The UMB Office of Community and Civic Engagement partners with the UMBC Institute for Extended Learning to provide community leadership skills courses.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Office of Community and Civic Engagement (OCCE) is partnering with the Community Leadership Programs and Institute for Extended Learning at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) to provide community leadership skills courses to the general public to learn alongside UMBC students at the Lion Brothers Building adjacent to the UMB campus.
This initiative was developed in response to a direct request from neighbors for UMB to support local communities by helping prepare grassroots leaders to address issues of importance to community stakeholders. The courses usually cost more than $600 per student, but UMB OCCE provides 10 scholarships to community members each semester to participate for free.
Courses offered for the 2024-2025 academic year include:
- Grant Writing for Social Change
- Strategic Planning for Community Engagement
- Restorative Practices
- Asset-Based Community Development
- Grassroots Community Advocacy
- Social Justice, Leadership, and Dialogue
The 2024–2025 pilot year for this initiative has been successful, with all scholarships being claimed within a week of being announced. Participants have described the opportunity as “phenomenal” and “amazing,” and the majority have expressed interest in taking subsequent courses. As a result of taking these courses, participants have reported the following outcomes:
- To have written or contributed to grants that have brought increased funding to their organizations. (One participant reported receiving a $10,000 grant for her community organization as a result of taking the course.)
- To have created strategies to increase engagement with community partners.
- To have plans to seek grants to support the development of green space and expand youth opportunities in West Baltimore, using the knowledge gained from these courses.