A Victory for Maryland's Future: Baby Bonds Study Moving Forward

Darius Graham, Managing Director for Community Investment with Maryland Delegate Mark Edelson

By Darius Graham, Managing Director for Community Investment

Maryland is taking a meaningful step toward expanding economic opportunity for children and families. The state’s budget that was signed in May by Governor Moore includes a provision directing the Comptroller to study the feasibility of a statewide baby bonds program that could help children born into poverty build wealth and achieve long-term financial security. With this study underway, Maryland is one step closer to making baby bonds a reality for children across the state.

At the Greater Washington Community Foundation, we’re proud to have played a leading role in bringing the idea of baby bonds to the forefront in Maryland. We were grateful for the opportunity to introduce the concept of a statewide baby bonds program to Delegate Mark Edelson and to work closely with him to craft House Bill 753 — the precursor to the provision ultimately included in the budget bill. We also provided testimony in support of the bill, recognizing its potential to chart a new course for building generational wealth, particularly for children from low-income families.

Maryland isn’t starting from scratch. Last year, the Community Foundation and our partners launched Brilliant Futures, a program serving up to 400 kindergartners in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. Each student receives an initial deposit of $1,000, with up to $1,000 deposited annually through 12th grade. Upon graduation, these students will have approximately $13,000 to use for education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, or other wealth-building activities. This study marks a pivotal step in our ongoing effort to transform innovative pilot programs like Brilliant Futures into public policy — turning bold ideas into lasting impact for children across the region.

The study will examine what it would take to scale a model like this statewide. It will explore sustainable funding sources, assess infrastructure needs, and analyze the potential impacts of baby bonds on key indicators like homeownership rates, higher education attainment, and small business development. This isn’t just about dollars and cents — it’s about opportunity. It’s about ensuring that every child in Maryland, no matter the zip code they’re born into, has a fair shot at building a stable, successful future.

“I truly believe that Baby Bonds can radically change outcomes for children facing poverty,” Delegate Edelson said. “I was so pleased to be able to move the needle on this discussion and I am looking forward to seeing the report when it is published.”

We’re excited to be part of this journey and grateful to Delegate Edelson — not only for advancing the original bill, but also for helping ensure the baby bonds study was included in the final state budget. We look forward to sharing more as the study progresses and to continuing the push for a future where all young Marylanders have the financial resources they need to pursue their dreams.

Celebrating Brilliant Futures at Jackson Road Elementary School

In February, friends and supporters of The Community Foundation gathered in Montgomery County’s East-County region to learn how recent investments in education are impacting families in the community.

The event took place at Jackson Road Elementary School – one of two schools in the region participating in Brilliant Futures - a children’s savings pilot program that provides students with up to $1,000 each year from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The program - which launched at the school in June 2024 - is the result of a public-private partnership between The Community Foundation and Montgomery County Public Schools.

Michelle, mother of a 1st grader participating in the Brilliant Futures program at Jackson Road Elementary

“It takes a community to be able to raise thriving children,” shared Michelle, whose daughter is a first grader participating in the Brilliant Futures program.

“Thanks to the Greater Washington Community Foundation and all of you, my daughter’s future is no longer “a maybe.” There’s a plan set in stone to make it a reality and I am less anxious about her future, thanks to this blessing.”

Stephanie, mother of a 1st grader participating in the Brilliant Futures Program at Jackson Road Elementary

 “This is such a wonderful opportunity,” added Stephanie, whose son is also a first grader participating in Brilliant Futures. “I’m so thankful for everyone here for taking the time to focus on kids and giving them hope for their futures.”

“As parents, we are so happy that our children will have resources they need to achieve their dreams and their goals,” Viky, mother of a Brilliant Futures Kindergartner. “On behalf of all the parents, thank you for supporting Brilliant Futures!”

Following the testimonials from the parents, visitors heard from two nonprofit panels about the work that partners are doing to support students and their families.

“What I love about our work here is that we’re all working towards the same goal – setting kids up for success later on in life,” shared Kathy Hedge, Executive Director of Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) – a nonprofit dedicated to supporting parents and fostering stronger relationships between children and their caregivers.

PEP has partnered with The Community Foundation to facilitate the Brilliant Futures program including onboarding new families and helping to connect with additional resources and information to set their child up for success.

From Left to Right, Colleen Reed, Program Director, PEP, Kathy Hedge, Executive Director, PEP, Clayton Evans, Executive Director, CREATE Arts Center, Arianna Ross, Executive Director, Story Tapestries

“Our primary goal is to support the parents,” shared Colleen Reed, PEP’s Program Director. “We recognize that the best way to help our students unlock their full potential – their Brilliant Futures – is to make sure we’re empowering and enabling that family both in and outside of the classroom.”

