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Baltimore Civic Fund Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Baltimore Civic Fund Inc

The baltimore civic fund works to connect government and philanthropy to improve residents' quality of life.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
46
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$613k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Education$3.7MCommunity Improvement$3.0MHuman Services$2.9MHealth$2.4MHousing & Shelter$826kArts & Culture$826kYouth Development$730kEmployment$411kOther$0
02FY2025 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $102k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $422k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $461k
  • $250k+2 grants · $897k
$11,250
Median grant
2
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CIVIC WORKS$612,786
BON SECOURS COMMUNITY WORKS$284,518
BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SYSTE$80,022
PASS IT ON INC$68,475
DENT EDUCATION INC$62,161
OPEN WORKS$50,000
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$50,000
NPOWER INC$50,000
A PROSPEROUS TOMORROW$50,000
LET'S GO BOYS AND GIRLS$50,000
LET'S THRIVE BALTIMORE INC$46,710
MIDTOWN COMMUNITY FUND INC$37,500
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC$37,363
BALTIMORE GREEN SPACE$36,230
GRANTS UNDER 5000$30,781
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY23–25, $2.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 96% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%CITY OF REFUGE BALTIMORE: $28k → 6%LET'S THRIVE BALTIMORE INC: $47k → 11%BALTIMORE JEWELRY CENTER: $25k → 19%HEARTS OF HOPE INC: $10k → 11%BALTIMORE URBAN LEADERSHIP FOUNDATI: $10k → 19%MARIPOSA CHILD SUCCESS PROGRAMS: $25k → 19%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND: $100k → 19%INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE USA BR: $50k → 19%THE LAZARUS RITE INC: $414k → 19%VOLO CITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 19%JEWISH COMMUNITY SERVICES: $45k → 19%BALTIMORE ADOLESCENT TREATMENT & GU: $25k → 19%BALTIMORE FAMILY ALLIANCE: $14k → 19%SHARP DRESSED MAN: $8k → 19%BON SECOURS COMMUNITY WORKS: $677k → 19%BON SECOURS COMMUNITY WORKS: $339k → 19%BON SECOURS COMMUNITY WORKS: $285k → 19%PATHWAY FORWARD INC: $7k → 19%FRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $50k → 19%HOUSE OF RUTH MARYLAND: $40k → 19%UPTON PLANNING COMMITTEE: $38k → 19%LET'S THRIVE BALTIMORE INC: $20k → 19%LET'S THRIVE BALTIMORE INC: $8k → 19%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$22M · 46 repeat orgs$7.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +26% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2025, 19 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
319

Total granted

$22M
$7.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+15%

Still filing today

52%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $653k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’21’22’23’24’25
Community ImprovementArts & CultureHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentEducationHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • CW
    CIVIC WORKS INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $3.0M · revenue +6%
  • BS
    Bon Secours Baltimore Community Works Inc
    3× · 2023–2025 · $1.3M · revenue +44%
  • BE
    Broadway East CDC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $662k · revenue +14% · 42% of their budget

Funded once

  • LR
    LAZARUS RITE
    one grant, 2023 · $414k
  • GL
    GRANTS LES THAN 5000
    one grant, 2023 · $118k
  • MP
    MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK
    one grant, 2023 · $111k · revenue +22%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Baltimore Corps Inc

To cultivate career advancement opportunities for local talent, facilitate talent acquisition for local employers, increase access to capital for local entrepreneurs' social ventures, and foster cross-sector collaboration to address city…

Employment
2
Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore Foundation
—
3
Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc

To advocate fair housing and improving tenant/landlord relations.

—
4
Greater Baltimore Committee Inc

Greater Baltimore Committee, Inc. is a not-for-profit, civic-interest corporation comprised of business and professional organizations located within the Greater Baltimore Area. Its purpose is to provide a strong, unified and effective…

—
5
Baltimore Development Corporation

The baltimore development corporation (bdc) is a non-profit organization that serves as the economic development agency for the city of baltimore. bdc's mission is to grow the city's economy in an inclusive, equitable manner by retaining,…

Community Improvement
6
Community Development Network of Maryland Inc

To promote, strengthen, and advocate for the community development sector throughout Marylands urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Community Improvement
7
Metropolitan Baltimore Council of Afl-Cio Unions

The council was organized for the purpose of providing its members with adequate representation in various union related matters.

