Baltimore

The Open Society Institute–Baltimore, established in 1998, is a social change laboratory for the Open Society Foundations’ programs, focusing on the effectiveness of a place-based philanthropy strategy on some of the biggest challenges facing Baltimore and other urban centers in the United States.

Its three intertwined programs aim to keep children connected to and engaged in school through reducing the over-use of suspension by making city-wide school reforms, enhancing after-school and learning initiatives; making quality addiction treatment readily accessible through well-implemented health care reforms and supporting a diverse coalition to advocate for treatment expansion; and reducing the number of Marylanders caught up in the criminal/juvenile justice systems through diversion and re-entry programs and the systemic reform of ineffective and discriminatory sentencing, parole, and probation policies.

The office also supports the Baltimore Community Fellows, a corps of social innovators—now over 115 strong—who work directly to revitalize underserved communities, demonstrating the potential of talented individuals to catalyze social change.

The foundation has become one of the city’s most visible and effective civil society groups, spending over $60 million in 12 years to support its comprehensive approach to the root causes of poverty and injustice.

In 2006, George Soros issued a $10-million challenge to encourage other donors to invest in OSI-Baltimore’s work. The campaign closed in 2010, with a total of $15.7 raised from over 350 individuals, corporations and foundations.  It will continue to seek investors for its work.

OSI-Baltimore supports four interrelated programs:

• Tackling Drug Addiction
• Criminal and Juvenile Justice
• Education and Youth Development
• Baltimore Community Fellowships

Read more on the Open Society Institute–Baltimore section of this website.