Cohort I
Our inaugural Youth Grantmakers cohort, made up of 15 dedicated young people, set the stage for future cohorts, creating the processes and protocols on which the YG grantmaking cycle relies. They served as Youth Grantmakers from 2021 to 2024, with several continuing on with Baltimore’s Promise in new roles. Below, meet the Forever 15 and their grantees.
Artist: Okay Everything, 2022
Meet the YGs
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Perez, 20, learned about the Youth Grantmaker program when her mentor at the Building Steps Program sent her a description of the opportunity and encouraged her to apply. She was already supporting young people in her Broadway-Overlook community – including through parties and Easter Egg hunts – and was enthusiastic about the chance to expand the opportunities available to local youth. Focused on graduation, Aaliyah aims to develop a career in social work. “The thing I’m most excited about is change,” she said. “More graduations, more job opportunities, more Rec Centers – more and better things for the youth to have a better life in the future.”
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Aissata
Aissata “Assi” Sy, 17, sees herself as representing “young people trying to make a difference in their world or in their own lives, trying to be their best selves, and making the world a better place.” She is determined to continue learning and aims for a career that involves organizing groups and empowering youth. Becoming a Youth Grantmaker offered her a chance to see the process up close – including how funding is distributed, used and accounted for in Baltimore City – while learning more about budgeting and financial literacy. “I am West African from Burkina Faso, and I try to rep that a lot,” Assi said. “No matter where you’re from, you can accomplish a great deal of things. You just have to put your mind and your heart to it, and you can do it.”
Camila
See Camila’s bio on the cohort II page!
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Ihsane
Ihsane Abeddaim, 18, sees the youth grantmaking process as an opportunity to be heard and to make a difference. “A lot of people just say, ‘I don’t like this’ or ‘I don’t agree with this.’ Well, I’m going to do something about it,” she said. This determination may stem from her sense that people often look down on her communities – African-American women, youth, and women in STEM – but she sees the impact each group can have, especially when they come together. In a busy summer when she plans to both start college and get her real estate license, she saw the process as a chance to learn with like-minded young people who share her passions. A Moroccan immigrant who has already withstood significant pressures, Ihsane is open to being a role model. “I can’t say I’ve made it out of that environment, but I’m really close,” she said. “If I made it this far, I’d want other people to know they can make it, too.”
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Montaze
Montaze Cooper, 22, was an author whose autobiography, The Shift in Me, describes how he turned his life around in high school – a self-directed change that he believes others can make with the right guidance. “I care about serving the youth,” he said. “My goal is to add my insight, add my perspective, on who and what we should serve.” The Coppin State University graduate was drawn to the Youth Grantmakers to surround himself with like-minded people and to learn more about budgeting, data, philanthropy and the opportunities to support young people, with the longer term goal of giving back to his BIPOC community in Baltimore and beyond. “I have a big heart, and want to understand the problems in our community and figure out different solutions so they won’t be a generational curse,” he said. Learn about his legacy here.
Aflal
Aflal Mohamed Refai, 18, is a freshman at Towson University who sees himself as representing the Muslim and immigrant communities, devoted to those and other underrepresented groups. “From my experience of being an immigrant, and going from one community to another, I knew that joining an organization like Baltimore’s Promise, I could help out my community and communities that are underrepresented,” he said. With goals of graduating from college and finding a job, Aflal is leveraging his Youth Grantmaker experience to meet new people, network in new situations, and ask questions that affect not only Baltimore’s future, but also the future of grantmaking.
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Audrey
Audrey Akumkperik, 17, believes that if someone is confused about what to do in life, they should have opportunities to explore a wide variety of options. She aims to attend a big university so she has more choices among majors. Audrey thinks Baltimore’s young people deserve a broad spectrum of opportunities – not just one youth center or summer program. She became a Youth Grantmaker to see what it takes to create those kinds of opportunities. A natural explorer, Audrey loves traveling, learning about other cultures – including former West African empires – and enjoying spicy, vegetarian cuisine.
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Cesia
Cesia Calero, 25, came to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was 6 years old. “That really has been the driver for everything I do right now,” she said. “The end goal is always to help the immigrant community and the Latinx community.” A graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and the University of Baltimore, her age and education give her a unique perspective as a Youth Grantmaker and a clear focus on systems change. “I’m really excited about just being able to create something new and, hopefully, something fresh that can change how things usually run in Baltimore and how things usually work in philanthropy,” Cesia said. She is currently on a Pilates grind and focused on experiencing different areas and perspectives of Baltimore.
J’Naya
J’Naya Harris, 18, recognizes that grantmakers don’t always understand what young people want or need. She sees the Youth Grantmaking experience as “an opportunity to learn more about how grants are made and how they are spent within our city, pertaining to young people like me.” J’Naya is interested in writing a book that supports representation for young Black girls and, along the way, finding her community of young Black American women and writers. She is starting college at Loyola University of Maryland, where she plans to focus on forensic studies. The Youth Grantmaking experience has advanced her leadership skills. As she explained, “Becoming a leader looks different for many people. In this role specifically, becoming a leader is about speaking up about what you care about, and taking the initiative to create change.”
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Taj
See Taj’s bio on the cohort II page!