—
8
Baltimore Unity Hall Inc
Community Improvement
9
Innovation Works Inc

The corporation will develop sustainable neighborhood economies in depressed areas by: igniting interest in sustainable social enterprise, helping individuals transform challenges into opportunities, creating sustainable social…

Community Improvement
10
Live Baltimore Home Center Inc

Live baltimores mission is to recruit and retain baltimore city residents.

Community Improvement
11
Baltimore Community Lending Inc

The mission of baltimore community lending is supporting the revitalization and strengthening of underserved communities in the greater baltimore region through innovative financial solutions and collaborative resources designed to promote…

Community Improvement
12
Emerging Technology Centers Inc

To foster a transformative community of tech-savvy, innovative, entrepenurial people looking for creative collaboration to accelerate their growth potential and make powerful economic impact on the City of Baltimore and beyond.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Belair-Edison Neighborhoods Inc; the most unlike its peers is Make Space. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

155 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 155 of the 384 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
37
Early backer (in before they grew)
150/155
Grantees still filing
94/155
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SUBGRANT: $13,486,698 · OtherSUBGRANTUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK: $1,522,027 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK+118 more: $3,362,109 · Other+118 moreCIVIC WORKS INC: $3,012,027 · EducationCIVIC WORKS IN…+10 more: $458,587 · Education+10 moreBroadway East CDC: $661,562 · Community ImprovementBroadway …PARK HEIGHTS RENAISSANCE INC: $645,753 · Community ImprovementPARK HEIG…WESTPORT COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $291,041 · Community ImprovementWESTPORT …FUSION PARTNERSHIP INC: $145,391 · Community ImprovementFUSION PA…+16 more: $670,495 · Community Improvement+16 moreBon Secours Baltimore Community Works Inc: $1,299,928 · Human ServicesBon Secou…LAZARUS RITE: $414,478 · Human ServicesLAZARUS R…CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesLETS THRIVE BALTIMORE: $74,947 · Human Services+10 more: $351,006 · Human Services+10 moreABORTION FUND OF MARYLAND INC: $130,562 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MARYLAND INC: $103,550 · HealthTuerk House Inc: $62,971 · HealthINTERSECTION OF CHANGE INC: $61,400 · HealthHUMANIM INC: $50,000 · HealthMaryland Community Health Initiatives: $50,000 · HealthULMAN FOUNDATION INC: $45,310 · HealthMARYLAND NEW DIRECTIONS INC: $25,000 · HealthCHARM CITY CARE CONNECTION INC: $25,000 · HealthItineris Foundation Inc: $20,661 · HealthOPEN WORKS INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureCENTER STAGE ASSOCIATES INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BALTIMORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART: $50,000 · Arts & CultureCHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE PUBLIC MEDIA CORPORATION: $40,000 · Arts & CultureEVERYMAN THEATRE INC: $32,746 · Arts & CultureMARYLAND ART PLACE INC: $29,198 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $27,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureLE MONDO: $25,000 · Arts & CultureBIT COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureCREATIVE NOMADS LTD: $24,916 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY INC: $24,711 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $18,355 · Arts & CultureBMORE EMPOWERED INC: $70,400 · Youth DevelopmentPASS IT ON INC: $68,475 · Youth DevelopmentLEADERS OF TOMORROW YOUTH CENTER INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentLET'S GO BOYS AND GIRLS INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentIMENTOR INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentNEXT ONE UP FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 · Youth DevelopmentI AM MENTALITY INC: $38,250 · Youth DevelopmentTHREAD INC: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUTH EDUCATIONAL SERVICES INCORPORATED: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentNatural Born Champions Inc: $22,500 · Youth Development
Other$18,370,834Education$3,470,614Community Improvement$2,414,242Human Services$2,240,359Health$574,454Arts & Culture$571,926Youth Development$449,625

