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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Baltimore Children & Youth Fund Celebrates BCYF Month BCYF awards grant funds to 61 new programs totaling 8.4 million dollars.
The 2023 grantees, announced today, will each receive a portion of the $8.4 million dollars that were allocated in 2023 grant funds, as BCYF celebrates the 4-year anniversary of its founding.
(Baltimore, Maryland – August 15, 2023)
Today, August 15, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, a nonprofit organization stewarding public funds to ensure Baltimore City’s children and youth are healthy, ready to succeed in school, and live in stable, safe and supportive families and communities, announced its 2023 fund winners! Baltimore Children & Youth Fund awarded 61 youth programs with a portion of the $8.4 million dollars in grant funds. The 2023 Grassroots Fund, which is awarded to 25 Baltimore-based grassroots organizations, accounts for $3,750,000 of the $8.4 million. In addition to receiving the funds, grantees will receive technical assistance and developmental support to further help them sustain and grow their organizations.
“This is a historic time in the history of Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, and a watershed moment for the encouragement of children and youth in Baltimore City,” says BCYF President, Alysia Lee. “Now, more than ever, our young people need to feel supported by their City and by the organizations who have pledged their support to bring them quality resources and enriching programming.”

The current recipients of the Grassroots Fund and those awarded in previous cycles
collectively offer many opportunities for young people to explore their interests and
passions. These opportunities span from chess and ice hockey to music production and
visual arts, and everything in between. BCYF’s newest grantees are focused on
developing children and youth in the following areas:

  • Youth Leadership Development
  • Mentoring
  • Programs for Boys/Programs for Girls
  • Arts and Culture
  • Workforce Development
  • STEM

The list of the new 2023 grantees is available on the BCYF website atbcyfund.org.

“Previous years’ grantees all share a common sentiment that funds from BCYF have contributed to the growth in their programs, including the hiring of much-needed staff members, providing meals and transportation, and supporting extracurricular activities.”
“Fortunate are we to live in a place where so many dedicated individuals are utilizing their time, talent, and treasure to impact the lives of thousands of young people across the City,” Lee says. “Their program offerings are encouraging a generation of young people to develop new interests that manifest into talents and skill sets beyond their wildest dreams and supporting them as they develop into inspired and well-rounded young people.”
“BCYF cannot take full ownership of this work,” Ms. Lee concludes. “We are stewards of this amazing fund that the citizens of Baltimore created. Our citizens’ bold step for Baltimore’s young people is what spurs us all forward – the BCYF Board, team members, grantees, and citizens who advocate for incredible outcomes while building the future of this City.
“We invite organizations to continue to apply to receive funds, as we will announce additional opportunities for them to apply as early as this fall,” Lee concludes.

For more information on BCYF, go to bcyfund.org.

Since 2020, BCYF has awarded $23 million to 101 programs listed here:10:12 Sports, ABC Park Seminoles Sports Agency, Active Achievers, Inc., Adelante Latina!, Arts Every Day, Arts Education in Maryland Schools, AZIZA PE&CE, B-360, B-CIITY, Baer School, Ballet After Dark, Baltimore Brothers, Baltimore Family Alliance, Baltimore Underground Science Space, Baltimore Urban Baseball Association, Baltimore’s Promise, Beadly Speaking Jewelry, Beyond The Natural Foundation, Black Girls Cook, Inc., Blax Lax, Inc., Bloom Collective, Catherine’s Family and Youth Services, Inc., Challenge 2 Change, Inc., Charm City Voices, Coach G Academy, Inc., Cody Young Empowerment Youth Charities, Community Law in Action, Corner Team, Inc., Cultivating & Embracing Change, Inc., Dance and Bmore Programs, Dance Happens, Inc., Dayspring, Inc., DewMore Baltimore, Dream Bigger, Dyslexia Advocation, East Baltimore Historical Library, Elev8 Baltimore, Inc., EndsideOut, Inc., Excellence & Ambition, Inc., Focus on Communities United for Success, Fusion Partnerships, Global Air Drone Academy, Greenmount East Leadership Project, Grind Hard Enrichment Program, Harlem Lacrosse – Baltimore, HeartSmiles, HMHU Mentoring, Inc., Imagine Me Ministries, Innovative Initiatives, Inc., Islamic Leadership Institute of America, Inc., JOY Baltimore, Latino Education Advancement Fund, Let’s Thrive Baltimore, Inc., Liberty Village Project, Lil’ Laughs, Marching Elite Foundation, Maryland Nonprofits, Mentor Maryland DC, Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood, Mentoring Mentors, Inc., MissionFit, Inc., Moving History, Inc., MTM Foundation, Inc., Muse 360, My Covenant Place, My GIRLS, Inc., No Struggle No Success, Nuestras Raices,Inc., ONE More…ONE Less Mentoring, Peaceful Warriors, Pennsylvania Avenue Neighborhood Association, Phase 3 Training Corporation, R.I.S.E. Arts Center of Baltimore, Inc., Requity Foundation, Inc., RICH-Restoring Inner City Hope,Inc., Saint Luke’s Youth Center, Sankofa Children’s Museum of African Cultures, Inc., Sarah’s House, Sisters Saving the City, Social & Economic Empowerment through Knowledge, Inc., Succor Transitional Program, Tendea Family, Tender Bridge, The Agoge Project, The Arts Project, The Bamboo Project, The Be. Org, The Board Room Chess, Inc., The Broken Wall, The Community School, The Food Project of UEmpower of MD, The Mr. Mack Lewis Foundation, The Sankofa Project – The Roots of Scouting, The Wildseed Gear Library, The William J. Watkins Sr. Educational Institute, Inc., UMAR Boxing Program, Inc., Urban Youth Initiative Project, Inc., Visions Select Baseball, Inc., We Will All Rise, Inc., Youth of The Diaspora, Youth Resiliency Institute
About BCYF The effort to create a dedicated fund to support programs for Baltimore’s young people was launched in 2015 by then-City Council President Bernard “Jack” C. Young — a response to the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, an event that sharply illuminated longstanding inequities in public funding in Black communities. Supported by Baltimore City residents’ tax dollars, last year BCYF awarded 9 million dollars to Baltimore programs serving children and youth, and 23 million dollars since the year 2020.

About BCYF

The effort to create a dedicated fund to support programs for Baltimore’s young people was launched in 2015 by then-City Council President Bernard “Jack” C. Young — a response to the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, an event that sharply illuminated longstanding inequities in public funding in Black communities. Supported by Baltimore City residents’ tax dollars, last year BCYF awarded $9 million dollars to Baltimore programs serving children and youth, and $23 million dollars since the year 2020. The full criteria for all grants can be found on the BCYF website bcyfund.org.