The Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative consists of over 10 organizations that fund high-quality summer programs serving children and young adults from low-income families in Baltimore City. While funders make grant awards in response to their foundation’s specific funding priorities, SFC funders share a commitment to expanding access to high-quality summer opportunities and streamlining the process by which providers can access private grant dollars. The SFC uses an online application that allows providers to apply for grants from SFC funders with one submission. You can read the full RFP here.
Your application for SFC 2024 funding must be completed via the online portal. Live trainings for the online portal will be provided at our online and in-person information sessions on October 19 and October 23. In addition, we will upload a training video for anyone who is unable to attend an information session and will provide technical assistance for any applicants who have questions about completing the portal and online application. In advance of next week's information sessions, we encourage you to read through the full SFC 2024 Request for Proposals. The RFP contains all the information you need to learn how to apply for SFC 2024 funding. It also contains a list of the application questions that will be asked in the online portal.
who may apply for sfc funding?
The SFC funds summer programs that:
1. Are operated by organizations with 501(c)(3) or 509(a) status, or a current fiscal sponsor.
2. Serve children and youth (ages 0-24) from families with low-incomes living in Baltimore City.
Programs may take place outside of Baltimore City as long as SFC funding supports program participants that are Baltimore City residents
Programs may include participants that are not Baltimore City residents and/or do not come from families with low-incomes, as long as SFC funding is used to support program participants that are Baltimore City residents and who come from families with low-incomes
3. Are accessible to participants:
The SFC funds programs that primarily serve youth from families with low incomes in Baltimore City to increase access to quality summer opportunities for all young people. Most SFC programs do not charge any fees to participants. If your program charges a fee, you MUST provide an accommodation for participants who cannot pay the fee.
Programs should provide healthy meals and snacks to participants. Programs that run in-person for four or more hours each day must serve meals. The SFC encourages all programs to provide participants with healthy meals and snacks throughout the summer.
Programs must have a plan in place to ensure that participants are able to arrive and leave from the program safely.
Where applicable, programs should welcome and include students of all abilities.
The online application allows programs to apply for grants from all the SFC funders at once. Training for the online application portal will be provided through recorded videos and live at the SFC 2024 Application Information Sessions. Please carefully review the RFPbefore applying. If you have questions about completing this online application, please e-mail Summer(at)baltimorespromise.org.
All questions with an asterisk (*) next to them must be answered to submit the application. If you do not answer these required questions, our online system, Salesforce, will not allow you to submit the application.
How do i submit my application?
You must submit your proposal and supporting documents through our online portal. Training for the online application portal will be provided through recorded videos and live at the SFC 2024 Application Information Sessions.
Funders have the right to not consider incomplete proposals. Please closely follow the guidance on this page to make sure that your proposal meets the RFP’s requirements and is eligible for review. (Find a helpful checklist on the Resourcespage.) After you submit your application, you may be asked to provide additional information.
How will the sfc decide whether they will fund my program's proposal?
Technical Review After you submit your application on November 15, 2023, Baltimore’s Promise staff will review your application materials. We will check that your required documents are correct and up to date. Baltimore’s Promise staff will email you by Friday, December 1, 2023, to let you know about any missing or incorrect materials. You will have until 5:00 PM on Friday, December 15, 2023, to resubmit any necessary materials. Funders may not consider incomplete applications. We strongly encourage you to read through the section on required documents before submitting your application to avoid needing to resubmit materials.
Community Review Process After the technical review process, we may select your application for community reviewers to read. Reviewers will include youth ages 14-24, and parents/caregivers of youth ages 0-13. Community Reviewers will be chosen through an open call on social media and through our partnerships with community-based organizations. Community reviewers will review up to 200 applications. The SFC will align 100% of funding decisions with the community review process.
If we choose your application for review, the community review committee will evaluate your Program Description from your application. Each member will use the Community Review Rubric (See Appendix B). We will then incorporate community review feedback into final decision making. ALL SFC applicants that undergo the Community Review Process will receive feedback about their applications from community reviewers. Please see Appendix C for more information about what community reviewers will look for when reviewing SFC applications. View a video about our Community Review Process here.
Funder Review and Decision-Making: At the same time that community reviewers evaluate SFC applications, SFC funders complete a funder review process. SFC funders will receive all application materials and evaluate applications based on a standardized rubric. Funder evaluations will be combined with community review feedback to produce a funding recommendation for each application. In addition to funder and community review feedback, the final slate of SFC 2024 grantees will be determined based on the SFC’s eligibility requirements and shared funding priority areas, including ages served and programs from BIPOC-led organizations. We will announce funding decisions by mid-February 2024. We will email a decision letter to the proposal contact listed on the online application.
The SFC is an aligned fund. This means that while the SFC decides the slate of 2024 grantees together, grants will still be awarded by individual funders. The SFC strives to coordinate funding decisions and fund whole program budgets as much as possible. Before finalizing their decisions, SFC funders meet to align final decisions with the goal of fully funding as many high-quality summer programs as possible. SFC funders also strive to blend public and private sources of funding so that grantees have more flexibility in how they can spend their funds.
For summer 2024, the SFC will provide about $4 million to programs. Of this amount:
50% will fund summer programs focused on early-childhood, elementary, and middle school-aged youth
50% will fund summer programs focused on older youth ages 14-24
At least 75% will fund organizations led by Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian leaders
100% will be aligned with feedback from community reviewers
You are welcome to apply for the full funding needed to run a high-quality summer program. The SFC will prioritize funding full program budgets for grantees with organizational budgets that are less than $300,000. For grantees with organizational budgets greater than $300,000, grant awards will be capped at $75,000 per program.
How do I account for covid-19 in my application?
SFC funders understand that COVID-19 is still causing uncertainty with in-person programming, funding streams for the out-of-school time provider network, and public health considerations. We understand that different programs may choose to continue having virtual meetings in their programs. Please note that the SFC will prioritize funding for in-person programs. If your program has a virtual component or is fully virtual, please make sure to share the benefit of the virtual component in the program description (Question 31 in the application).
DEADLINE: The deadline for submission is Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at 5:00 pm.
Please note that the SFC will not accept late applications or applications by email or postal mail. Plan to submit your application a few days ahead of time in case you need help of have problems submitting your application.
Training for the online application portal will be provided through recorded videos and live at the SFC 2024 Application Information Sessions. October 19, 2023 Virtual Information Session Thursday, October 19, 1:30-3:00 PM Join Here
October 23, 2023 In-person Information Session Monday, October 23, 5:30-7:00 PM Enoch Pratt Free Library, Waverly Branch 400 E 33rd St, Baltimore, MD 21218