Archive

Last week, Maryland’s legislation concluded after passing several major pieces of legislation, including many supported by grantees of OSI-Baltimore and the Open Society Policy Center, Open Society Foundations’ advocacy organization.  The legislative wrap-up from the OSI-supported People’s Commission to Decriminalize Maryland details significant new legislation in the areas of youth justice and the decriminalization of […]

OSI-Baltimore mourns the loss of Lois Feinblatt, a lifelong advocate for Baltimore and a dear friend of OSI, its staff, and Advisory Board.  Born into the philanthropic Hoffberger family, Lois was generous but not content providing only financial support. After graduating from Goucher College and starting a family, she became directly involved in changing conditions […]

In a new report, “The Long Game: Defund, Divest, Reform and Abolish – The resident perspective of the current debate on where we should invest our public safety dollars,” the Citizens Policing Projects shares the results of its citywide canvass conducted from June through December of 2021: “With funding support from the Open Society Institute-Baltimore […]

This week, Revolve Fund, a new philanthropic initiative backed by OSI-Baltimore, the Rockefeller Foundation, and JP Morgan Chase, launched its pilot to increase investment in businesses and nonprofits owned and led by people of color. As part of the pilot, the fund plans to provide more than $2 million in interest-free, recoverable capital to 20 […]

A new report commissioned by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and OSI-Baltimore provides context and insight into the fiscal sponsorship landscape in Baltimore and the barriers that block investment in BIPOC leaders and innovation. The report, “Mapping Baltimore’s Fiscal Leadership Landscape,” is an important step towards bolstering Baltimore’s fiscal sponsorship infrastructure as a way to […]

Last week, Delegate Marlon Amprey presented Gina Worthey and Sarah Matthews from Baltimore Corps with a citation for their work leading six Community Hubs as part of our Baltimore Equitable Vaccination Initiative (BEVI). Baltimore Corps has been a key partner of OSI in the work to reduce in racial disparities in vaccine distribution. The Community […]

On Thursday, March 3, Open Society Foundations and Baltimore City hosted the “Baltimore and Beyond” day of the annual Healing City Summit session (agenda and more information here). Watch the full day of conversations below. Healing City Summit 2022 – Baltimore & Beyond from Healing City Baltimore on Vimeo.

On Thursday, OSI and Business Volunteers Maryland held the fourth event in the “Business in Community” discussion series, this one focused on transportation and accessibility. Jamar Brown, a partner at Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP and chair of the OSI-Baltimore Advisory Board, facilitated the event, which included Del. Robbyn Lewis of District 46 and Elisabeth Sachs […]

This week, Open Society Foundations announced the 15 winners of its “Justice Rising Awards,” celebrating Black Leadership in racial justice work. OSI-Baltimore’s Tara Huffman and OSF’s Adam Culbreath led the effort to conceive the awards and identify awardees. Huffman, Culbreath, and several awardees discussed their purpose in a video on the Justice Rising Awards website, […]