In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Afghan government, and the Taliban’s takeover, many Afghans are fleeing for their lives. While up-to-date figures are unavailable due to the intense conflict, more than 1 million Afghans remain displaced from their homes due to ongoing violence and frequent natural disasters. We are grateful for our colleagues at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) who have compiled a list of actions to support philanthropic response. Maryland Philanthropy Network will continue to post ways in which philanthropy may respond to all that is happening in the world and we urge foundations and individual philanthropists to look into the future of how all of this will change Maryland and what your role may be to relieve suffering and build for our future.

The Morehead-Cain Scholarship at UNC at Chapel Hill has a Civic Collaboration Summer for rising sophomores, and five scholars were assigned to work with Maryland Philanthropy Network and the Middendorf Foundation. This study looks to explore both the permit and grant processes from the perspectives of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and the Baltimore City Government. By interviewing various stakeholders, the scholars gained insight and understood just how complex these processes were. All sides provided their experiences, which led the scholars to develop key takeaways and recommendations to create a more efficient system.