‘We now have the partners, the plan and the drive’
Three nonprofit groups that have been working to strengthen the York Road Corridor have signed a collaborative agreement designed to improve coordination and maximize their impact on revitalizing the commercial corridor and surrounding communities.
“Over the past five years, organizations like the 30-year-old York Road Partnership, Invest York Road and, most recently, the York Road Improvement District have worked, sometimes independently, sometimes in partnership, to strengthen neighborhoods, support local businesses and improve public spaces,” said Sam Storey, executive director of the York Road Improvement District.
They realized over time, however, that it was time to be more intentional and coordinated in their work, both as individual organizations and in joint projects and initiatives. “This MOU and the new Collaborative that it creates will help us communicate and engage more effectively with the corridor,” said Dan Pontious, president of York Road Partnership. “It will help us all work together to attract the resources our corridor deserves.”
Under the MOU, the York Road Partnership (YRP), Invest York Road (IYR) and the York Road Improvement District (the ”BID”) will maintain their independent programs and goals. But they will now join forces as the York Road Collaborative, an organizational umbrella that is intended to strengthen community voice, increase efficiency and unlock greater community revitalization impact. “With this step forward, we have the opportunity to move from aligned intentions to sustained, strategic partnership, creating a more resilient, responsive and equitable future for the York Road Corridor,” Storey said.
Community leaders are optimistic about what comes next. “It’s pretty amazing that three nonprofits can come together and work collaboratively and yet independently,” said Sandi McFadden, who serves on the board of directors of YRP.
“It’s exciting to see what three organizations with complementary missions can do together to improve the quality of life of everyone living and working along the York Road Corridor,” added Roberta Maguire, a member of IYR’s Steering Committee.
“People here have heard promises before. What matters now is proving, through action, that this Collaborative will follow through,” said Celeste Hall, who serves as secretary to the BID board and as cochair of the BID’s External Affairs Committee. “We have the partners, the plan and the drive to deliver results that will be visible, lasting and meaningful. This isn’t about words – it’s about work. As that work takes shape, the community can see that real progress is not only possible, it’s happening.”
“I am excited about the prospect of the Collaborative being a leader in equitable development, fostering upward mobility that benefits every York Road Corridor community member, and establishing a transformative model for Baltimore and the nation,” said Marc Carr, an IYR Steering Committee member. “Our work can create an inclusive and vibrant community for all, but only if we are thoughtful about addressing the long-standing racial and economic disparities that have plagued our neighborhoods for too long.”
The idea for the collaborative came out of many discussions both before and after a one-day retreat on June 26 at the Loyola Notre Dame library with the assistance of an outside moderator The purpose of these discussions was to address the opportunity to improve coordination among nonprofit groups that have overlapping goals.
The retreat was attended by three representatives from YRP (Cindy Camp, Sandi McFadden, Dan Pontious,); three from IYR (Marc Carr, Stephanie Geller, Roberta Maguire); and three from the BID (Celeste Hall, Trudy McNair, Sam Storey), along with Gia Grier McGinnis from Loyola and Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway.
During the retreat participants established that there is room for collaboration because the groups use different tools and have different roles while pursuing common high-level goals. The participants also identified assets and gaps among the three groups, including a history of community leadership and a need for shared planning.
Representatives of the three groups agreed they could work collaboratively across all program areas while maintaining leadership roles in specific domains where each one has the most expertise:
- York Road Partnership (YRP) will lead resident engagement, community organizing, leadership development, issue identification and advocacy, housing code enforcement, neighborhood marketing and promoting Healthy Neighborhood financing tools.
- Invest York Road (IYR) will focus on community wealth building, including financial education, community-based investment clubs, property acquisition/redevelopment and implementation of investment tools for local ownership.
- York Road Improvement District (BID) will manage project logistics, shared communications, corridor-wide business support, public space maintenance, community-building events and administrative systems.
The MOU will move into an operational phase based on a shared staffing model. All shared staff will be formally employed by the BID, but each group will retain programmatic supervision over their workers. A cost allocation plan and quarterly financial reconciliation will maintain transparency and support equitable distribution of expenses.
Going forward, YRP, IYR and the BID will each appoint three representatives to serve on the York Road Collaborative Coordinating Committee. This nine-member body will serve as the primary oversight group for all collaborative efforts conducted under the terms of this partnership. The committee will meet monthly and will be responsible for advancing the goals of the Collaborative through coordination, accountability and shared resource management.