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.

All arts and culture funders are invited to hear Nicholas Cohen, Executive Director, Maryland Citizens for the Arts, share findings from their research and to join in a discussion about the implications of these findings as well shifts in funding and support for the arts throughout Maryland and in Baltimore specifically. We’ll provide ample time for all participants to deepen collaboration by sharing information, current opportunities, lessons learned and queries about supporting the arts in Maryland.

Join Maryland Philanthropy Network’s Education Funders Affinity Group for a two-part series on tutoring programs. The first discussion will take place with three of Baltimore’s largest tutoring providers focused on literacy. We'll be joined by Lindsay Sullivan, Amplify; Rudi Zellman, The Literacy Lab; and Jeffrey Zwillenberg, Reading Partners. Come learn about what is happening with literacy tutoring programs, what those programs looked like before the pandemic and going forward, possibilities around what’s needed to scale those programs, and ways that philanthropy can help.

Maryland Philanthropy Network invites you to continue the conversation we started at our 2020 Annual Meeting | Reimagine Philanthropy through a series of events designed as opportunities for transformative change. This next conversation in our Reimagine Philanthropy series will explore the topic of Economic Justice and the Social Determinant of Health, Work, and Wellbeing. Through the lens of trust-based philanthropy, our speakers will share the stories of how they have grapple with the need for transformative philanthropic practices that include partnerships with communities to address root causes of disparate health and employment outcomes.

Modeled after Impact Hub’s "Embracing Emergence: Adaptive Leadership for Uncertain Times" retreat, Maryland Philanthropy Network's Emergent Philanthropy Roundtable (formerly Rising Leaders Roundtable) will use this time to reflect and develop greater clarity around one’s purpose and commitments, laying the foundation for folks to be the leaders they want to be.

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.