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 strategy: the fund began accruing while the fund structure stood up and peaked near $30 million; the fund balance at the time of presentation was about $19 million and BCYF said it is spending that balance down gradually to preserve multi‑year grants and to support a planned youth master plan and potential community capital requests. She also described one‑time investments BCYF made in the summer: she told the board that a $54,900,000 operating investment (reported in the presentation) supported YouthWorks to preserve slots and that $1,000,000 from a violence‑prevention fund supported the mayor's summer youth engagement strategy. (Board members questioned and discussed the magnitude and framing of those figures in the meeting; see clarifying details.)

Board members and the city administrator expressed appreciation for BCYF's audit record, improvements in grantee compliance and capacity building. Several board members and the mayor's office discussed the fund's one‑time investment to sustain summer youth employment slots when other funding streams had expired (ARPA and school‑based slots had dropped), and the board noted BCYF described the YouthWorks contribution as a one‑time emergency investment that the board intends not to repeat in future fiscal years.

A separate line of discussion focused on the proposed city council legislation that would change board composition. Several board members said they understood the bill to reduce the fund's statutory minimum for youth seats (a floor), which prompted debate. BCYF's director and the board emphasized they have youth members and that youth review and participation remain central to the fund's governance and operations; the administration and council members requested continued conversation and coordination on any legislative changes.

Outcome: The Board of Estimates noted the FY26 financial plan as presented. Board members used the public record to press for continued transparency on the fund balance, future one‑time investments and the process for any governance changes proposed in City Council.

Why it matters: BCYF manages a multi‑million dollar, non‑lapsing fund intended to expand youth programming and build community capacity. The discussion touches on governance, fiscal transparency, and the role of one‑time uses of fund balance to cover urgent program needs.

What's next: BCYF will present its FY24 audit to the board after the fund's internal board approval and the board and council members plan further meetings to discuss legislative proposals on governance and grant limits.