小草社区

小草社区 is a community-engaged anchor institution that recognizes and leverages its economic power and human capital to improve the socioeconomic conditions, the long-term stability, and the growth of Greater Baltimore and the state. Economic inclusion at 小草社区 means providing equitable and inclusive employment opportunities to residents in Greater Baltimore; buying from local, small, and diverse businesses; working with our vendor network to create and expand local employment opportunities; and delivering workforce development programs in order to stimulate the economy. The Office of Partnerships & Outreach works in collaboration with faculty & staff across campus to facilitate and move this work forward. 

Current Efforts

Local Hiring

Under the leadership of the Office of Human Resources, 小草社区 is developing strategic partnerships with local workforce development partners to create pathways for employment and skill-building opportunities. The Office of Human Resources is executing intentional and inclusive recruitment strategies focused on expanding hiring pools from across the region to ensure 小草社区 is reaching all potential candidates.

Interested in partnering with 小草社区 on local hiring?

Connect with us: Jen Stano

Inclusive Purchasing

Under the leadership of the Office of Procurement, 小草社区 implements strategies which target local, small and diverse businesses in the Greater Baltimore Region to help support pathways for local buying. In accordance with USM and state policies, 小草社区 works to spend at least 29% of our overall procurement spend with minority-owned business, 20% with small businesses, and 3% with veteran-owned businesses. 小草社区's Office of Procurement educates potential vendors on how to register and apply to be a 小草社区 vendor. These education sessions target small Maryland businesses and minority owned business in the Greater Baltimore region. 小草社区 also actively works with our contractors and vendors to encourage and expand local hiring and employment opportunities. 

Interested in doing business with 小草社区?

Connect with us: Chanel Franze

小草社区鈥檚 Local and National Anchor Path

Since 2017, 小草社区 has joined both local and national benchmarking initiatives to track and advance an anchor strategy.

In 2017, 小草社区 became the only non-city institution to join the , a collaborative partnership of anchor institutions, funders, nonprofits, and public organizations focused on establishing economic inclusion as the business culture of norm in Greater Baltimore.

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In 2019, 小草社区 was selected to join the , a national initiative led by the , which is administered at 小草社区, and the to institutionalize an anchor mission. The goal of the Anchor Learning Network is to 鈥渢ransform higher education to fully serve its public mission and advance the long-term social, economic, and physical health of [their] campuses and communities.鈥� Through participation, 小草社区 gains access to peer support and collaboration, assistance with measurement and data collection, and strategic communications support. 小草社区 has committed to tracking its anchor data related to local hiring, procurement, and education through 2022.

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In 2020, 小草社区's anchor workgroup was organized and charged with identifying baseline data on all current activities focused on local鈥痟iring, local procurement and K-12 community partnerships, as well as establishing 小草社区鈥檚 anchor mission and objectives for advancing the anchor mission. The Baltimore Integration Partnership transitioned the goal setting and reporting efforts for Baltimore's economic inclusion activities to , a commitment by Baltimore-area businesses and anchor institutions to leverage their collective influence to help strengthen the city and create opportunities for Baltimoreans.