Forever 15 Fund
The Forever 15 Fund is dedicated to helping young people in Baltimore achieve their goals and get to the finish line. The Fund is named in honor of the original cohort of Youth Grantmakers, which included 15 young people ages 16-24. In June of 2023, the team of 15 lost one of their members and created this fund to honor him as an inaugural and forever — Youth Grantmakers — member.
The Fund isn’t just about providing financial resources, it’s about providing a safety net when life gets hard, so that there is a wide network of responsive, supportive people and organizations to catch youth before they fall.
The Fund will support the following:
Providing resources in the areas of mental health, food access, housing, and childcare to Baltimore youth, 16-24, who are experiencing crisis. This could include paying for temporary housing, providing gift cards for groceries, covering childcare payments to stabilize and support working or in-school parents, and making referrals for free access to a wide range of culturally competent and holistic wellness and mental health services. More information about eligibility criteria and how to apply will be announced soon.
Mayor Brandon Scott has recognized June 20 as Montaze Cooper Day. Each year on this day, the Forever 15 Fund will host an annual community resource fair to help older youth and young adults be made aware of and learn how to access the resources, opportunities, and services they need and want to be successful.
The Forever 15 Fund will collaborate with other youth and community leaders to research and learn more about the needs, opportunities, and gaps related to older youth and young adult mental health access in Baltimore, especially as it relates to the needs of young black men. This work could result in investment in community-based organizations and public systems to expand access and improve quality of services.
Local and state policies must ensure that youth have better access to the resources and opportunities that allow them to grow up healthy and with the ability to be who they want to be. The Forever 15 Fund will work to strengthen these policies.
In Memory of Montaze Cooper
All of us at Baltimore’s Promise mourn the loss of Montaze Cooper, a dynamic young man who was an inaugural member of our Youth Grantmakers and an employee in our organization. A role model with boundless energy and drive, Montaze was always ready to share his smile, a hug, and encouragement with everyone he encountered.
Montaze Cooper, affectionately known as “Taze,” was a beloved author, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, philanthropist, and community advocate. A Baltimore native, Montaze accomplished so much in his short 23 years. He loved track and football, graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 2018, and from Coppin State University in 2022 as a first-generation college graduate. As a freshman at Coppin, he published his first book, “The Shift in Me,” and had many small business and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Montaze looked for and embraced opportunities to better himself and his community and surrounded himself with mentors of all ages. He had a passion for motivational speaking, creating the speaking series “Motivational Mondays” while in college.
He leaves a huge impact on Baltimore’s Promise. As a Youth Grantmaker, he was committed to helping youth like him benefit from mentorship, educational opportunities, mental health resources, and workforce programs. He also worked with our initiative Grads2Careers, going back into Baltimore’s high school classrooms to connect with students across the City to make sure they knew about the career paths available. Youth in Baltimore have a brighter future because of Montaze.
The Forever 15 Fund will help us remember Montaze, his contributions, and his dedication to the youth of Baltimore. It will also continue the work he started by increasing resources for other young people.
The Fund will be co-managed by Baltimore’s Promise staff and youth leaders from the Youth Grantmaking initiative. Financial administration is provided by the Fund for Educational Excellence.
As the Fund develops, we’ll be inviting other youth to participate in and inform this work over time. Baltimore’s Promise has a diverse staff, including licensed social workers and we will seek community expertise to guide and develop the work of the Forever 15 Fund with the youth leaders.