Baltimore Nonprofits are Eligible for Free Capacity Building Support Through The Catchafire Foundation
Visit baltimore.catchafire.org to learn more and sign up.
The Catchafire Foundation and The Fidelity Charitable Trustees’ Initiative have come together to offer time-sensitive, virtual support to more than 300 nonprofit organizations in the East and West Baltimore region. Catchafire Foundation's newest initiative, called Catchafire Baltimore, will provide Baltimore nonprofits with free access to its virtual platform and programming for one year—to tap into a network of more than 100,000 skilled volunteers who will help pro bono with capacity building projects. The program and services will provide Baltimore's historically underserved nonprofit communities with valuable resources to assure they are meeting the expectations and needs of the communities they serve.
Baltimore nonprofits have experienced historic marginalization and economic disparities, and with tangible resources, provided through The Catchafire Foundation, these nonprofits can respond and recover in the short term, and build resilience in the long term. The Catchafire Foundation imagines a new normal where all nonprofits, especially those that are smaller or BIPOC led or serving, can get access to operational support for free year after year. They believe that if this could happen, nonprofits would be able to be more long-term oriented and, as a result, they would be able to better deliver on their programs and mission and overall outcomes would improve.
“Baltimore and its surrounding area already has all the changemakers it needs to create the community they envision—and the surest path forward to strengthening Baltimore neighborhoods is by bridging the gap to expert talent through consistent access to critical growth building projects and operational support,” says Rachael Chong, Founder and CEO of Catchafire.
Through pre-existing foundation partnerships including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore nonprofits have already begun accessing virtual support services by way of Catchafire to help with emergency response, recovery, and resiliency efforts. “Catchafire provides critical bandwidth to help local nonprofits maximize their impact and meet the needs of residents throughout Baltimore City, says Talib Horne, Director of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Baltimore Civic Site. “This effort is an important step to ensure local organizations, especially those led by people of color, have the resources they need to continue doing their best work.”
Carol Walker, Communication Director at Advocates for Children and Youth says, “I consider Catchafire volunteers as valued members of our advocacy community as they bring diverse skills and unbelievable talent. For instance, video editing volunteer, Phillip, took our assets and created a compelling video that explained the “who, what, and why,” of education funding. He made collaboration easy through his responsiveness and attention to detail even with a challenging deadline.”
