Loyola University Maryland deepens investment in Baltimore's communities

BY ISN STAFF | March 1, 2016

BALTIMORE, MD — Loyola University Maryland is adding new priorities to its ongoing $100 million Bright Minds, Bold Hearts comprehensive fundraising campaign to focus more of the overall goal on initiatives that will benefit Baltimore City, enhancing neighborhoods and strengthening community.

“By putting more of the campaign funds toward bettering our community, we are putting our mission into action—investing in Baltimore, striving to be part of the healing in our city and in our world,” said Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J., president of Loyola, during an address on campus Feb. 12.

Loyola’s York Road Initiative focuses on the Greater Govans neighborhoods of north Baltimore City, from Cold Spring Lane to Northern Parkway.

The campaign will now include a funding priority for the Center for Community Service and Justice (CCSJ) and an increase to the original goal set for the York Road Initiative (YRI). The goal for CCSJ is $1 million, with $400,000 endowed/$100,000 current use for training and fellowships and $400,000 endowed/$100,000 current use for immersion projects. The new goal for YRI is $1.5 million, more than triple the original $400,000 goal met early in the campaign. The fundraising goal for Campus Ministry also received a significant boost, from $1 million to $2 million.

Combined, the three moves represent a $2.9 million shift in priorities from a mix of academic and programmatic goals set when the campaign launched in 2013.

CCSJ offers dozens of one-time and weekly service opportunities in Baltimore, along with immersion programs in Baltimore, West Virginia, and Florida. In addition, CCSJ coordinates service-learning at Loyola and organizes events around social justice themes. YRI collaborates with neighbors and public and private partners on efforts to improve the lives of those living, working, and learning in the Govans community, located along York Road immediately east and north of Loyola’s Evergreen campus. YRI focuses on building civic capacity, strengthening the York Road commercial corridor, improving youth development, and ensuring food security for residents in an area that has been identified as a food desert.

To date, Loyola’s Bright Minds, Bold Hearts campaign has raised more than $66 million for strategic academic, service, and experiential programs and initiatives. A substantial subset of the campaign’s priorities connects Loyola to Baltimore in meaningful ways.