Moore administration invests $19 million to end child poverty in Maryland

Tinashe Chingarande, The Baltimore Sun on Dec 11, 2025

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Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday announced his administration will invest $19 million into programs to end child poverty across the state.

The investment will go to the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) initiative, now in its second year. Moore added that the initiative’s philanthropic partners, titled the ENOUGH Alliance, committed an additional $1.5 million to the program. Members of the alliance include Blue Meridian Partners, the Bainum Family Foundation and the Sherman Family Foundation.

“At a time when the federal government is looking at all of us in our face and saying, ‘You’re on your own,’ in Maryland, we’re doubling down: We will not leave our people behind,” Moore said in his remarks.

The funds Moore announced were previously appropriated by the Maryland General Assembly into the ENOUGH Grant Fund, a Moore-Miller administration official wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.

After his remarks, The Sun asked Moore how he’ll ensure taxpayer funds are well-accounted for in the ENOUGH initiative, given that recent audits found state agencies had full or partial legal exemptions from traditional oversight of their spending. Moore said the program being administered through the Governor’s Office of Children provides “clear lines of accountability.”

“It’s actually a pretty innovative take as to how we look at grant funding for our different organizations,” Moore said. “Before I ran for governor, I ran one of the largest data-driven, poverty-fighting organizations inside this country. We led with data, and that’s really the same type of mantra that we take here.”

ENOUGH grants are given only to communities with more than 30% of their children living in poverty, and communities served by a Maryland community school with a concentration of poverty level of at least 80%, the Moore-Miller administration official said.

This official added that grantees also are required to submit documented commitments from a community-based nonprofit organization, a local government entity, and a public school to apply for funding.

At Thursday’s event, Moore spoke to an audience of almost 200 attendees gathered in a gymnasium at the Weinberg Y in Baltimore’s Waverly neighborhood. Several House delegates, including Del. Stephanie Smith; local Baltimore leadership, including City Council President Zeke Cohen; state secretaries; and community members were in attendance.

In December 2024, Moore’s administration issued $13.1 million in inaugural ENOUGH grants to 27 select communities across the state. At his event, Moore touted the impact of last year’s ENOUGH investment on nonprofit work.

He said the initiative helped Park Heights Renaissance rehabilitate over 100 housing units in Park Heights, funded Cherry Hill Strong’s program that enrolled over 150 students in math tutoring at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and supported Bester Community of Hope opening childcare centers in Hagerstown.

As Moore listed the initiative’s success, he was jovial — “In the words of Jay-Z, ‘Numbers don’t lie,’ ” he said.

Moore also emphasized that the ENOUGH initiative is community-led. After his remarks, The Sun asked Moore the exact role communities play in how the ENOUGH initiative is run, especially with regard to grant disbursement, and who in the administration picks which community members participate.

Moore said the initiative’s proposals and partnerships are “actually being pulled together by communities.”

“They’re the ones saying, ‘We’re going to work with this school. We’re going to work with these homes of worship. We’re going to work with these business leaders,’” Moore said. “We’re just saying you tell us what the issue is in your community. And we are willing to provide the levels of support that are required and necessary in order to have real, effectual change.”

The Moore-Miller administration official also said the ENOUGH initiative has so far served more than 12,000 Marylanders, built a cohesive network of more than 550 partners — including K-12 schools, housing providers, employers and health care institutions — and launched 81 programs, including in-home visits for parents of newborns and financial literacy trainings for young adults.

“In the short-term, the program is measuring progress related to grantees’ efforts to complete key grant activities, including building sustainable community-led, cross-sector partnerships, establishing deep levels of community engagement, and implementing evidence-led programs to increase access to good jobs, good schools, quality health care, and safe neighborhoods,” this official said.

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