The Charlesmead Foundation has provided UMBC with a gift of $500,000 over five years, Fall 2018 through Spring 2023, aimed at strengthening arts engagement opportunities for K-8 students in Title I schools in the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). We are seeking proposals to fund new, or expand existing, partnerships between UMBC faculty/staff/graduate students and these schools.
We will continue to accept and review submissions on a rolling basis for projects up to $1,000. Proposals for projects over $1,000 are due November 1st, 2021 (fall) and March 15th, 2022 (spring). Reviewers will usually make decisions within 3-4 weeks after each submission. If your proposed activity is awarded, but new announcements from Baltimore City Public Schools require changes in your proposed activity, rest assured that we can work with you to accommodate those changes as much as possible.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to David Demarest with any questions (davidd4@umbc.edu). If you have an idea but need connections to a Baltimore City Public School and/or local arts organization, let us know. We are here to help.
Proposals should be tailored to the needs and interests of each partner, leverage the strengths of a university, and be inspired by the idea that all children are entitled to quality arts programming in the full spectrum of artistic disciplines, including Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts.