Philanthropy Tank, a nonprofit which was founded in 2015 and brought to Baltimore in 2019, is giving kids the tools and support to take their own steps on the path of progress. Participants from grades 8 through 12 are invited to pitch projects to spread positive change in their communities, with grants of up to $15,000 awarded by local investors. Selected students—which Philanthropy Tank refers to as CHANGEmakers—are paired with local mentors to guide them as they pursue their ambitions and bring their ideas to life.

This year, a cohort of eight CHANGEmakers was selected from 48 applicants. On April 14, the eight finalists will receive funding at a final pitch event at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture. Each CHANGEmaker is unique. One CHANGEmaker pitch will  bring an artistic eye to blighted neighborhoods with an initiative to paint murals on abandoned buildings. Another will seek funding for a community improvement closet, providing people in under-resourced areas with clothes, toiletries, books and other essentials. Another will pitch plans to create a network of support for young people with incarcerated parents. At the April event, investors will determine how much funding will go to each project.

While local investors play a role in selecting and seeding projects, Philanthropy Tank’s dynamic mentors empower CHANGEmakers to carry out their visions at a high level and to have the confidence to face challenge, adversity, and unexpected surprises head-on. One such mentor is Stephanie Amponsah of The Dream BIG Foundation, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that incubates entrepreneurship in underserved communities. Philanthropy Tank Executive Director Nakeia Jones called Amponsah, “A shining example of leadership in action.”

Amponsah has served as a mentor for CHANGEmaker Ania McNair, whose project “Not For Sale Youth” seeks to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking. A freshman at Morgan State University, McNair applied to Philanthropy Tank as a high school senior and hit the ground running after being selected for funding in 2020. McNair has hosted rallies in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and held a month-long summer camp where participants used art therapy to unpack the link between low self-esteem and human trafficking. She is currently producing a workbook teaching the importance of self-care from a young age, as well as a curriculum to teach middle school students the warning signs of kidnapping and human trafficking. While McNair has owned her role as a CHANGEmaker, Amponsah has had a hand in much of McNair’s growth and development over the last year.

Although CHANGEmakers are typically assigned mentors at the beginning of their Philanthropy Tank journey, participants never know what connections they’ll make. D’mond Davis has provided meals to families of children living with chronic disease through his project “Hungry for Change.” Davis met Dorian Brown, the owner of Neopol Savory Smokery, when Brown agreed to allow Davis to use Neopol’s kitchen to prepare Sunday Suppers for Hungry for Change. They’ve since struck up a friendship, and their discussions go deeper than serving dinner, with Brown offering Davis crucial insight into fine-tuning his plan and approach.

Do you know a young person who would make a phenomenal CHANGEmaker? Do you have the skills and experience to serve as a mentor? Or are you interested in being a sponsor for another cohort of up-and-coming community leaders? This year’s finals event on April 14 is a great place to start—and you’re invited. Originally scheduled for February 17, the event was postponed due to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, but is set to proceed in-person as planned. For more information on the event and other ways to get involved, visit www.philanthropytank.org.

Source

Philanthropy Tank Baltimore Executive Director Nakeia Jones says that each proposal is shaped by the student’s personal perspective on growing up in the city. “Every student’s project is different,” Jones says. “It depends on what their goals are.”

Founded in 2015 and brought to Baltimore in 2019, Philanthropy Tank asks students to identify the changes they’d like to see in their own communities—and then empowers them to become agents of that change. At a virtual event last year, the first cohort of CHANGEmakers pitched their projects to a panel of local investors, seeking grants of up to $15,000. This year, a second cohort of finalists, grades 8 through 12, will once again pitch projects in hopes of receiving funding, mentorship, and other critical support through Philanthropy Tank.

Among this year’s pitches spearheaded by Baltimore youth are an initiative to paint murals on abandoned buildings, bringing art and beauty to blighted neighborhoods; a community improvement closet, which will provide teens in under-resourced areas with clothes, toiletries, books, and other essentials; and a network of support for young people with incarcerated parents. Out of 48 applications, eight projects have made it this far. All of the finalists will receive some funding, but it’s up to the dynamic Philanthropist Mentors to decide whether to grant their requests in part or in full.

Jones emphasizes that bringing students together to build relationships with professional mentors is just as important as the money itself. “We want to empower them to be leaders, but first they need guidance on what that looks like,” she says. “We’re trying to create opportunities for students to learn transferable skills, stuff you can’t learn in the classroom.”

Take Samaya Nelson, a Saint Frances Academy ninth grader who will pitch her mural project at the finals event on April 17. She has already submitted a budget for materials, and will rely on funding and mentorship to help her scale up the initiative. The way Jones sees it, Nelson’s ambition to bring her talent as an artist and perspective as a young person to make change in the city can inspire new ways of thinking, not just in other young people but in all of Baltimore’s leaders. 

“Change doesn’t have to be overcomplicated, the way adults sometimes think about it,” Jones says. “Just because a building is abandoned, doesn’t mean it has to look abandoned.”

Anyone can play a part in fostering leadership and development skills in Baltimore’s kids. Whether it’s partnering with other youth-based organizations across the city, securing funding for future cohorts of CHANGEmakers, or seeking new avenues to bring their ideas to life, Philanthropy Tank wants your help in bringing Baltimore’s young people the resources they need to execute their ideas..

Overall, the goal is for Philanthropy Tank to loop young people back into the conversation about seeding initiatives that can change the course of development in our city and its youth. “There is so much strength in our students, and the kids in our city in general,” Jones says. “Support them, give them opportunities, and you never know what will come of it.”

If you want to support Philanthropy Tank, or know a student who would make a phenomenal CHANGEmaker, the finals event on April 17 is a great place to start—and you’re invited. Originally scheduled for February 17, the event was postponed due to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, but is currently set to proceed in-person as planned. For more information on the event and other ways to get involved, visit www.philanthropytank.org.

Source