BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The taxpayer-backed Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) is set to lose a large portion of its grant funds for local charities as it sends millions of dollars to Mayor Brandon Scott’s office, according to the new budget.
BCYF receives $16.15 million Baltimore City taxpayer dollars in the fiscal year 2026 preliminary budget — funds it historically uses to distribute grants to local organizations. However, BCYF’s grant budget was cut to $9.23 million — a 40% decrease from the previous fiscal year. The grant cuts leave $6.92 million of BCYF’s funds remaining.
The preliminary budget shows that BCYF is set to send $6.9 million to the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) to be used for youth programs, as first reported by Spotlight on Maryland in April.
David Williams, the president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance, said it appears likely that BCYF’s new partnership with Mayor Scott led to a cut in grants for local organizations.
“This appears to be a disturbing trend where they’re moving more money around out of the organization and into the mayor’s office, which really doesn’t make any sense,” he told Spotlight on Maryland.
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen criticized Mayor Scott’s office this week over its partnership with BCYF.
“This idea that the city government, particularly the mayor’s office, could then come whenever there’s a shortfall and utilize the funds, I think felt deeply inappropriate to several members of this council,” he said during a budget hearing Tuesday.
JD Merrill, the interim deputy mayor for equity, health, and human services, said that Mayor Scott’s office approached BCYF’s nonprofit board with the idea of moving funds into MOED, which he said was necessary due to Baltimore City’s $85 million budget shortfall. BCYF’s board approved $3.9 million of the funds for the YouthWorks program, he said, but further approval would be needed for the $4.8 million YouthWords funds listed in the budget.
“We had a shortfall, and so we approached the BCYF board and asked if they would consider investing to make sure we were able to maintain that level of support for YouthWorks this year — and we’re very grateful that they did,” Merrill said Tuesday. “We made sure that it aligned with all the code and with the legislation of the Children and Youth Fund.”
YouthWorks, which was launched in 1973 and operates within MOED, provides paid jobs for youth ages 14 to 21. Merrill said funds from BCYF will help maintain 8,500 jobs through the program for the new fiscal year.
Cohen praised the YouthWorks program but expressed concern with how the mayor’s office allocated funds in the budget before they were approved.
“I think it is critically important that we establish some clearer protocols and practices around how we utilize the youth fund,” the council president said during a Wednesday budget hearing. “I struggle with hearing that there’s an assumption in the budget that is not the same as what the board has allocated.”
BCYF is guaranteed millions in taxpayer dollars each year through the Baltimore City charter but operates as a nonprofit, meaning it is not required to conduct performance audits like government agencies.
BCYF’s latest nonprofit tax form in 2023 shows it spent about 38% of its funds on overhead costs, as previously reported by Spotlight on Maryland.
Cohen noted during a Tuesday budget hearing that legislation passed by the Baltimore City Council to establish BCYF through a ballot initiative in 2016 states that the fund “may not be used to substitute for or replace funding for children and youth programs or services.”
“Supporting grassroots-led efforts within our community really was the intent of this legislation, so if the times have changed, if the funding situation has changed, I would suggest that we as a city revisit the legislation and talk about what’s worked and what’s not working,” the council president said.
Last year’s Baltimore City budget allocated 100% of BCYF’s funding towards grants, which decreased to 57% in the newly proposed budget.
BCYF and Mayor Scott’s office did not respond to questions about why the fiscal year 2026 budget cuts grant funds.
BCYF was established through a 2016 ballot initiative passed by voters that amended the Baltimore City charter. There was no mention in the ballot language of establishing BCYF as a standalone nonprofit, which was finalized roughly four years later through City Council legislation.
BCYF faced a series of financial controversies in recent months exposed by Spotlight on Maryland.
Fusion Partnerships announced an end to its fiscal sponsorship program in February, which was used by several BCYF grantees, as previously reported by Spotlight on Maryland. BCYF gave Fusion roughly $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars since 2020.
Other Spotlight on Maryland reports revealed how BCYF gave a nearly $1 million grant to a nonprofit that folded six months later and had to return unspent funds; used taxpayer funds to pay for out-of-state trips for adults; and paid more than $15,000 to a crisis PR firm with a company credit card.
Williams said Baltimore City leaders must reform policies around BCYF.
“There needs to be a full audit,” he told Spotlight on Maryland. “Not just a superficial audit but a forensic audit of all the expenses, especially when you see things getting more complicated and money being transferred around in a haphazard way.”
“This nonprofit is guaranteed money from the taxpayer — they’re on autopilot,” he continued. “That’s why there needs to be constant monitoring of the money.”
Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News and The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Patrick Hauf at [email protected].
