BALTIMORE — Move over Shark Tank, Philanthropy Tank is now here in Baltimore.
This is the first year the non-profit is awarding funding to student-led projects in Baltimore that seek to make a difference in their community.
On Thursday November 19, it will stream a special event on its website where viewers can watch to see how much money each of the eight projects will receive, said Joann Levy, the executive director of Philanthropy Tank Baltimore.
“These are young kids who have ideas for meaningful and sustainable change,” she said. “We’re about actualizing that potential of those teens.”
Students with each project will present their plan and budget to a panel of five judges, or mentors. The mentors will then decide how to divide $100,000 among the projects. They can receive a minimum of $1,000 and maximum of $15,000.
“It’s going to be really hard to choose. I want to mentor all of them, I want to be a part of all of their projects,” said Traci Broady, a senior associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
She is one of the mentors who will decide how much money each project receives and will also sign on to be a mentor to one or several of the projects.
“It’s just really important for us to invest in young people, and not just invest financially but invest our time and other resources,” she said.
Philanthropy Tank started in Palm Beach County, Florida before expanding into Baltimore. According to its website, the non-profit has given out $500,000 to student entrepreneur projects since it started in 2015.
The projects being presented in Baltimore range in topics from gun violence, to human trafficking, to dealing with waste and encouraging healthy eating.
“Their ability to identify [the issues] really speaks to the change they want to see in their communities, how they want to be involved and how they want to galvanize their peers,” said Broady.
Philanthropy Tank Baltimore will be streaming the presentations and the awarding of the funding on its website on November 19 at 7 p.m. It is free to watch but registration is required.
