The Children's Scholarship Fund Baltimore has named Paul Ellis its new executive director.

The nonprofit group, created in 1998, funds scholarships for city children in kindergarten through eighth grade to attend area private or parochial schools. Last year, more than 850 children received scholarships to attend more than 100 schools.

Ellis plans to increase awareness of and financial support for the fund. The fund needs to raise more than $600,000 a year to support its operations.

Ellis, a Baltimore native, has worked as a nonprofit administrator and fund-raiser for 12 years, most recently for the Revisions Foundation in Catonsville. He graduated from Towson University and has a certificate in fund-raising management from Goucher College's Center for Graduate and Continuing Studies.