The state of Maryland relies on nonprofit organizations to serve Marylanders in need, and the arts, culture, education, health, and the environment that we all enjoy as residents of the Free State. There is bipartisan agreement that nonprofits are part of the communities they serve and preferable to government agencies in understanding and meeting the needs of those communities.

With an unprecedented projected budget surplus in 2023, now is the time for Maryland to make good on its commitments to the nonprofits and the workers that have been asked to do “more with less” for decades.

A new state-funded $100 million general operating grant fund proposed by Maryland Nonprofits will support small and mid-sized nonprofits serving communities in need. Small nonprofits are most likely to be led by people of color and insufficiently funded to meet the byzantine government regulations attached to traditional government grants and contracts. Currently, about 90% of all nonprofit funding goes to the small minority of very large organizations in the state. This fund will begin to level the playing field for community-based and community-accountable small and midsized nonprofit organizations.

The funding would be open to charitable nonprofits, with operating expenses between $50,000 and $10 million, physically located in Maryland, with limited exclusions. The program would assist an estimated 2,100 organizations statewide with an average grant of $46,000. Grants will vary from 1.5% of the organization’s expenses to 10%, with smaller organizations receiving the higher percentages, and would be equitably allocated to all 24 counties including Baltimore City.

Sustainable small and midsized nonprofit organizations in every county in the state will foster community vitality and resiliency, while representing the needs and interests of Maryland’s diverse communities. The undersigned nonprofit organizations stand ready to partner with the State of Maryland to ensure communities in Maryland are able to receive high-quality programs and services from local, trusted nonprofit organizations.