The Baltimore Community Foundation is a community foundation created by the community of Baltimore to serve the current and future needs of the Baltimore region. BCF offers donors customized support for their individual philanthropic goals, expert assistance in learning more about the causes they care about, and the opportunity to join others with similar interests to learn and give together. The Baltimore Community Foundation distributed $18 million in 2018 to hundreds of nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore region and beyond. BCF comprises more than 800 different charitable funds created by a diverse group of individuals, families, and corporations. Recognized as one of the country's most civically engaged community foundations, BCF's role as advocate was highlighted in FSG Social Impact Advisors’ 2009 report, Raising Money While Raising Hell.
History
In 1972, leaders of Baltimore's five major banks of that time joined together to establish the Community Foundation of the Greater Baltimore Area. Inspired by the success of the nation's first community foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, and a rapidly growing network of community foundations nationwide, co-founder Robert Levi of Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust, who would become the fledgling organization's first chairman, felt strongly that Baltimore needed “a philanthropic organization that was a gathering of all people—no color line, no religious affiliation, no special cause.”
Governance
BCF is governed by a 30-member board of trustees, selected to represent diverse community interests. The foundation's staff includes professionals in community investment, donor services, development, finance and administration, and communications.
Initiatives
A number of key initiatives of the Baltimore Community Foundation are:
Middle Grades Partnership offers academically promising Baltimore middle school students the opportunity to excel in the city's most challenginghigh schools by providing them with comprehensive summer and after-school learning opportunities.
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance is a coalition of Greater Baltimore's business, environmental and community leaders dedicated to improving travel efficiency in Central Maryland.