Since June, PEP has held a number of workshops with parents, ranging from how to prepare for a parent-teacher conference to tricks for the morning rush to ensure kids get to school on time– as well as answering questions from parents about the Brilliant Futures program. Workshops are made available in English, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese – a language offering that reflects the diverse make-up of the community.

“Parents have told us just how much more connected they feel to the school since the launch of Brilliant Futures,” Reed added. “They’re more excited for their kids’ futures; the possibilities that are available to them. It’s been incredible to watch.”

Clayton Evans, Executive Director, CREATE Arts Center and Arianna Ross, Executive Director, Story Tapestries

Artwork from Jackson Road Elementary students.

Visitors also heard from CREATE Arts Center and Story Tapestries – two arts-based nonprofit organizations who are partnering with Jackson Road Elementary to provide art programming geared to support mental health and wellbeing.  

“The arts create a common ground where people can come together and process emotions,” Clayton Evans, Executive Director of CREATE Arts Center and a program facilitator at Jackson Road shared. SMART Kids, a CREATE Arts Center program, challenges children to express themselves through therapeutic art such as journaling and visual arts. “For young kids, it’s especially crucial because it gives them an opportunity to be seen and heard, while processing their emotions.”

“We’re giving them the tools of positive mental health – but also the tools to dream big and imagine what’s possible,” added Arianna Ross, Executive Director of Story Tapestries, which has custom designed their program to fit the needs of Jackson Road Elementary’s families, with a special focus on supporting mental health.

“For many of these kids, they have to make do with less. The arts give them back that perspective so they can dream big and work towards their own Brilliant Future.”

The partnership between CREATE Arts Center, Story Tapestries, and Jackson Road Elementary was made possible by Donors Investing in the Visual Arts (also known as the DIVAs), a well-established giving circle for donors in Montgomery County.

Since 2005, the DIVAs have invested in a wide range of organizations helping children across the county get connected to and engaged in the arts. After learning of The Community Foundation’s partnership with Jackson Road Elementary through Brilliant Futures, the group made the decision to focus their grantmaking efforts to provide additional support for families at the school.

“It was an easy decision,” shared Francie Hester, a long-time member of the DIVAs. “We realized that we had a chance to be part of something bigger – partnering with the school and The Community Foundation to strengthen this community. It’s exciting to team up and have a hand in building these unique partnerships.

The Community Foundation is proud to support families at Jackson Road Elementary through the Brilliant Futures program. For more information on how you can support a child’s Brilliant Future, visit https://www.togetherweprosperdmv.org/brilliant-futures

Brilliant Futures Launches in Prince George's County

On September 10, parents, teachers and friends of the graduating class of 2037 gathered at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights to celebrate the launch of Brilliant Futures. The pilot – which was launched in partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) and Reid Community Development Corporation – is the first children’s saving pilot program in Prince George’s County.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Bradbury Heights for our Brilliant Futures Program to invest in the future of your children,” President & CEO Tonia Wellons shared with parents – some of whom were hearing about the program for the very first time.

Announced earlier this year, Brilliant Futures is a children’s savings pilot program that will provide kindergarten students at two schools with up to $1,000 in savings each year from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Members of the Class of 2037 perform a special musical number to kick off the program.

The Community Foundation has partnered with Prince George’s County Public Schools to launch the pilot program for all kindergarteners currently enrolled at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights, MD in Prince George’s County. The program also launched in June for the rising kindergarteners at Jackson Road Elementary School in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD in Montgomery County.

The Community Foundation has committed to funding the program for two consecutive kindergarten cohorts at each school — specifically the future graduating classes of 2036 and 2037 at Jackson Road Elementary and classes of 2037 and 2038 at Bradbury Heights Elementary schools. The program is expected to enroll up to 400 students. The participant population is 90% Black, Latinx, and Hispanic with all students eligible for free and reduced meal service (FARMS).

The schools were selected in alignment with The Community Foundation's strategic focus on high opportunity priority neighborhoods across the region where residents are experiencing the deepest disparities in homeownership, income, and life expectancy, according to several data sources.

Superintendent Millard House II handing out certificates to Brilliant Futures participants at Bradbury Heights Elementary

“We’ve seen the transformative impacts of well-executed programs that provide savings for young people and adults alike,” said Millard House II, superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools. “We hope that by supporting students with a down payment on life, whether that goes toward funding a college tuition, starting a small business, or buying a house, this program will level the playing field, promoting racial and financial equity in the Greater Washington region.”

