T. Rowe Price and Business Volunteers Maryland Join Forces to Support Four Nonprofits Focused on Racial Equity

June 24, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Business Volunteers Maryland (BVM) and T. Rowe Price came together on June 23, 2021, to host skillCONNECT, a scope-a-thon supporting four Baltimore-area grassroots nonprofits focused on racial equity.

During skillCONNECT, teams of volunteers from T. Rowe Price worked with the nonprofits, bringing their expertise and ideas to help the organizations navigate business challenges related to strategic planning, finance, fundraising, human resources, marketing, and more.

The four nonprofits selected to participate, all of which were founded and are run by people of color, include:

• Community Law in Action, an organization that develops young people to be leaders by connecting them to opportunities to amplify their voices, cultivate their skills, and actively participate in the process of positive community change.
• The Food Project, an initiative of UEmpower of Maryland that brings culinary skills, job opportunities, sustainable food sources, mentorship, and hope to the youth of Southwest Baltimore.
• Infinite Focus Schools, a nonprofit that seeks to reduce the impact of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders for youth.
• Parity Baltimore Inc., an equitable development company based in West Baltimore that acquires and rehabilitates abandoned properties by the block to create affordable homeownership opportunities as a means of social justice and wealth building.

BVM has facilitated numerous skillCONNECT events over the years, bringing the expertise of business professionals to nonprofit leaders facing business challenges.

This event represents a continuation of T. Rowe Price’s commitment to advancing racial equity in the community. Since 2015, the T. Rowe Price’s Foundation has granted $5.5 million in grants that support organizations focused on racial equity and racial justice. In addition, the firm committed $2 million in racial equity grants.

QUOTES

Ryan Turner, executive director at Community Law in Action
“T. Rowe Price and Business Volunteers Maryland are very intentional about their efforts to support the capacity of grassroot nonprofit organizations. Partnerships and engagements such as this function to sustain the work and deepen the impact of our organizations.”

Julie C. Kernan, president and CEO at Business Volunteers
“At Business Volunteers Maryland, it is our mission to strengthen the community by making strategic connections between people, businesses, and nonprofits. skillCONNECT offers the perfect opportunity for individuals to provide their professional expertise to solve real-time challenges for area nonprofits. We are grateful for partners like T. Rowe Price who see the importance of skilled volunteering and encourage their associates to collaborate with nonprofits in impactful ways.”

Terence Baptiste, skillCONNECT participant and senior legal counsel at T. Rowe Price
“I am interested in the skillCONNECT event because it gives me the opportunity to leverage my legal expertise to assist a nonprofit working for racial equity. I have been looking for opportunities the past few years to get more involved in my community to advance racial equity, but I have struggled to find my place since I don’t have experience in this area. Being able to assist an organization in this space using the skills that I have learned at T. Rowe Price is the opportunity that I have been looking for. During this event, I hope to be able to give a nonprofit actionable steps that will address the business challenges that they are facing.”
Learn more about Terence and his interests in this video.

ABOUT BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS MARYLAND
Business Volunteers Maryland is a nonprofit organization that strengthens the community by making strategic connections between people, businesses, and nonprofits. Business Volunteer Maryland’s mission is to build a stronger community through business engagement, civic leadership, and volunteer connections. Business Volunteers trains and places business professionals on nonprofit boards; develops civic leaders; matches individuals with meaningful volunteer opportunities; creates partnerships between companies, local nonprofits, and schools; and provides volunteer management training to nonprofits. For more information, visit businessvolunteersmd.org.

ABOUT T. ROWE PRICE
Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (troweprice.com), is a global investment management organization with $1.59 trillion in assets under management as of April 30, 2021. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. For more information, visit troweprice.com or our Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook sites.

CONTACT US

Amy Burke Friedman
PROFILES
410-382-5496
afriedman@profilespr.com

Heather McDonold
T. Rowe Price
443-834-4132
heather_mcdonold@troweprice.com