Some of the most vibrant social entrepreneurs in Baltimore City are also OSI-Baltimore Community Fellows. They’re a corps of more than 200 activists, artists, leaders, and conveners dedicated to serving underserved communities in Baltimore. Not surprisingly, many are pivoting, adjusting, or refocusing their mission to respond directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mariah Bonkowski (2019 Fellow), […]
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OSI to support community-based projects marking the fifth anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising
Thursday, April 30, 2020BALTIMORE—Open Society Institute-Baltimore will support 13 community-based events and projects marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Uprising in 2015. Proposals were selected from among dozens submitted in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) announced in February. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the proposed […]
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OSI-Baltimore Announces RFP to Support Drug Users and Incarcerated or Formerly Incarcerated People at Elevated Risk as a Result of COVID-19
Wednesday, April 29, 2020Today, Open Society Institute-Baltimore releases a Request for Proposals (RFP), inviting eligible organizations to apply for rapid response funding designed to provide critical supports to individuals in Maryland who use drugs, are incarcerated, or were recently released from incarceration, and thus are at increased risks of contracting COVID-19, suffering a fatal overdose, or being re-incarcerated. […]
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OSI joins local funders to support minority-owned local businesses affected by COVID
Wednesday, April 22, 2020OSI-Baltimore and nine other funders have joined forces to fund the Baltimore Small Business Support Fund, which will help local women- and minority-owned business affected by the COVID pandemic access local, state, and federal sources of aid. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in partnership with the Baltimore Community Foundation, established the support fund in 2018 […]
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Social Justice Syllabus
Tuesday, April 21, 2020Many of these titles can be purchased through local, independent booksellers like Red Emma’s, The Ivy, and Greedy Reads. Many can also be found on audiobook sites like Audible We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander The Village Bully, Maria Broom (2004 OSI Community Fellow) The Color of […]
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Open Society Foundations Invest $1 Million in Baltimore-Based COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Thursday, April 16, 2020The Open Society Foundations will provide $1 million in direct financial and other emergency support for workers in Baltimore who have been hit hard by COVID-19 and are at greatest risk of falling into extreme hardship, including those who are unemployed and the formerly incarcerated. Open Society Institute-Baltimore will work with local partners to disperse […]
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OSI and BNIA launch Blueprint for Baltimore data portal
Saturday, April 11, 2020OSI-Baltimore, in partnership with the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (BNIA), has incorporated the data from the Blueprint for Baltimore survey into BNIA’s Open Data Portal. The Blueprint for Baltimore data portal is open the public. Launching the portal is the latest step in the Blueprint for Baltimore project, a partnership between OSI-Baltimore and community organizations, […]
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OSI and partners host first of two Vote by Mail 101 webinars
Thursday, April 02, 2020Yesterday, OSI and partners including Black Girls Vote, Common Cause Maryland, the League of Women Voters, Baltimore Votes, and other groups hosted the first of two webinars to explain the current situation regarding voting by mail for the upcoming special election in Maryland’s 7th District to replace Rep. Elijah Cummings. Nykidra Robinson from Black Girls […]
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COVID-19 Information and Resources
Wednesday, March 18, 2020General Information The Baltimore City Health Department Novel Coronavirus website – Includes information for general public, clinicians, community and business leaders, parents, and older adults and caregivers, travel information, infographics, and links and resources. Baltimore City Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard – Data on COVID-19 case in Baltimore City by zip code, age, and sex, as […]
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OSI’s Karen Webber testifies in support of statewide commission on trauma-informed care
Wednesday, March 11, 2020On Friday, Karen Webber, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Education and Youth Development program, testified on behalf of the Open Society Policy Center, the advocacy arm of Open Society Foundations, to support Senate Bill 918, which would create a statewide commission on trauma-informed care. I am excited to announce that @jillpcarter and I are partnering to bring […]
