$2,500 - $5,000 awards for community leaders connecting in Central Baltimore
Some people weave us together. They are the folks most people know and trust, those we count on to get neighbors together when we need to tackle a shared problem or get something done. They show up for others and connect us. They are weavers.
In 2026, the Central Baltimore Partnership will become a Community Host Site for the Weaver Awards, which provides $2,500 - $5,000 to neighborhood leaders and small organizations to advance their efforts that weave a tighter neighborhood and build a community of connection.
Applications open June 15, 2026
What is weaving?
Weaving is the practice of building meaningful relationships that set the conditions for social trust to grow in communities.
It begins with a simple commitment: to see one another as equal in dignity, even when experiences and viewpoints differ.
Weaving invites people to:
- Discover what they have in common
- Learn how their differences can make the community stronger
- Work side by side toward common good.
Weaving can be formal or informal, and it is characterized by four qualities:
- Local: It brings together people who share the same neighborhood, town, or region
- Mutual: It celebrates everyone’s contributions and creates opportunities for everyone to both give and receive
- Welcoming: It invites people to join as they are
- Continuous: It builds relationships that deepen over time through ongoing engagement
What are the Weaver Awards?
The Central Baltimore Weaver Awards are a public recognition and celebration of the efforts neighbors and supporters in our communities are making to develop stronger connection with and between each other.
Why are we launching the Weaver Awards in Central Baltimore?
Baltimore City and many other cities around the country are struggling with a breakdown in social trust- with institutions, with the business world, and sometimes even with their neighbors.
Social trust is cultivated through relationships and connection. In times like this, we need to support those community leaders that are making connections, combatting the darkness and leading with heart, and spreading joy by leaning into each other in a hyperlocal way.
The Weaver Awards offer rare support for the community capacity building and organizing that is essential to thriving, equitable, sustainable neighborhoods.
Being a Weave Community Host Site allows us to:
1) elevate and celebrate resident led projects and stories;
2) enhance and expand our Partnership’s strategies with new tools to build the capacity of emerging and legacy community leaders and stakeholder organizations;
3) strengthen the web of organizations we have woven across eleven neighborhoods in Central Baltimore;
4) join a learning community of peer organizations across the United States.
What will you get if you become a Weaver Awardee?
CBP will award 20 Weavers annually:
- Level 1 (5 awards):
- Financial award: $5,000
- Professional headshot and social media post
- Utilize meeting space in Central Baltimore for at least one event at no cost to the Weaver
- Level 2 (15 awards):
- Financial award: $2,500
- Professional headshot and social media post
- Utilize meeting space in Central Baltimore for at least one event at no cost to the Weaver
- All Weavers will receive the following:
- Access to an online national network of local leaders called Weave Us
- Access to public speaking support through the Weavers Speakers Bureau, upon request
- Community resource connections in Central Baltimore
- CBP will also facilitate quarterly events for and with Weavers including:
- A networking event
- A professional development workshop
- A hands on capacity building opportunity
- A cohort celebration or event of choice
Who selects the Weaver Awardees?
A diverse group of Central Baltimore stakeholders including previous Weaver Awardees, community providers and funders, as well as active community members will review applications and recommendations. They will select 20 Awardees annually to receive this recognition.
Who is eligible?
For someone to be considered for an Award they need to:
- Be 18 or older
- Live, work, attend, serve, and/or connect in Central Baltimore Partnership neighborhoods
- Have a project that helps connect neighbors and fosters relationships between them
- The project is open to anyone in the community
- The project addresses a shared need in the community
- If the project is part of an organization, the organization must have an annual budget below $250,000
- Have a community recommendation from a community member who lives, works, attends, serves, and/or connects in the area you serve.
What makes a good nomination for a Weaver Award?
We all know neighbors who show up, again and again, to make our community better. They seem to know everyone. They inspire us to support each other. They see a need and fill it. They often don’t have big titles or receive grants for their work. We count on them and yet we rarely celebrate how important they are to us.
The best candidates are those that build relationships within and across neighborhoods, connect neighbors and youth to opportunity, and establish and continue traditions based on trust and that develop connectivity in communities just to name a few!
What are good examples of weaving?
Check out some examples HERE
How can I use the funds?
We believe that Weavers know the best use for their funds so that they can fill gaps, meet needs, and sustain community efforts. So the use of funds will remain flexible as long as it is used in support of the collective efforts the Weaver is doing for their project (including the Weaver's individual time) and within the eligible community.
Ineligible uses of funds include:
- Lobbying or political campaign activities
- Personal debts
- Legal defense and prosecution costs
- Losses incurred on other grant or contract awards
About The Central Baltimore Partnership
About Central Baltimore Partnership
Since 2006, the Central Baltimore Partnership has worked to improve quality of life across Central Baltimore by mobilizing partners, leveraging resources, and advancing equitable development strategies. CBP collaborates with more than 150 organizations—including neighborhood associations, anchor institutions, businesses, and government agencies—to strengthen communities and expand opportunities across the eleven neighborhoods of Central Baltimore..
Learn more about the Central Baltimore Partnership HERE
Learn more about resources in our neighborhoods HERE
About Weave: The Social Fabric Project
Weave: The Social Fabric Project is an initiative of the Aspen Institute dedicated to strengthening trust, connection, and belonging in communities across the United States. Weave supports everyday weavers—neighbors who show up for others, bridge divides, and build community. Through storytelling, online learning, community-building programs, and the Weaver Awards, Weave works to repair America’s social fabric from the ground up and lift up the people who are already leading this work in their neighborhoods. Learn more at weavers.org.
Community Advisors
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Review Committee Members to be named shortly