Baltimore County commissioners and county grants staff moved closer to finalizing a pilot community grants program intended to flow from the county’s Community Reinvestment fund. Commission leadership said the first round would be run as a learning exercise, with about $2.5 million proposed for dispersal and primarily one‑year awards so the county and commission can test administration and monitoring systems.

Commission chair Katie said the commission is envisioning two pathways for requests: a community grants track open to nonprofit and some for‑profit entities serving prioritized ZIP codes or qualified census tracts, and a county‑generated proposals track routed through county departments. “First things first is that we are going to finalize the way the application is written, what questions we’re asking for, and what the parameters are about, kind of what can get funded and how much and for how long,” Katie said.

Staff outlined how applications will be processed: county grants staff will screen for completeness and score proposals along a rubric; only applications above a minimum score will be forwarded to the commission for recommendation. Staff confirmed the scoring threshold is 70 out of 100 points. Matt, the grants review administrator, described an administrative review and a 14‑day negative approval notice to the county council: if the council raises no objection within 14 days, the recommended grants proceed toward contracting.

Several program parameters were discussed. Commissioners recorded a proposed 10% match requirement (cash or in‑kind), a restriction that grant funds not cover more than 50% of a staff position, and a preference to award one‑year grants for the first round to allow the commission to learn how applicants report outcomes and how the county will monitor expenditures. The chair described plans for outreach and technical assistance to help smaller organizations understand application questions, budgeting and reporting expectations.

On timing, staff said the program might open once or twice a year (not yet finalized). The commission asked members to submit written feedback on the proposed application questions by the date discussed in the meeting (the transcript phrase for the deadline is unclear); staff (Ashley) will collect edits and present consolidated feedback to county staff for finalization. The chair said the commission expects to vote by email in December to allow a launch in January and to hold community technical‑assistance sessions when the application is released.

The meeting closed with action items: commissioners will review the RFP attachments, provide tracked edits or written comments to Ashley, and use subcommittees to refine impact definitions and scoring criteria. Staff pledged to prioritize community outreach and to link applicants with state and county technical assistance partners.