Maryland awards $32 million in ENOUGH grants to 30 high-poverty communities
Gov. Wes Moore announced the third year of the state's child poverty program on Sept. 30. Nonprofits and other local groups lead each community's plan, and four communities join this year.
Frederick. Maryland will put $32 million into 30 high-poverty communities over the coming year through the ENOUGH Initiative, its grant program against child poverty, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Sept. 30 at the Golden Mile in Frederick.
The program, run by the Governor's Office for Children, was created by the ENOUGH Act of 2024 and launched in December 2024. Its money goes to a lead organization in each neighborhood, which the office calls the community quarterback and which may pass funds on to partner groups. The communities named this year are in 13 jurisdictions, from Allegany County to Baltimore City.
Who receives the money
Under the office's notice of funding for fiscal 2027, the state budget gives it $30 million for the grants and $2 million for capacity grants to Local Management Boards. The awards run from Oct. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2027. A lead applicant may be a nonprofit, a community-based organization, a local government body, a Local Management Board or a Community Action Agency, and it and every partner receiving a subaward must be active and in good standing with the IRS, the state's charity registry and other agencies.
Awards depend on how far a community has come. Planning grantees are expected to receive $210,000, communities starting to carry out their plans $400,000 to $450,000, and those in their third year of implementation $3.5 million to $4.5 million.
Four communities join this year after an open application: Montgomery Village, led by 480 Club; Uptown Chestertown, led by the Kent County Local Management Board; Aberdeen, led by New Service Training Employment Program; and Dundalk, led by Turnaround Inc. Senate President Bill Ferguson said three Baltimore neighborhoods, Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay, and Perkins Somerset Oldtown, receive more than $6.1 million in all.
“When we passed the ENOUGH Act, the goal was to change how government responds to concentrated child poverty: listen to the people closest to the work, build on what communities are already doing, and put real resources behind locally led plans.”
Money beyond the grants
The administration has told state agencies to favor ENOUGH communities in competitive grants, and 36 grants across 16 agencies now do, according to its fact sheet. The governor's office counts nearly $100 million in such grants since November 2025 and $190 million from philanthropy through the ENOUGH Alliance. The governor also announced $10 million in Produce Rx grants, fresh food for people with chronic conditions, awarded only to ENOUGH communities.
Frederick's community has received more than $2 million from the program, including nearly $500,000 for fiscal 2027, the governor's office said. The Frederick News-Post put the county's fiscal 2027 share at about $450,000.
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