housing, employment, and transportation, without the benefit of a formalized organizational structure. Low-strings- attached grant funding enables Baltimore communities to tell their own stories and celebrate their efforts unfiltered by others.
RECIPIENTS
Over 120 community members submitted a 3-minute video application, requesting grants from $2500-$25,000 to support their innovative work. Voting opened on May 17, 2022, ending on May 27, 2022, gaining over 11,000 online votes in just 10 days. Community members were able to vote electronically, allowing the public to determine which submissions were
funded. Initiatives with the most votes in each funding category are the decided winners.
$25,000 CATEGORY FINALISTS
The top five finalists in the $25,000 grant category, determined by the number of votes, were originally slated to enter a second round of judging, where the top two winners would be chosen by a review panel. However, due to the overwhelming response of remarkable submissions, Family League was able to identify additional funding to award all five finalists in the $25,000 category. Download the full list of recipients (PDF)
TOP VOTE-GETTERS
The top two recipients serve communities in Northwest Baltimore and Clifton East neighborhoods; neighborhoods identified by the Community Needs Health Assessment as focus areas for Adaptive Village Small Grants.
Tendea Family’s mission is to advance Baltimore’s Black community by operating transformative programs, focused on identity, self-improvement, community service, and development. Focusing on youth, ages 10-18 in the McElderry Park neighborhood, Tasin Muhammad, director of Tendea’s Family Youth Internship Program, says “our youth internship program is a direct response to the crisis in Baltimore City. We want to expand [our program], to provide housing, uniforms, food, and stipends. We will use this grant to the best of our ability to help move and push our youth to be the next leaders of today.”
Kimoyo Shule Africana’s mission is to address cultural awareness for African American children in Baltimore City. Executive Director and Co-Founder, Imhotep Fatiu, applied to use the grant “to create a weekend school, operating on Saturdays and Sundays, that would teach the totality of culture. Everything they need to know about who they are, where they come from, and where they need to go.” With this grant, Fatiu will be able to see his vision for culturally nutritious weekend activities for youth come to fruition.
Finalists, along with community members, and partners will gather on August 25, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. to celebrate the 2022 recipients of the Adaptive Village Small Grants program. This celebration is an opportunity to recognize the recipients and enjoy the historic community space in Clifton Park dedicated to the life of political activist and pillar of the community, Rita R. Church.
PARTNERSHIP WITH MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH POLICY
Family League works collaboratively to support data-informed, community-driven solutions that align resources to dismantle the systemic barriers which limit the possibilities for children, families, and communities. In September 2020, the organization released its Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in partnership with Morgan State University School of Community and Health Policy through the support of the Bainum Family Foundation and the Goldseker Foundation.
Dr. Kim Sydnor, dean of the School of Community and Health and Policy, explains, “the Adaptive Village initiative is the fulfillment of a joint commitment to supporting community innovation. When the school received funds from our President, David Wilson, out of the $40M MacKenzie Scott institutional gift, we knew what had to be done. Under the umbrella of our
new Center for Urban Health Equity, we felt this was a valuable investment and a way of expressing our commitment to achieving equity through work that is for, by, and from community. For more information about Adaptive Village Small Grants visit adaptivevillage.cllctivly.org.