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Anthony
Anthony Venable, 22, focuses on computer science at Morgan State University and plans to return for a master’s in artificial intelligence sometime after his 2022 graduation, tying together his interest in software development, psychology, and philosophy. Anthony views himself as representing African Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, and Baltimore City youth. What initially drew him to the Youth Grantmaking opportunity was the opportunity to learn about grant writing, meet others with similar passions, and give back to his community. “Growing up, I’ve always seen a lot of things that I think weren’t necessarily right or the most ideal ... It’s a great chance to make a difference,” Anthony said. “There’s a lot of beauty and potential in Baltimore, but it just takes someone to invest in it and see it flourish.”
Briana
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Charity
Charity Fisher, 18, believes that more people like her should be involved in the grantmaking process. “Baltimore is a predominantly Black city, but it’s mostly white people making the decisions,” she said. “It’s important to have the youth involved in how these decisions are made – and probably youth who are Black or of color because that’s who we serve.” Charity’s engagement as a Youth Grantmaker builds on work she already does within her East Baltimore community, from facilitation to writing-therapy workshops. This process offered an opportunity to further explore the work she loves, connect with others who share her interests and consider whether this could be a future career. “It only takes one person to change your life,” Charity said. “If I can do that for other people in Baltimore – I just want people to know that’s the route I’m on right now.”
Kayla
Kayla Warren, 20, grew up in East Baltimore and believes in giving back to her community. She’s active in several community organizations, most notably the African Diaspora Alliance, which she joined to learn and teach about what the diaspora is, her ties to the motherland and the chance to be exposed to “history that isn’t taught in schools. I’ve always been into finding and connecting to my roots,” she says. Kayla is a proud graduate of Bard High School Early College Baltimore, from which she graduated with her high school diploma and an associate degree in Liberal Arts. She credits her parents, along with the doctors and nurses who have treated her sickle cell anemia over the years, for teaching her to never give up. She is not yet sure of her career goals, but hopes that being a Youth Grantmaker will help her with networking and connecting with people in order to be exposed to more opportunities she may want to pursue. Kayla explained, “I feel like these programs are ultimately putting me in a position where I'm either going to be in some philanthropy or advocacy type of work when it comes to helping others.”
Tobius
Tobius Nance, 20, is from Northeast Baltimore. He thinks of himself as a self-starter and self-reliant but is happy to join the team of Youth Grantmakers to work towards a greater goal. HIs biggest goal at the moment is to graduate from the University of Maryland College Park. He’s had extensive experience working and learning in STEM, but sees himself in the future “being a community leader and giving back to my community.” He wanted to become a Youth Grantmaker because he saw it as an opportunity to help the students currently sitting where he used to sit in Baltimore City Public Schools. After he graduates from college, he hopes to get a masters degree, and perhaps a doctorate, Tobius plans to mentor and teach students from his community that are interested in pursuing an education in STEM, describing his approach as, “giving it back to my community, the same community that uplifted me.” He feels that being a Youth Grantmaker will help him learn more about the greater community of Baltimore City and give him a new outlook on what is needed in areas of the city with which he is unfamiliar.
Cohort I Grant Recipients
The grants, known collectively as “A Promise to BMORE,” were used to support efforts increasing access to the following YG-identified priority areas:
Mental Health Resources
Safe Spaces
Mentoring and Positive Intergenerational Relationship Building
Individualized Academic Support
Career Opportunities to Test, Do, and Get Certified
After developing the RFP, reviewing 68 applications, and conducting site visits, the Youth Grantmakers made their final funding decisions, selecting 10 organizations. The grantmakers received close to $6 million in requests, with only $525,000 to distribute, demonstrating the need for more investment in older youth in Baltimore.
With the Youth Grantmakers focused on promoting equity, nine of the 10 organizations selected are led by people of color. The grants went mostly to smaller organizations; the grantees’ organizational budgets ranged from around $40,000 to just under $1 million. The grants allowed the organizations to serve 405 additional youth and young adults, ages 14-24, throughout Baltimore City, primarily in neighborhoods known as the “Black Butterfly.”
Adelante Latina
A three-year college prep program for Latina girls of limited means who attend Baltimore City Public Schools.
Asylee Women Leadership
Supports asylum seekers and foreign-born survivors of human trafficking as they rebuild their lives in Baltimore.
I Am Mentality
Works to enlighten the minds of male youth through mentoring, financial literacy, workforce development, wellness and leadership training.
Inheritance Academy
A new mentoring and workforce program for older youth, including mental health supports, and after-school and weekend programming.
Islamic Leadership Institute of America
Helps youth become responsible leaders through experiential learning, leadership development, career development, and mentoring.
Keys Empowers
Supports young people and families in crisis with trauma-informed interventions and other supports related to housing, medical care, and mental health and substance use services.
Mission Fit
A physical fitness program to strengthen the mind, body and community of Baltimore’s youth, offering support from coach-mentors, and a safe space to learn, release stress, and be leaders.
Muse 360
A youth-led organization offering a year-long program to help young people develop intellectually, socially and emotionally using an inquiry and artistic project-based approach.
From Prison Cells to PhD
Provides mentoring, educational counseling, and scholarships to individuals returning from incarceration to position them to build careers.
Youth of the Diaspora
Provides culturally relevant, youth-centered and social justice-focused programming to Baltimore youth, including workshops on global Black history and civic engagement.
“As we made the grant decisions, it felt like a dream coming to reality because we have been working so hard for this opportunity to come and it wasn’t easy. It’s just been a really amazing opportunity to be a part of something that has never been done before. I honestly just feel amazing about our group of 10 grantees. I loved hearing the innovative ideas that came from these organizations.”
— Montaze Cooper, Youth Grantmaker