Maryland Philanthropy Network’s School-Centered Neighborhood Investment Initiative funded a research analysis of the 21st Century School Buildings Program efforts. All MPN members are invited to hear from the research team: Ariel H. Bierbaum, MCP, PhD; Erin O’Keefe, MPP; and Alisha Butler, MA; about the report’s findings and the overarching questions they raise about the 21CSBP. These questions bridge their findings with the current context and aim to prompt reflection and additional conversations about the 21CSBP in the face of the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism in the United States.

Join Maryland Philanthropy Network, the Abell Foundation, and the Middendorf Foundation for a joint program examining recent research on Baltimore City’s contracting, payment, and permitting processes and how delays in those processes negatively affect non-profits and the high-need communities they serve. At this briefing, you will hear from authors of the newly released Abell Report on the City’s contracting process and learn about the findings from a joint Middendorf/MPN study on the City’s permitting and grantmaking systems. The goals of the briefing are to share the scale and scope of the challenges, recommend changes, and discuss how funders can support the implementation of these changes in an effort to strengthen and support Baltimore’s non-profit sector.