Casey Foundation Civic Site: Baltimore
When Baltimore, Maryland, became home to the Annie E. Casey Foundation headquarters in 1994, we began working to help the vulnerable families and children within blocks of our front door. While sections of the city are thriving, others are ridden with high crime and epidemic drug use. Nearly 40 percent of Baltimore's families live at or below the poverty line. We are working throughout the city, region, and state to change how organizations, government agencies, and other funders implement policies and practices on behalf of low-income kids and families in our hometown.
Baltimore Direct Services Grants Program
The Casey Foundation’s BDSG program began in 1995. The program has contributed over $10 million in support of a wide range of innovative ideas and practices conducted by groups that represent many areas of the city.
East Baltimore Revitalization Initiative
East Baltimore was once an economically healthy neighborhood where families enjoyed a deep sense of community pride. But over time, the neighborhood has suffered from disinvestment, blight, and crime. As a result, local families and children have consistently experienced some of the worst outcomes in employment, health, education, housing, and public safety in Baltimore.
Despite its social and economic challenges, East Baltimore continues to be rich with community assets, including a powerful base of churches, local neighborhood service organizations, philanthropies, and community groups, as well as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore’s largest private employer. The Casey Foundation is working with these local organizations, a well as the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland, in a groundbreaking effort to revitalize East Baltimore.
The East Baltimore Revitalization Initiative, led by East Baltimore Development, Inc. (the non-profit organization formed to manage the effort), is an ambitious plan to stabilize and revitalize East Baltimore by transforming the neighborhood into a healthier, thriving community for families and children. The initiative embraces a commitment to "responsible development," an approach that addresses resident needs while encouraging maximum neighborhood investment.
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