The military calls it a “force multiplier”; in business it?s “economies of scale”; and in human resource development circles it?s known as “synergy.”
Baltimore-based Associated Black Charities of Maryland, however, uses terms such as “catalyzing” and “brokering” to capture what it is this 22 year-old nonprofit organization does to improve Maryland?s black communities.
“ABC really is focused on how to close both the health and wealth gap in African-American communities across the state of Maryland,” Associated Black Charities Chief Executive Officer Diane Bell-McKoy said.
“So, ABC really is a catalytic kind of organization,” she added. “It seeks to facilitate; it?s not a direct toucher in its own right. It?s a broker in trying to help communities and community- and faith-based organizations do that work.”
In brokering this gap-closing change, ABC ? which functions as grant-maker, booster, fundraiser, advocate, coalition-builder, researcher, program manager and assistance-provider to compatible community and economic development programs ? has funneled $110 million in grants and “thousands of hours in capacity-building and technical assistance” to recipients since its 1985 launching, according to ABC Chief Operating Officer Barbara Blount Armstrong.
“It?s an important organization for Maryland, particularly as one that puts at the forefront ? either in the public policy arena or in other ways ? issues that affect the African-American community,” said Tanya Terrell, founder of The CHANGE Fund, an ABC-managed Baltimore youth and education giving circle.
Itself a recipient of federal subsidy, foundation grants and individual donations, the $2.1 million-a-year, 26-employee ABC also manages traditional designated funds, acts as a management platform for fledgling outreach programs. It also conducts training in nonprofit matters and community leadership, and functions as both a focal point and a resources-pooling conduit for African-American community concerns.
“I?m a big fan of Associated Black Charities,” said Vinnie DeMarco, president of Baltimore-based Maryland Citizens? Health Care Initiative. “Over the years, it has been a great leader in many progressive causes in Maryland … including expanding health care access.”
More than 600,000 Marylanders lack health care coverage, according to ABC; and, while the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the national poverty rate at about 12.6 percent of population, for blacks it is 24.7 percent.
More information
» Associated Black Charities of Maryland
1114 Cathedral St., Baltimore
Phone: 443-524-7701
Email: [email protected]
www.abc-md.org