“Brilliant Futures isn’t just about the money,” Dr. Lynnette Walker-Crayton, Principal of Bradbury Heights Elementary School added. “It’s about nurturing our youngest learners and setting them up with the confidence and agency to build their own life.”

That confidence rang through the air, as members of the graduating class of 2037 opened the program with a special musical number -- twenty bright, smiling faces belting out the refrain:

““I’m brave, I’m strong, I’m loved…and I’m unique!” ”

— Brilliant Futures Students, Bradbury Heights

The pilot program will be funded using $10 million of contributions raised by The Community Foundation’s “Together, We Prosper Campaign for Economic Justice” and through investments from generous donors. Upon completing high school, the goal is for each student to have access to at least $13,000, plus any investment earnings, that they can use to seed their future aspirations. 

Brilliant Futures parent Joann Brent and her future scholars.

The Greater Washington Community Foundation will work with the schools as well as with community partners Reid Community Development Corporation in Prince George’s The Greater Washington Community Foundation will work with the schools as well as with community partners Reid Community Development Corporation in Prince George’s County and Parent Encouragement Program in Montgomery County to manage the program. 

“Thank you for intentionally sewing a seed into these scholars; these future business owners – our future leaders through the Brilliant Futures program,” expressed Dr. Kenneth Harris Vice Chair of the Prince George’s County School Board. “There’s no better place to start than right here in Bradbury Heights in District 7.”

“This is something I was not expecting this year,” Joann Brent, one Brilliant Futures parent shared. “It’s simply magical – thank you for giving us this boost to fuel us through the next 12 years of our children’s educational journey.”

If you’d like to find out more about how you can support programs like Brilliant Futures, visit our website to learn more about our Together, We Prosper Campaign or contact Chris Howie, Managing Director of Development at chowie@thecommunityfoundation.org  

Brilliant Futures Principal Recognized as 2024 Bethesda Magazine Women Who Inspire

On August 28, Bethesda Magazine announced the 2024 Women Who Inspire Recipients - six women who are making change in Montgomery County and beyond.

The Following is an excerpt from the Bethesda Magazine profile written on Rosario ‘Paola’ Velasquez, Principal of Jackson Road Elementary School and a key figure behind The Community Foundation’s Brilliant Futures program which launched this past Summer.

Authorship Credit - Amy Halpern, Bethesda Magazine

As soon as Paola Velasquez opens the classroom door, a swarm of kindergartners drape their arms around her in a tight embrace. Little girls with box braids and pigtails, little boys with cornrows and close-cropped Afros—some with shy smiles, others with excited laughs—they quickly pile on, and the hug circle around their principal grows bigger and bigger. The same thing happens in nearly every classroom she enters.

It’s been five years since Velasquez, 44, took over the reins of Jackson Road Elementary School in Silver Spring’s White Oak neighborhood. It’s a Title 1 school with a minority population of more than 95%, where more than 75% of the students qualify for free meals. She started in the role only months before the pandemic hit. Since she’s been at the helm, the school rose from a 3-star rating to a 4-star, according to the Maryland State Department of Education, making it one of only four Title 1 elementary schools in the county (out of 40, according to Velasquez) to earn a 4-star rating for the 2022-23 school year, the most current rating year available. “Many schools throughout the state decreased a star, but we increased,” she says. 

The school now offers free evening English language classes for parents and guardians (along with free child care); a soccer program; two private-practice therapists who administer one-on-one mental health services to students at no charge; a dentist who cleans students’ teeth for free; and an optometrist who provides complimentary vision checks and eyeglasses, says Chris Callisto, Jackson Road’s Community School Liaison.

During the 2023-24 school year, Jackson Road opened a food pantry, and it began sending bags of food home on Fridays to 80 families. “When you are a child … and your basic needs aren’t being met because of poverty, you’re not thinking so much about going to college … you’re more worried about getting something to eat or clothing or making sure that you’re not going to be homeless,” Velasquez says.

Velasquez knows what it’s like to grow up poor in Montgomery County. She came here from Peru with her parents and three brothers when she was 8. All six lived in the basement of a relative’s house in Germantown while her dad worked as a janitor and painter, and her mom cleaned houses. Her parents saved enough money to move into an apartment, and eventually to buy a small home in Germantown.

When Velasquez graduated from Seneca Valley High School in Germantown in 1998, she watched as other students went off to college. She hadn’t been instructed how to sign up for SATs, fill out college applications or plan for her future. Instead, she took a job as an aide at a day care center, saved money to buy a car, then to pay for classes at Montgomery College, and then to earn her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the University of Maryland, College Park…..

