Strengthening Baltimore Together: GreenLight Give Back Days

GreenLight Fund Baltimore launched in 2021 and has been rooted in the community from the start! As GreenLight Baltimore Executive Director, Dr. Nia Imani Fields, reflects on 20 years of GreenLight and the future of Baltimore, Nia shares “being rooted in the community is not only a core value of GreenLight Fund, it’s the foundation of all service and leadership.” In the spirit of service, GreenLight Fund Baltimore launched GreenLight Give Back Days and we’re excited to share a bit more about its impact! Check out the interview below with Dr. Nia Imani Fields.

1. What are GreenLight Give Back Days and what inspired this approach to community engagement in Baltimore?

GreenLight Give Back Days are our opportunity to lead with service! This volunteer initiative provides our staff and partners (Selection Advisory Council members and local funders) the opportunity to engage in meaningful service alongside local community organizations. This aligns with our GreenLight value to stay rooted in community. Over this past year, our team has partnered with the Baltimore Homeless Project to serve meals to the community, Elev8 Baltimore and Leithwalk Elementary/Middle School to read to students, Urban Alliance to conduct mock interviews for high school seniors, and New Song Community Learning Center to host a school supply drive with the Deloitte Foundation. For us, investing in the community is much more than providing financial support, it’s also about showing up with hands, hearts, and time to stand alongside the communities we serve.

2. Why are GreenLight Give Back Days meaningful for your team?

Each member of our team has a personal connection to the city of Baltimore. For Shayna, our Program Manager, and I, Baltimore became a second home when we moved here at a young age to attend Morgan State University. Antionette, our Coordinator, was born and raised here in East Baltimore, and, as a result, sees herself reflected in the very communities we serve. Visiting Leithwalk Elementary/Middle School, her alma mater, gave her the opportunity to read in the same classrooms she once learned in and reconnect with former teachers. She also led mock interviews with high school seniors, a meaningful full-circle moment as she once sat in their place as a Baltimore City Public School student. For our entire GreenLight Fund Baltimore team, GreenLight Give Back Days are not only a way to stand alongside and learn from the community, but also a chance to give back to the ones that have poured so much into us.

3. How have GreenLight Give Back Days deepened the roots of portfolio organizations in Baltimore?

GreenLight Fund provides catalytic funds that bring innovative national models into our city. We also provide ‘beyond the check’ support through thought partnership, which dramatically increases the likelihood that our investments will reach their goals, remain sustainable and create lasting change. 

We work alongside our portfolio organizations, like Parent Child+ to mobilize funders, volunteers and stakeholders to deepen our relationship and impact in the community. Recently, our team partnered with the Deloitte Foundation to host an Impact Day at New Song Community and Learning Center. Volunteers came out to read to students, and sort through books and school supplies ensuring that 200 students and ParentChild+ families received a fully stocked learning bookbag for the summer.

4. What has the community response been to the GreenLight Give Back days?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Grassroots leaders and community members have emphasized how meaningful it is to see GreenLight staff actively present in neighborhoods, volunteering side by side with them. Wanye Brown, Founder of the Baltimore Homeless Project, shared, “It truly means a great deal to be connected with an organization like GreenLight Fund, one that not only shares resources but also takes intentional steps to show up for communities in real, tangible ways. Your presence and engagement at our community events didn’t go unnoticed. As a grassroots organization, that kind of hands-on support means more than words can express. It speaks volumes that you are not only doing the work from behind a desk but also stepping out to stand alongside us in the field.”

5. What is your hope for the future of Baltimore?

My dream is to see Baltimore at its best! We want Baltimore to be a place where every community member has a safe place to live and play, access to jobs that support their families, and where education serves as a vehicle for college and career opportunities. We believe in Baltimore and its people! We believe in service and owe a great deal to this beautiful city, a city that helped to raise me and my team! We look forward to staying rooted to our community and investing in innovative solutions that strengthen families and communities across the city.