Board notes Baltimore City Children & Youth Fund FY26 financial plan; debate centers on YouthWorks one‑time funding and youth board seats

The Board of Estimates on Oct. 15 noted the Baltimore City Children & Youth Fund's (BCYF) FY26 financial plan after a presentation by Director Alicia Lee.

Lee, the fund's director, described BCYF as an independent nonprofit established by city ordinance and managed through a memorandum of understanding with the city. She told the board the fund has received three consecutive clean audits and that BCYF's FY26 budget directs roughly 86 cents of every dollar into community grants, technical assistance and youth‑led grant review. She said administrative operations in FY26 remain under 9 percent of the budget, below the ordinance cap of 15 percent, and noted that grantee compliance rates have risen from 30 percent during the startup phase to 94 percent under the fund's learning‑lab capacity building.

Lee described the fund balance and deployment…