…….“Sometimes, you know, we have kids who … are having a hard time, they’re going through … a crisis, basically [and] it can take … hours out of my day for me to talk to that child,” Velasquez says. “They’re not ready to learn.”

But her goal is to keep them learning and all the while feeling confident and supported. After all, she says, “they’re going to be the ones who are going to be leading us in the future.”…..

Click here to read the full article.

To learn more about Brilliant Futures and how you can get involved, visit https://www.togetherweprosperdmv.org/brilliant-futures

Greater Washington Community Foundation Launches Children’s Savings Pilot Program to Address Racial Wealth Gap

The Brilliant Futures program will provide up to $1,000 per year from kindergarten through 12th grade to students at Bradbury Heights and Jackson Road Elementary Schools

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to announce the launch of Brilliant Futures, a children’s savings pilot program that will provide students at two schools with up to $1,000 each year from kindergarten through 12th grade. Upon graduating high school (or equivalent by age 24), the students will be able to put their savings toward ongoing education and training or to pursue other income- or wealth-generating opportunities, such as buying a home or starting a business.

The Community Foundation has partnered with Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools to launch the pilot program for all kindergarteners currently enrolled at Jackson Road Elementary School in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD in Montgomery County and next year’s kindergarteners at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights, MD in Prince George’s County. 

The Community Foundation has committed to funding the program for two consecutive kindergarten cohorts at each school. The program is expected to enroll up to 400 students. The participant population is 90% Black, Latinx, and Hispanic with all students eligible for free and reduced meal service (FARMS). The schools were selected in alignment with The Community Foundation's strategic focus on high opportunity priority neighborhoods across the region where residents are experiencing the deepest disparities in homeownership, income, and life expectancy, according to several data sources.

“Expanding the possibilities not just for one, but for an entire community of young people can move us toward our vision of narrowing the racial wealth gap in our region,” said Tonia Wellons, president & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are confident that children’s savings will help us reshape how and where resources flow in our communities so that we can build more equitable systems which lead to a more resilient and prosperous region for all.”

The pilot program will be funded using $10 million of contributions raised by The Community Foundation’s “Together, We Prosper Campaign for Economic Justice” and through investments from generous donors. Upon completing high school, the goal is for each student to have access to at least $13,000, plus any investment earnings, that they can use to seed their future aspirations. 

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"We are proud to be a part of such a transformative and innovative program that provides an investment that every student in the nation deserves," said Interim Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, Dr. Monique Felder. “When these young people graduate high school, they will immediately have a strong cornerstone upon which to build a prosperous life whether they choose to go straight into the workforce, higher education or entrepreneurship."

Researchers for the Annie E. Casey Foundation have found, through economic modeling, that having an asset such as a children’s savings account can close the racial wealth gap in a community by as much as 28%.

“We’ve seen the transformative impacts of well-executed programs that provide savings for young people and adults alike,” said Superintendent Milliard House II from Prince George’s County Public Schools. “We hope that by supporting students with a down payment on life, whether that goes toward funding a college tuition, starting a small business, or buying a house, this program will level the playing field, promoting racial and financial equity in the Greater Washington region.”

“At Jackson Road, we recognize the need to address the whole child—in and out of the classroom,” said Ms. Rosario Paola Velasquez, Principal of Jackson Road Elementary School. “We take a community-centered approach and wrap our arms around this community.”

The Greater Washington Community Foundation will work with the schools as well as with community partners Reid Community Development Corporation in Prince George’s County and Parent Encouragement Program in Montgomery County to manage the program.

To learn more, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/brilliant-futures.  

In Pursuit of Economic Justice Recap: How Children’s Trust Accounts Provide Hope for the Future

On April 19, The Community Foundation hosted a panel of national leaders for a discussion about how investments in Children’s Trust Accounts create a brighter future for communities. The event was part of the “In Pursuit of Economic Justice” Webinar Series –designed to bring together experts to explore innovative approaches to closing the racial wealth gap.

“We want young people to be able start their lives with the flexibility to pursue their dreams in any direction that they want to go,” shared The Community Foundation's Anna Hargrave. “By expanding the possibilities for an entire group of children, we can help forward our vision of closing the racial wealth gap across the Greater Washington region.”

“When you think about poverty, you often focus on income,” Dr. William Elliott a leading researcher and professor at the University of Michigan shared. “But income is dealing with the symptoms of poverty instead of the root cause of poverty. Poor people don't just have a lack of income; what they have is a lack of opportunity.”

“Children’s Trust Accounts are not just about money; it's about making sure that future generations are in a position to access the resources they need to be successful.”

