As Baltimore's mayor, William Donald Schaefer set up a community pot of sorts from which neighborhood leaders could draw $25, $50, $100 or more to pay for soda for a summer picnic or a brass band for the annual fall festival. It didn't matter how they spent the money, as long as it was for the good of the neighborhood and less than $500.
"Anyone who wanted some money, we would look for it," Schaefer recalled yesterday. "If they asked for too much money, we wouldn't give it to them. But most of the time, it wasn't a big deal. Maybe they needed money for hot dogs or a band."
It is in that same spirit of neighborhood nurturing that the Baltimore Community Foundation is scheduled to announce today the creation of the William Donald Schaefer Civic Fund, to which Schaefer is expected to donate thousands of dollars in unused campaign funds, as well as leftover money from the original neighborhood fund he created while mayor.
Schaefer, who also served as governor and most recently as state comptroller, also will solicit donations from high-rolling friends and political pals to bring the fund's endowment to $5 million, money that will be used to provide as much as $250,000 in annual grants for years to come, said Tom Wilcox, president of the Baltimore Community Foundation, which uses charitable donations from individuals, businesses and families to fight poverty and encourage economic development.
"The idea is to have more permanent funds for neighborhoods and to create a living legacy of Governor Schaefer's vision," Wilcox said last week. "What was so wonderful about the original fund [of charitable contributions] was that he worked with the neighborhoods to find out what they wanted, not what he wanted," Wilcox said. "That is similar to what we are doing."
Schaefer said he will be on hand at 11 a.m. today when the new fund is announced at an event scheduled to take place at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg YMCA at Stadium Place in Northeast Baltimore.
Some of his friends, including Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, are also expected to attend to celebrate the creation of the fund, which will also absorb money already collected through the community foundation's existing Neighborhood Grants Program. Schaefer served as honorary chairman of the most recent rounds of grants distributed by the fund. Last year, about $118,000 was awarded to 24 neighborhood organizations in the city and Baltimore County.
"Throughout his career, Governor Schaefer has been a champion of Baltimore neighborhoods and helping those who are helping others," Mikulski said in a prepared statement. "[He] doesn't just sign a check, he shows up to see the new coat of paint put on."
The Schaefer Fund's priorities will be increasing community involvement, nurturing resident leadership, and improving communication among neighbors, according to Wilcox.
"Strong, healthy neighborhoods are the backbone of a thriving city," said Dixon in a statement. "Baltimore has always been a city of neighborhoods, and we have to nurture all neighborhoods so that the people of Baltimore benefit from [them.]"
Community Foundation officials said they hope the civic fund will build on the success of the Neighborhood Grants Program, which was started in 2000 with financial contributions from the William G. Baker Jr. Memorial Fund and Goldseker Foundation. Since then, major donations have been received from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. In the years since its inception, the program has distributed nearly $2.5 million - usually in grants of less than $5,000 - to dozens of neighborhoods.
"Sometimes the grants go to five ladies on a block who want to do something nice for the community," said Dion L. Cartwright, a program officer with the Baltimore Community Foundation.
Schaefer said he's going to visit and make calls to some of the same monied Baltimoreans who helped to build up the civic fund when he was mayor - people such as Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos and Willard Hackerman, owner of construction firm Whiting Turner Contracting Co.
"It's an easy sell," said Schaefer of pitching the civic fund. "You don't have to beat anyone over the head."
lynn.anderson@baltsun.com