The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) recently distributed its eighth cycle of grants since the Covid crisis began, through its Community Crisis Response Fund. To date, 265 grants to 134 unique nonprofits totaling $1.63M have been awarded. Most recently, CFAAC funded $330,500 to 25 local nonprofits that serve the county’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations including seniors, children, low-income or food-insecure families, and the recently unemployed. 

This latest grantmaking provided funding for organizations that provide human services and emergency assistance, as well as health/mental health and educational resources.

“There is hope on the horizon for many as the vaccine rollout continues, however, there are still many in our community who are struggling,” said Mary Spencer, President & CEO of CFAAC. “CFAAC is proud to be able to help support the nonprofits who continue to aid those in need through grants from our Community Crisis Response Fund. There is a lot of valuable work being done to organize and coordinate donations of food, goods, and direct services to people whose lives have been disrupted by the virus. Through our community's generous donors, we can remain steadfast to helping these organizations help others.”

CFAAC continues to raise money from Donor Advised Funds, individual donors, foundations, and local businesses. CFAAC has made grants through the Community Crisis Response Fund since the beginning of the pandemic, adapting and expanding the focus areas based on the needs of the community, and will continue for as long as funding is available. Grants are made to local nonprofit organizations that are addressing the increase in community needs and demand for services due to the pandemic.

Eighth Cycle Community Crisis Response Fund Grantees:

• Agape Deliverance Ministries, Inc.: Grant awarded for Project PMT. The Physical, Mental and Technology (PMT) Program, which focuses on technology support and nutritional access for under-served communities in Anne Arundel County.

• Anne Arundel County Food Bank: Grant awarded to purchase diapers and other baby necessities for distribution to Anne Arundel County residents in need via 13 member pantries across Anne Arundel County.

• Anne Arundel County Literacy Council: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for the council’s Free Adult Literacy Services for low-income Anne Arundel County residents.

• Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth and Families: Grant awarded to support the Partnership’s efforts to assist families with basic and safety needs, such as rental assistance, food insecurity, transportation, utility bills, Wi-Fi, and Chromebooks for e-learning.

• Arundel House of Hope: Grant awarded to provide COVID-19 support and services, such as shelter, food, and other expenses for the homeless in Anne Arundel County.

• Bkind.Inc: Grant awarded to help provide emergency support and services, for the homeless in Anne Arundel County.

• Blue Ribbon Project: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for programs for foster families and to fight child abuse in Anne Arundel County.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Inc.: Grant awarded to provide free, all-day summer camps at each of their six clubs strategically located near communities identified to have a high concentration of poverty in Anne Arundel County.

• Calvary United Methodist Church: Grant awarded to purchase and distribute diapers and baby wipes for Marshall Hope Corporation, formerly the West Annapolis Pop-Up Pantry.

• Center of Help, Inc.: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for the Center of Help’s Case Navigation Program which provides support for Anne Arundel County clients in crisis, such as completing benefits applications, accessing COVID tests sites, mental health resources, and food distribution programs.

• Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for food pantries for low-income Southern Anne Arundel County residents.

• Creating Communities: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for a new mental health program to support 20 families in Anne Arundel County.

• Eastport United Methodist Church: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for a Community Coordinator and emergency supplies for the Church’s food pantry serving the Eastport Community.

• Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Annapolis: Grant awarded for direct support for the West Annapolis Pop-up Pantry.

• Fuel Fund of Maryland: Grant awarded to provide energy assistance to Anne Arundel County households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Hospice of the Chesapeake Foundation: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for the direct care of vulnerable seniors with advanced and life-limiting illnesses impacted by COVID-19 in Anne Arundel County.

• Kid Changemakers: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for Kid Changemaker's mission to meet the critical needs of the homeless, food insecure, and foster families in Anne Arundel County.

• Marshall Hope Corporation: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for the Corporation’s food pantry and food deliveries for the Hispanic community of West Annapolis.   

• Maryland Therapeutic Riding, Inc.: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for the organization’s mission to support the physical and mental health of children and adults with special needs in Anne Arundel County.

• My Life Foundation, Inc.: Grant awarded to provide culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate mental health resources, food, and other support for the Asian American Community in North and West Anne Arundel County.

• Nichols Bethel United Methodist Church: Grant awarded for the Church’s Backpack Buddies Program, which delivers weekly food boxes to food-insecure students in six public schools in North and West Anne Arundel County.

• OIC of Anne Arundel County, Inc.: Grant awarded to provide program and operating support for OIC’s mission to provide education and job training services for the economically disadvantaged and unemployed residents of Anne Arundel County. 

• Providence Center: Grant awarded to support the Center’s new Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives Program, which provides Anne Arundel County residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, coaching sessions on how to communicate their struggles with their mental health.

• The Complete Player Charity: Grant awarded to support the Charity’s project-based program focused on developing the social and emotional skills and competencies of students in Brooklyn Park, Fort Meade, and Severn.

• The Light House Homeless Prevention Center: Grant awarded to purchase, prepare, and distribute food to support the Light House homeless residents and the large number of community members who are food insecure.

Those wishing to contribute can:

• Make a secure, tax-deductible online donation through www.cfaac.org.

• Mail a check payable to “CFAAC” with “Community Crisis Response Fund” in the memo line to: 900 Bestgate Road, Ste. 400, Annapolis, MD, 21401.

Organizations Seeking Funding:

CFAAC will continue to make grants through the Community Crisis Response Fund. Interested organizations should follow www.cfaac.org/community-crisis-response-fund.html-0 for more information or sign-up for CFAAC’s newsletter at cfaac.org. A direct email will be sent to all nonprofits on our distribution list when the next cycle of funding is available.

CFAAC’s Community Crisis Response Fund allows for funding priorities to shift according to the most critical needs in Anne Arundel County. All grants from CFAAC’s Community Crisis Response Fund will be made to IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) public charities; the fund is not able to provide grants directly to individuals.

About CFAAC:

The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3), publicly supported philanthropic organization with the long-term goal of building permanent funds that provide support to local nonprofit organizations through grants and special projects. Our mission is to inspire and promote giving in Anne Arundel County by connecting people who care with causes that matter. Established in 1998, CFAAC is one of the largest funders of nonprofit organizations in Anne Arundel County. CFAAC distributed nearly $5 million in 2020 to a variety of nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.cfaac.org.