Archive

This morning, the Baltimore City Board of Estimates approved an updated plan to distribute $400 prepaid cards to up to 15,000 Baltimore City residents hardest hit by COVID-19 and the economic impact. OSI and the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success (MOCFS) are leading the initiative in partnership with 13 community-based organizations who serve […]

This morning, Mayor Brandon Scott released his Transition Report, which includes specific recommendations in 10 focus areas, including Public Health and Public Safety, Education and Youth Recreation, and Business, Workforce, and Neighborhood Development. The Transition Team was led by a nine-member Steering Committee, including OSI-Baltimore Director Danielle Torain, OSI Advisory Board member Alicia Wilson, and […]

In a press conference in front of City Hall on Wednesday, Baltimore City School student activists celebrated their victory after Comcast acceded to their demand that the company increase the speed of its low-cost Internet Essentials. The advocacy effort was led by Baltimore City School students from Students Organizing a Multicultural Open Society (SOMOS). Kimberly […]

On Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott gave testimony in a Maryland State Senate Finance Committee hearing on Senate Bill 279, which would create a pilot to establish six Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS), where people can use drugs in a medically supervised environment to prevent overdose, around the state. “It is imperative that we consider harm […]

This morning, Sheilah Kast interviewed OSI Director Danielle Torain on WYPR’s On the Record, talking about OSI’s COVID response, investing in underinvested Baltimore communities, and the 2020 cohort of OSI Community Fellows. On the Record recently completed its series of interviews with all 12 Fellows in the 2020 cohort. Last night, Torain participated in a […]

This week, the Baltimore Times launched a series called, “Baltimore Uprising: Have Things Changed or Remained the Same?” The series will feature community leaders reflecting on the uprising and its impact over the past five years. It is one of 13 community-based projects that OSI is supporting to mark the anniversary. Later this month, the […]

This morning at City Hall, Mayor Brandon Scott and other public officials held a press conference to talk about the implementation of the Elijah Cummings Healing City Act. OSI is collaborating with the city and providing substantial funding for Healing City Baltimore, which aims to unearth and reverse the causes of trauma in our city […]

BALTIMORE—Community and philanthropic leaders have come together to launch B’More Invested, an exciting new strategy for community-centered grantmaking led by a partnership of Open Society Institute – Baltimore and Baltimore’s Promise. The B’More Invested Grant Advisory Committee, consisting of 24 Community Stakeholders and 10 Funders, will distribute $2.3 million in pooled, private capital to local […]

This morning, Mayor Brandon Scott announced his appointment of Acting City Solicitor Dana Moore as Baltimore’s first Chief Equity Officer, a cabinet-level position. According to the announcement, Moore “will work closely with the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer to ensure city government operates through a framework of equity across all agencies, boards, and commissions. She […]

Linda Panitz, a member of OSI’s Leadership Council and a longtime supporter of OSI and other justice-seeking organizations in Baltimore, died this week, according to an obituary in the Baltimore Sun. Panitz co-founded the Enterprise Women’s Network, which sought to “improve the quality of life for low-income women and children and advocated for educational enrichment […]