Child Wealth Building Programs (such as a “Child Savings Accounts”, “Baby Bonds” or “Children’s Trust Accounts”) are growing increasingly popular in the philanthropic and public sectors. A private or public funder provides seed money to open a savings account for kindergarteners, which accrues value until the student graduates high school and can be used for different purposes.

In the case of Child Savings Accounts, funding is often restricted towards post-secondary education or  training through a 529 state college savings plan. A Children’s Trust Account allows funding to go towards a wider range of wealth building opportunities, including trade school, homeownership, or entrepreneurship. The Community Foundation intends to launch a Children’s Trust Account pilot program at two elementary schools in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County sometime in the next year.

Dr. Elliott is the founding director of the Center of Assets, Education, and Inclusion, and recently authored a comprehensive report “Unleashing the Power of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs): Doorway to Multiple Streams of Assets”. The report outlines some of the biggest outcomes from child wealth building programs, including what Dr. Elliott calls “tangible hope.”

A mother participating in NYC Kids Rise's Child Wealth Building Program shares the impact the program has had on her son's learning.

“When you give a kid an asset, you're allowing them to begin to purchase some part of their future self,” Dr. Elliott explained. “It's a very valuable thing. It's concrete. It's not just ‘I hope one day they go to college.’ You’re giving them real, tangible assets so they can plan for their future in a way that they’ve never been able to do before."

“All of a sudden, college is possible; not just in a wishful thinking kind of way, but in a tangible, near-future, kind of way.”

“It's not just about having an asset accumulate and be able to gain on that early investment,” Leila Bozorg, Chief of Strategy and Policy at NYC Kids Rise added. “It's about the narratives that a kid is hearing from an early age and those expectations of success and support to meet those expectations.”

NYC Kids Rise started out in 2017 as a pilot program in New York City’s School District 30 (about 3,500 kindergartners). Six years later, the program has expanded city-wide – thanks to a partnership with New York City Public Schools – making it the largest such program in the country. Champions of the project included Maryland Governor Wes Moore, then CEO of Robin Hood, which invested more than $1 million towards the initiative.

Governor Wes Moore (then CEO of Robin Hood) talks about the importance of Child Wealth Building Programs.

While the financial partnership with New York City Public Schools has been a huge benefit to NYC Kids Rise, Leila says that it’s the existing infrastructure provided by the school system that has opened new windows of opportunity for students.

“What we've tried to do is not just build a vehicle for asset accumulation; we’ve engaged the entire ecosystem that impacts the long-term success of a child,” Bozorg explained. “We know that each part of that ecosystem can impact a child's economic opportunities in the future.”

NYC Kids Rise works with the school system to develop financial education curriculums for the classroom that can be personalized to each child – allowing them to develop financial literacy skills in real-time. They also provide workshops and resources for parents so they can create their own savings account – building the foundation of a culture of saving for the entire family that Dr. Elliott says is important to strengthen and encourage.

“Because of these programs, families are starting to have active conversations about their kids’ futures, well in advance – they’re catching a glimpse of a financial future that they didn’t have the capacity or resources to see before. Over time, they begin to develop and adopt long-term habits for financial success.”

Community Leader Claudia Coger talks about their community investment in the NYC Kids Rise community scholarship program.

When asked about secrets to success, Bozorg added that community involvement is key. Early on, NYC Kids Rise set up community scholarships – allowing anchor institutions and community groups to make direct contributions to child wealth building programs rather than contributing through more traditional scholarship programs. Dr. Elliott noted that this format allows funders to have a greater impact on students, since their investment multiplies the impact of the child’s savings account.

“Any investment can make a difference in a child’s life,” Bozorg said. “But we’ve found that the real growth happens when communities and community partners take the lead in committing to a generation’s future.”

When asked about lessons learned from such a program, Bozorg had just one word to say: “Patience.”

“These are long-term, legacy-changing programs that can have major impacts on institutions and on people's lives. That change isn't going to happen overnight.”

“We're trying to change minds and cultures around saving,” Dr. Elliott added. “It's one thing to have this platform and provide this resource; it's another to help them access it and see the value in it.”

That being said, both were highly optimistic about the prospects for The Community Foundation to launch a Children’s Trust Account pilot program.

“I think your program will be a good marker,” Dr. Elliott remarked. “Not only for the Greater Washington Region, but for the whole country to better understand what happens when we make larger investments in our children’s future over time.”

Click here to view a recording “In Pursuit of Economic Justice: A Primer on Children’s Trust Accounts. For additional information on Children’s Trust Accounts and other economic mobility initiatives, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/strategic-plan.