A new state job designed to help secure grant funding leaves a veteran West Baltimore organization still asking how it can obtain public money to expand its 22-year operation.
Created as an emergency bill in the 2025 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly established a “nonprofit organizations navigator” to “provide technical assistance” and “resolve complexities and delays in state grant-making processes,” according to the bill.
Though the bill called for the position to be filled on July 1, the hire was made on Wednesday — the same day Spotlight on Maryland sent questions to state officials — according to a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce. The spokesperson did not name the individual who got the job, but noted the new hire previously worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
‘Numerous grant proposals’
Marlo Hargrove, the founding leader of Freedom Advocates Celebrating Ex-Offenders, or FACE, said Thursday he has neither heard of the new role nor received outreach from state grantmakers.
We have submitted numerous grant proposals, only to get responses back, ‘You’re doing phenomenal work, keep up the great work,’” Hargrove said. “However, you get further into the letter, ‘unfortunately’ [is the conclusion].”
“When it comes to these organizations who are receiving millions of dollars, we may not be the biggest name on the board, but we are providing a big impact in the community and the community can vouch for that,” he added.
On Thursday afternoon, FACE opened its doors to the Pedestal Gardens Community Building on the 300 block of McMechen Street in Bolton Hill. Within an hour, about three dozen Baltimore residents stopped by for fresh food, job skills training sign-ups, and to collect donated professional clothing from FACE.
“It started with a vision,” Hargrove told Spotlight on Maryland. “Being shot, stabbed, pistol-whipped, robbed, and left for dead, we decided that there was something more that we had to do because that lifestyle had consumed us.”
Hargrove and his volunteer programming director, Archie Lee, said they previously sold drugs on the street corners of West Baltimore, including large amounts of cocaine. Their mission, they said, is now to help people returning from incarceration avoid falling back into the life they left behind.
Despite hosting weekly events and relying on the funds of its volunteers, as well as about a dozen private donors, FACE reported just $1,200 in its 2023 federal nonprofit filing.
‘All opaque’
Spotlight on Maryland sent Commerce and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office on Wednesday and Thursday the following questions after not being able to locate answers about the key position on the state’s websites:
What is the date the agency’s nonprofit navigator position was filled?
What is the name of the individual filling the position, if occupied?
How many nonprofit organizations have been serviced since the establishment of this position?
The governor’s office did not acknowledge or respond to Spotlight on Maryland’s emails about those questions. The bill’s primary sponsor in the House, Del. Pam Guzzone, D-Howard County, also did not reply to multiple interview requests.
Del. Mark Fisher, R-Calvert County, who opposed the nonprofit navigator bill, said the implementation is “all opaque,” including how the state is managing nonprofit funding as a whole.
“We don’t know who the nonprofit navigator is. We don’t know how much money the nonprofit navigator is giving to nonprofits,” Fisher said. “We don’t know who is getting the money. We don’t know who is making the decisions about who is getting the money.”
I think the nonprofits that are receiving funding are connected to Annapolis,” Fisher added.
Spotlight on Maryland asked Moore’s office on Wednesday whether the administration had estimated the amount of nonprofit spending funded by state taxpayers.
“We’re working on it still,” said Moore’s office.
Meanwhile, Hargrove said that he will continue to press forward with his organization’s mission “on a shoestring budget.”
“There are not many reliable programs [nonprofits], and we have been reliable without the funding,” Hargrove said. “We do need supportive funding, and other like-minded people who can help us galvanize and get ahold of our youth so our community can feel safe and not lining our pockets.”
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