The fiscal agent for the Fund is the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, Inc. The fiscal agent shall:identify specific programs and services to which the Fund may award a grant; and make grant awards to the programs and services identified by the Fund; use the standardized grant process and procedures to be followed by all grantees, as described in subsection (d) of this section; and require regular fiscal and program reports from all grantees, as required under subsection (e) of this section. The Board shall abide by the provisions of Subtitle 7 {“Financial Disclosures”} of the <cite data-path="|8">City Ethics Article</cite> and all other applicable provisions therein. A member of the Board has a conflict of interest and shall abstain from a discussion and recuse themselves from a vote on any matter before the Board if:the Board member is currently employed by the organization to which the discussion or vote pertains; a family member of the Board member is currently employed by the organization to which the discussion or vote pertains; the Board member is currently a member of the board of the organization to which the discussion or vote pertains; or a family member of the Board member is currently a member of the board of the organization to which the discussion or vote pertains. A Board member who abstains from a discussion or recuses themselves from a vote under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall immediately disclose the conflict of interest to the other members of the Board. The conflict of interest and the member’s subsequent abstention or recusal shall be published in the Board’s meeting minutes. As it identifies specific programs and services to be funded by the Fund, the fiscal agent must select programs and services that:are active in Baltimore City; are credible with and accountable to youth and the local communities they are proposing to serve; have an element of youth-centered programming; and can demonstrate how they are designed to improve outcomes for young people. The fiscal agent may also use any additional factors listed in <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="I|§13|(a)">City Charter Article I, § 13(a)</cite> to identify specific programs and services to be funded by the Fund so long as the additional factors are made publicly available to applicants for funding at the time that applications are requested. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2027 and continuing every 3 years thereafter, the fiscal agent shall:conduct a community-wide needs assessment to assist the Board in determining grant-making areas; and within 30 days of completing the needs assessment, submit the assessment to the Board of Estimates and the City Council. The fiscal agent shall use the following process to award grants to organizations:the fiscal agent shall make all grant opportunities available to all eligible organizations; the fiscal agent shall assess each individual grant opportunity to determine, based on the goals, scope, and complexity of each grant opportunity, which of the below types of panels will review applications:a community panel, which shall review applications for grants that meet the following criteria:the focus of the grant is neighborhood-based or community-centered; the grant is broad, competitive, or open to new applicants; the grant necessitates field-specific expertise; or the term of the grant will be longer than 12 months; and a panel of fiscal agent staff, which shall review applications for grants that meet the following criteria:the grant is time-sensitive and requires expedited review and recommendations; the grant is specialized or strategic; or limited in scope, including technical assistance awards or targeted initiatives; the fiscal agent shall assemble, edit, and publish on its website a grants manual that provides guidance to prospective grantees regarding the policies and procedures used by the Fund to award a grant, including whether applications will be reviewed by a community review panel or a panel of fiscal agent staff, as described in paragraph (2) of this subsection; for each individual grant opportunity, the fiscal agent shall create, maintain, and publish on its website a standard grant application for an organization to complete and submit to the fiscal agent that includes:proof of the organization’s tax-exempt status or the tax-exempt status of the organization’s fiscal sponsor; a description of the organization, including:how the organization aligns with the Fund’s purpose as stated in <cite data-path="|5|§9-3">§ 9-3 of this subtitle</cite>; a summary of the organization’s experience with serving youth; and an assessment of the organization’s credibility with and accountability to youth, community members and the community as a whole in the City; copies of the organization’s financial documentation, including:a copy of the organization’s current budget; the organization’s most recent annual financial statement; the organization’s most recent United States Internal Revenue Service Form 990, if applicable; and the organization’s State of Maryland certificate of status; if applicable:a signed and executed agreement between the organization’s current or potential fiscal sponsor and the organization, in which the fiscal sponsor endorses the organization’s application and agrees to serve or continue to serve as the organization’s fiscal sponsor if the organization is awarded a grant by the Fund; the fiscal sponsor’s most recent audited annual financial statement; the fiscal sponsor’s most recent United States Internal Revenue Service Form 990; and the fiscal sponsor’s State of Maryland certificate of status; a description of the specific programs within the organization that will be funded by the grant, including each program’s:purpose; timeline; proposed measurements of program outcomes; and budget; and any additional relevant information required by the fiscal agent; upon receipt of a completed grant application, the fiscal agent shall conduct a preliminary review of the application to:verify that the organization is eligible for the grant; review the organization’s record of compliance with previously awarded grants, if applicable; and ensure that the organization meets all other requirements specific to the grant opportunity; based upon the fiscal agent’s determination made under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the fiscal agent shall convene either:a panel to complete a community review of the completed grant application:of which the members shall possess the same qualifications as the members of the Board, as described in the by-laws, regarding:current residency in the City of Baltimore; and knowledge and skills in racial equity, youth development, or community engagement; of which the members shall receive orientation and training regarding program goals, evaluation criteria, confidentiality requirements, and conflict-of-interest standards; and of which the members may include youth development practitioners, community members, educators, youth leaders, and subject-matter experts; or a panel consistent of staff members of the fiscal agent; the panel convened under this subsection shall complete review of the application, which shall include:a group review of the application; scoring the application based on the following criteria:the applicant is currently active in Baltimore City; the applicant has credibility with and accountability to youth and the local communities the organization is planning to serve; the applicant has an element of youth-centered programming; the programming is designed to improve outcomes for youth; and the program aligns with the needs identified in the 3-year assessment conducted under <cite data-path="|5|§9-4(c)(3)">§ 9-4(c)(3) of this subtitle</cite>; based upon the grant application review conducted under paragraph (7) of this subsection, the panel shall report the name and score of each applicant, and make recommendations to the fiscal agent and the Board and, if the recommendations were made on behalf of a community review panel, fiscal agent staff may contribute additional information to the Board, as needed; based upon the recommendations of the panel, the Board shall either deny or approve an organization’s grant application and, if approved, the fiscal agent shall enter into a grant agreement with the organization and finalize the disbursement of funds in accordance with the memorandum of understanding between the fiscal agent and the Mayor of Baltimore; and following the denial or approval of an organization’s grant application, the fiscal agent shall report to the applicant the outcome of the application evaluation process and provide feedback specific to the application from the review process. A grantee shall submit to the fiscal agent a quarterly fiscal report. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2027 and continuing every 3 years thereafter, the fiscal agent shall participate in a performance audit conducted by the Office of the Baltimore City Comptroller. Ord. 18-103 Ord. 20-363