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCIVIC WORKS INC: $3,012,027 over 3y, 12% of budgetBon Secours Baltimore Community Works Inc: $1,299,928 over 3y, 11% of budgetBroadway East CDC: $661,562 over 2y, 42% of budgetPARK HEIGHTS RENAISSANCE INC: $645,753 over 2y, 9.5% of budgetWESTPORT COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $291,041 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetFUSION PARTNERSHIP INC: $145,391 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetABORTION FUND OF MARYLAND INC: $130,562 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetMARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK: $111,211 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MARYLAND INC: $103,550 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetOPEN WORKS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetCASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLETS THRIVE BALTIMORE: $74,947 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetBMORE EMPOWERED INC: $70,400 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetTuerk House Inc: $62,971 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUnity Properties Inc: $61,730 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetINTERSECTION OF CHANGE INC: $61,400 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetHOMELESS PERSONS REPRESENTATION PROJECT INC: $59,878 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST PARTNERSHIP INC: $52,898 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES OF BALTIMORE INC: $52,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPATTERSON PARK PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FUND INC: $51,500 over 1y, 46% of budgetBALTIMORE MONTESSORI INC: $51,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBaltimore International Academy Inc: $50,757 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBELAIR-EDISON NEIGHBORHOODS INC: $50,118 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetFRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE VILLAGE LEARNING PLACE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetCENTER STAGE ASSOCIATES INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHUMANIM INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLEADERS OF TOMORROW YOUTH CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetPRO BONO COUNSELING PROJECT INC: $50,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetNPOWER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Ingenuity Project Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetMARYLAND CONSUMER RIGHTS COALITION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE BALTIMORE LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR YOUNG WOMEN: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE BALTIMORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLET'S GO BOYS AND GIRLS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetNEXUS-WOODBOURNE FAMILY HEALING: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMaryland Community Health Initiatives: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetIMENTOR INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetOHR CHADASH CONGREGATION INC DBA OHR CHADASH ACADEMY: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetBALTIMORE MEDICAL SYSTEM INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PRODUCERS CLUB OF MD INC: $50,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER BALTIMORE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BRANCH INC: $49,642 over 1y, 1.6% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Abell Foundation …Baltimore Community F…The United Way of Cen…Fund for Educational …France-Merrick Founda…T Rowe Price Foundati…The Morris Goldseker …The Harry and Jeanett…Family League of Balt…Lockhart Vaughan Foun…Annie E Casey Foundat…The Bunting Family Fo…
The Abell Foundation IncMD117.9× affinity71 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Abell Foundation Inc · Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · The United Way of Central Maryland Inc · Fund for Educational Excellence Inc · France-Merrick Foundation Inc · T Rowe Price Foundation · The Morris Goldseker Foundation of Maryland Inc · The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc · Family League of Baltimore City Inc · Lockhart Vaughan Foundation · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · The Bunting Family Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Baltimore Civic Fund Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Baltimore Civic Fund Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 190%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 14%
  • Druid Heights Community Development Corporation: 100% of income from government
  • Upton Planning Committee Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Pass It On Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Fells Point Main Street Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Open Works Inc: 96% of income from government
  • Midtown Community Fund Inc: 73% of income from government
  • International Social Service United States of America Branch Inc: 72% of income from government
  • Civic Works Inc: 63% of income from government
  • Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street Inc: 59% of income from government
  • Southwest Partnership Inc: 50% of income from government
  • Federal Hill Main Street Inc: 37% of income from government
  • Southeast Community Development Corporation Inc: 35% of income from government
  • The Baltimore Children's Museum Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Belair-Edison Neighborhoods Inc: 32% of income from government
  • Govans Ecumenical Development Corp: 28% of income from government
  • Asylee Women Enterprise Inc: 26% of income from government
  • Baltimore Bar Foundation Inc: 23% of income from government
  • Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Intersection of Change Inc: 20% of income from government
  • The House of Ruth Maryland Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: 16% of income from government
  • Everyman Theatre Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Neighborhood Design Center Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Thread Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Cash Campaign of Maryland Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Park Heights Renaissance Inc: 10% of income from government
  • The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Pro Bono Counseling Project Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Maryland New Directions Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Baltimore Medical System Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Living Classrooms Foundation: 7% of income from government
  • 4MyCity Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Center Stage Associates Inc: 7% of income from government
  • The Producers Club of Md Inc: 7% of income from government
  • The Village Learning Place Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Public Justice Center Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Baltimore Museum of Art: 4% of income from government
  • Fusion Partnership Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Bon Secours Baltimore Community Works Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Digital Harbor Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • Franciscan Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Humanim Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Planned Parenthood of Maryland Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
19get no government money at all
39report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
9rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 384 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Baltimore Civic’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home