Every three years, the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) publishes and presents its Community Needs Assessment Report — a detailed, data-rich report intended to increase knowledge and awareness about persistent local trends and needs throughout Anne Arundel County. It’s more than a report; it’s a tool to uncover the barriers and systemic challenges facing Anne Arundel County residents so together we can begin to lay the groundwork for change.
This report, authored by Dr. Pamela Brown, is imperative for the community and its constituents to understand the changing and persistent needs in our county. It allows CFAAC, as your community foundation, to set priorities and develop a strategic, comprehensive grantmaking approach to address the needs presented.
This year’s report, Poverty Amidst Plenty VIII: Building Community Together, features six comprehensive chapters and provides charts and summaries of data along with anecdotal quotes, designed to give human context to each section. The chapters include Introduction and Demographics, The Economy, Children and Youth Development, Health, Behavioral Health and the Social Determinants of Health, along with a Summary of Principle Findings and a section on how readers can help advance change.
The report data suggests that some of the most pressing needs of our community have remained the same since the last needs assessment in 2022 — from the lack of reliable and accessible transportation to the shortage of affordable housing and childcare. However, new needs have surfaced — most notably, the need for more mental health providers, treatment facilities and residential beds, driven by the lingering trauma caused by the social isolation and heightened anxiety experienced during the pandemic. Concerns about the emotional and mental health of our children and youth are growing, too. The influence of social media, the amount of screen time and the lasting trauma caused by the pandemic, were mentioned over and over again by youth and adults who were interviewed.
Other key findings include data on gun violence, the environment, food access, substance abuse, childcare, affordable housing, transportation and behavioral health. These findings highlight the urgent and wide-ranging challenges our community faces and that’s why the Community Foundation works to build lasting resources and funds to support the nonprofits tackling these needs.
As the largest institutional funder of nonprofit organizations in Anne Arundel County, CFAAC is committed to growing permanent philanthropic assets that strengthen our dedicated nonprofits. This needs report is central to our mission: to inspire philanthropy by connecting people who care with causes that matter in our community. With nearly $47 million in total assets intended for grantmaking and more than $20 million in endowed assets planned to support our community in perpetuity, we are committed to addressing these community needs. Since 2022, the last time this Needs Assessment was published, CFAAC has awarded nearly 2,000 grants, totaling nearly $21 million, as of August 31, 2025.
Needs assessments such as this one not only examine the gaps in community services, but also offer opportunities for positive change — change that takes place with a community working together. In that vein, CFAAC invites all Anne Arundel County residents to attend one of the upcoming public needs assessment report presentations by Pam Brown, Ph.D., to be held at the Chesapeake Arts Center on September 22, 2025, 9-11 a.m.; Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts on October 1, 9-11 a.m. or Anne Arundel Community College on November 5, 6-8 p.m. These sessions will offer the community the opportunity to ask questions and understand how we can join together to improve the lives of our neighbors.
The two morning sessions on September 22 and October 1 will also offer participants the opportunity to join in breakout focus groups. These breakout groups hope to encourage conversations among community members, nonprofit partners, donors and civic leaders to identify gaps and priorities based on the data presented. The focus group topics will include housing, childcare, food, place-based communities of hope and strengthening neighborhoods. Visit cfaac.org/NeedsAssessment to register for a session and to download a copy of the report.