Inaugural initiative awards $705,000 to 25 recipients, reserves $75,000 for Rapid Response Grants, and establishes a $500,000 zero-interest loan fund

BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES, August 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- CLLCTIVLY has announced the inaugural recipients of the Kindred Abundance Fund, a place-based initiative designed to strengthen community-rooted organizations across Greater Baltimore. The 2026 fund includes $705,000 awarded through grants and microgrants, a $75,000 Rapid Response Grant pool opening in October, and a $500,000 zero-interest loan fund, bringing the initiative’s total capital to $1.28 million.

Developed in collaboration with Elbow Fund, Kindred Abundance provides flexible, trust-based investments in organizations, relationships, shared services, and back-office support. It also invests in the broader social infrastructure that communities need to thrive. Dr. Itihari Toure, affectionately known as Mama Itihari, coined the term “Kindred Abundance” during a conversation with CLLCTIVLY founder and CEO Jamye Wooten about the Power of One framework.

The recipients were unveiled during CLLCTIVGive, CLLCTIVLY’s annual day of giving, which mobilized $1,363,382.07 through 5,092 donations from 4,160 donors on Aug. 7. Together, CLLCTIVGive and Kindred Abundance represent a year-round strategy for moving resources, strengthening organizations, and building the infrastructure that allows communities to thrive.

“Baltimore’s community-rooted organizations do not lack vision, leadership, or solutions. What is missing is the capital and shared infrastructure that allows an ecosystem to grow,” said Jamye Wooten, founder and CEO of CLLCTIVLY. “Kindred Abundance invests in the organizations themselves, in the relationships between them, and in the back-office capacity that no organization should have to build alone.”

Demand Beyond the Inaugural Funding Pool

CLLCTIVLY received 98 applications across the two principal grant categories: 68 Infrastructure Grant applications and 30 Ecosystem Grant applications. Together, applicants requested $2.802 million, more than four times the $695,000 available across those categories. Fifteen organizations received Infrastructure awards and eight collaborations received Ecosystem awards, leaving substantial demand unmet in the inaugural round.

The applications reflected the breadth of Greater Baltimore’s social economy, including organizations working in youth development, food systems, arts and culture, housing and homeownership, community wellness, leadership development, neighborhood infrastructure, and economic justice.

The need extends beyond grant dollars. Among 131 organizations that completed CLLCTIVLY’s 2026 capacity questions, nearly seven in ten identified fundraising and development as a need. Organizations also reported recurring needs in communications, governance, evaluation, operations, financial management, and technology. The Kindred Abundance applications reinforced the need for coordinated referrals, shared technology and data, physical space, communications, logistics, and compensated collaboration.

A Continuum of Capital and Capacity
Infrastructure Grants: Fifteen awards of $25,000, totaling $375,000, to strengthen staffing, systems, governance, operations, fundraising, and other core organizational capacity.
Ecosystem Grants: Eight awards of $40,000, totaling $320,000, to support partnerships, shared services, collective learning, and resource sharing.
Microgrants: Two awards of $5,000, totaling $10,000, for targeted support.
Rapid Response Grants: A $75,000 pool opening in October 2026 to support urgent opportunities, unexpected challenges, bridge funding, and other time-sensitive priorities. Awards are anticipated to range from $5,000 to $15,000.
Zero-Interest Loan Fund: $500,000 in reusable capital created through CLLCTIVLY’s initial $250,000 investment and a dollar-for-dollar match from Common Future. The pilot is now open to current participants and alumni of CLLCTIVLY’s Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin Social Innovation and Leadership Fellowship.
2026 Infrastructure Grant Recipients

The Infrastructure cohort represents community-rooted work across food access, youth development, neighborhood support, cultural preservation, caregiving, journalism, wellness, and organizational development. Awards will help recipients strengthen the operational foundation beneath their programs and community impact.

Black Veg Society
The Binti Circle
Baltimore Rites of Passage Initiative (BROPI)
Neighborhood Companions
Baltimore Unity Hall
Hosanna Community House
She’s WELL Networked
Hendricks HOPE Foundation
Backyard Basecamp
I Believe In Me Girls
The William J. Watkins Sr. Educational Institute
The Sanctuary Collective
St. Francis Neighborhood Center
Baltimore Beat
The Clifton House

2026 Ecosystem Grant Recipients

The Ecosystem awards invest in organizations working across institutional boundaries to connect expertise, services, space, and resources around shared community priorities.

The SOS Fund, leading the Heirs Property and Alternative Dispute Resolution Project with Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, and the Gibson Banks Center for Race and the Law.
Holistic Wellness and Health, partnering with Collective Ase and Impact Hub Baltimore to provide shared business, technology, space, and wellness support.
The Black Church Food Security Network, advancing Operation Higher Ground with local churches to transform underused land into community food-growing sites.
Parity Baltimore, coordinating the Building Wealth Together Homebuyer Journey with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and Healthy Neighborhoods.
R.I.S.E. Arts Center of Baltimore, building a creative career ecosystem with the University of Maryland Community Engagement Center, M&T Bank, Maryland Corps, and Sankofa Behavioral Health.
AileyCamp Baltimore, partnering with the Eubie Blake Cultural Center to create a stable, culturally affirming home for youth arts programming.
Muse 360, partnering with the African Diaspora Alliance to develop Liberation Seeds, a collection of African-centered learning resources.
Walter P. Carter Institute for Leadership and Service, partnering with the Aaron Maybin Foundation on the Baltimore Community Leadership Collaborative.
2026 Microgrant Recipients
The Living Well Center for Social and Economic Vibrancy
Next Generation Language Access
Building Shared Infrastructure

Kindred Abundance is rooted in the understanding that funding individual programs is not enough. Community-rooted organizations have been asked to meet growing needs while independently building many of the same systems, including fundraising, communications, finance, data, evaluation, governance, and operations. Coordinated shared services can give organizations access to specialized support without requiring each one to construct a full back office alone.

“Shared infrastructure is how individual acts of care and investment begin to add up to something durable,” Wooten said. “Our goal is not only to fund strong organizations. It is to help build a more connected, coordinated, and resourced ecosystem across Greater Baltimore.”

About CLLCTIVLY

CLLCTIVLY is a place-based social change organization building a Black-led regenerative ecosystem across Greater Baltimore through storytelling, learning, resource mobilization, and connection. Since 2019, CLLCTIVLY has mobilized more than $7 million and supported more than 400 organizations. Learn more at cllctivly.org.

Jamye Wooten
CLLCTIVLY
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