Four years after launching an impact investing fund aimed at making loans to local community groups, Baltimore Community Foundation is growing this part of its portfolio further as giving remains high.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when Baltimore seemed to be turning a corner, with a relatively affluent metro area, new development, and rising incomes during the 2000s.

At a time when so many are willing to give up any discussion of America’s past in exchange for a false semblance of civil discourse, a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy makes the case that foundations have an immediate opportunity and responsibility to address society’s past harm in order to help communities heal and thrive. Cracks in the Foundation: Philanthropy’s Role in Reparations for Black People in the DMV details how the disparities in areas like education, income, employment and housing for Black residents in the District of Columbia, southern Maryland, and northern Virginia areas (commonly known as the DMV) are not random or natural occurrences but are a string of conscious choices that repeatedly harmed communities.