Maryland's grant data shows about $872 million for nonprofits in fiscal 2025, the first year it marks them
The state's grant and loan records for awards of $50,000 or more now say which recipients are nonprofits. Spotlight on Maryland added them up and found some recipients marked by mistake; the state says earlier years must be requested agency by agency.
Largest single state grants to Maryland nonprofits, fiscal 2025
Annapolis. Maryland paid nonprofits about $872 million in state grants and loans of $50,000 or more in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025, according to an analysis by Spotlight on Maryland of state records that, for the first time, mark which recipients are nonprofits.
The records are the Department of Budget and Management's grant and loan data on the state's open data portal, which list state aid payments of $50,000 or more and, for fiscal 2025, whether each grantee is a nonprofit. Spotlight on Maryland, a reporting team of The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 and WJLA, reported the total on Nov. 5 after more than a year of asking the state for it.
What the records show
The largest single grant was $72.3 million from the Maryland Department of Health's Behavioral Health Administration to Behavioral Health System Baltimore for mental health and substance use services; the Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency received $36.5 million for the same services. Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center got $32.5 million in claims under the federal COVID-19 disaster declaration, paid through the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, and the Maryland School for the Blind $29.7 million, described as the state's share of a Medicaid reimbursement.
Other lines include $14 million from the Office of the Attorney General to the Maryland Legal Services Corporation for counsel in evictions and $10.5 million from the Department of Human Services to the Maryland Food Bank to buy and distribute food.
Spotlight said the total likely understates what nonprofits receive, since vendor payments and awards under $50,000 are left out, and that some recipients appear to be marked as nonprofits by mistake, among them the University of Maryland Baltimore, the Harford County Public Library and the Housing Authority of Calvert County. All three carry the mark in the state's file.
What the state said
Raquel Coombs, chief of staff at the budget department, told Spotlight the state is committed to making information on public funds more accessible, and that data on grants to nonprofits before 2025 can be requested from the agency that made each grant. Gov. Wes Moore's office did not answer whether the spending is acceptable given projected budget deficits.
Lawmakers are already weighing closer scrutiny. Spotlight reported in May that Maryland has no central system to audit grant spending. House Bill 15 of 2026, which would have opened records of nonprofits receiving $50,000 or more a year in state grants to the Public Information Act, had a hearing Feb. 10 and no further action. In October its sponsor, Del. Matt Morgan, and Del. Kathy Szeliga called for background checks on leaders of publicly funded nonprofits; Ms. Szeliga said legislation would come in January.
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