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

“Kindred Abundance invests in the organizations themselves and the relationships between them. It also helps build the back-office capacity no organization should have to create alone.” Jamye Wooten

BALTIMORE, Md., Aug. 11, 2026: 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.

CLLCTIVLY developed Kindred Abundance to provide flexible, trust-based capital that strengthens organizations and relationships. It also invests in shared services and back-office support, the infrastructure traditional grants too often overlook. Elbow Fund joined CLLCTIVLY as the initiative’s first funding partner.

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 and building the infrastructure communities need 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 and the relationships between them. It also helps build the back-office capacity no organization should have to create 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. Seventy-five applications went unfunded, not for lack of merit, but for lack of capital.

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 grants. 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
1. Infrastructure Grants: Fifteen awards of $25,000, totaling $375,000, to strengthen staffing, systems, governance, operations, fundraising, and other core organizational capacity.
2. Ecosystem Grants: Eight awards of $40,000, totaling $320,000, to support partnerships, shared services, collective learning, and resource sharing.
3. Microgrants: Two awards of $5,000, totaling $10,000, for targeted support.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. Black Veg Society
2. The Binti Circle
3. Baltimore Rites of Passage Initiative (BROPI)
4. Neighborhood Companions
5. Baltimore Unity Hall
6. Hosanna Community House
7. She’s WELL Networked
8. Hendricks HOPE Foundation
9.Backyard Basecamp
10. I Believe In Me Girls
11. The William J. Watkins Sr. Educational Institute
12. The Sanctuary Collective
13. St. Francis Neighborhood Center
14. Baltimore Beat
15. 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.

1. 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.
2. Holistic Wellness and Health, partnering with Collective Ase and Impact Hub Baltimore to provide shared business, technology, space, and wellness support.
3. The Black Church Food Security Network, advancing Operation Higher Ground with local churches to transform underused land into community food-growing sites.
4. Parity Baltimore, coordinating the Building Wealth Together Homebuyer Journey with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and Healthy Neighborhoods.
5. 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.
6. AileyCamp Baltimore, partnering with the Eubie Blake Cultural Center to create a stable, culturally affirming home for youth arts programming.
7. Muse 360, partnering with the African Diaspora Alliance to develop Liberation Seeds, a collection of African-centered learning resources.
8. Walter P. Carter Institute for Leadership and Service, partnering with the Aaron Maybin Foundation on the Baltimore Community Leadership Collaborative.

2026 Microgrant Recipients
1. The Living Well Center for Social and Economic Vibrancy
2. 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.”