It's taken on drug addiction and tackled school suspensions. It's helped dozens of social entrepreneurs start nonprofits in some of the dreariest corners of Baltimore and along the way forged strong bonds with the city's political, social and financial elite.
And now, after a decade of work, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, an experiment in social urban philanthropy, is celebrating.
The organization that billionaire financier George Soros created to tackle some of the city's most intractable problems is turning 10. And it is on target to meet Soros' challenge of raising $20 million from local sources by 2010, which he would increase with $10 million more. That would ensure OSI-Baltimore's continued presence in the city for at least a few more years.
Two recent donations - a $2.5 million award from the federal Empowerment Zone Program and $1 million from an anonymous donor - have pushed the institute's fundraising total to $10.2 million, a little more than halfway to the $20 million mark set by Soros a few years ago.
"I hope that other $10 million comes soon or we will have to start cutting back," Soros said in a telephone interview yesterday.
OSI-Baltimore opened its doors in 1998 with the goal of understanding and solving urban ills that trouble many older, industrial cities. Soros gave roughly $60 million for the project, which he thought would last five years. When it became clear there was still work to be done, he said, he would support OSI-Baltimore but said the office would eventually have to find other funding sources. He surprised many when he announced in 2005 that he would continue to fund the organization as long as residents did, too.
Since then, OSI-Baltimore has been on the hunt for local "Robin Hoods," as Soros has referred to prospective donors. In 2006, OSI officials reported that they had raised $5 million from local sources and that they believed they could meet the goal by 2010.
Soros said he is excited to come back to the city to celebrate OSI-Baltimore's recent accomplishments at a party tonight at Silo Point, a high-profile residential development in the city's Locust Point neighborhood. At the event, Soros will spotlight the work of three people who have "acted boldly" to help improve the lives of some of the city's most fragile citizens.
