2025-03-03T13:18:11-07:00 2024-12-31 990EZ 2024-01-01 521945861 UPPER FELLS POINT IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION INC UPPE 5857474212 PO Box 38315 Baltimore MD 21231 Nancy Hoffmann Treasurer 5857474212 2025-03-04 1 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z X X www.upperfellspoint.org X X 58943 X 55942 3001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 58943 0 0 0 50 0 4182 27300 31532 27411 34747 0 62158 34747 62158 0 0 0 0 34747 62158 0 0 34747 62158 X Community Organization State of Maryland Community Safety Grant Spending (see Schedule O) Cafe lights $10,432 Safety Camera installation $5200 0 15632 Newsletter printing $3982 PO Box rental $200 Newsletter distributed to all residents in Upper Fells Point (hardcopy) each month except December 0 4182 Community Garden projects (see schedule O) including replacing raised bed lumber and soil 0 2937 Other Program Services (See Schedule O), Mural project on Lady Day Way $2550, Safety committee $1,346 beautification of neighborhood including planters $1229 community activities including free events for neighborhood $1252, Lady Day Way Committee Paint for garage in preparation of future mural and flowers, Land use committee for meeting space $200 0 8731 31482 Benjamin Miller President 4 0 0 0 Brent Temeng Vice-President 3 0 0 0 Amy Zemanick Secretary 3 0 0 0 Nancy Hoffmann Treasurer 4 0 0 0 Stephen Porter Parliamentarian 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MD Nancy Hoffmann PO Box 38315 Baltimore MD 212318315 5857474212 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NONE NONE 1 X 10409 5763 12385 89266 55942 173765 0 0 0 0 10409 5763 12385 89266 55942 173765 173765 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 173765 17043 1 1 X Form 990-EZ, Part I, Line 13 Accountant fee for preparation of two 1099 forms Form 990-EZ, Part I, Line 15 Newsletter printing costs $3982 and PO Box rental $200 Form 990-EZ, Part I, Line 16 Expense Summary: Program service expenses: 99.83% Management expenses: .17% ($55 accountant $50 + copies $5) Fundraising 0% General explanation of Other Expenses: Spending for Community Safety Grant: cafe light and camera installation around neighborhood $15632 Media expenses including newsletters delivered to all residents monthly (excluding December)$4,182 Community Garden projects including replacing raised beds $2937, Mural Project on lady Day Way $2550, Safety Committee $1,346, Community Events $1,252, Beautification committee $1,229, Lady Day Way Commitee $366 paint and plants, Land use $200 room use Insurance $1515 Website hosting $267 Form 990-EZ, Part III, Line (28-31) Line 28 spending for State of Maryland Community Safety Grant, cafe lights were installed to improve safety and security cameras were installed to enhance neighborhood safety and identify criminals.Part III, Line 29- Media/Communications: Our newsletter is delivered to all residences and businesses in our neighborhood, regardless of membership, to communicate information regarding the Assoc., issues, school, businesses, social activities, City-wide activities, voter registration/elections, and government taxes regulations and resources. We provide contact information for all of our officers and committees, City council members/president and state general assembly members; and detailed trash/recycling information, including items allowed, storage, pickup/drop-off times/locations. In 2024, we promoted local businesses and featured those that help fund our newsletter (56% of our printing costs were funded by their ads). We also provided a Spanish translation of our newsletter. We promoted many activities including: Black History month; local artists; traffic calming measures to ensure safe walking, biking, etc.; the Fell's Point farmers' market and the Baltimore farmers' market/bazaar; Bike to Work week; National Pride Month, the Creative Alliance's Great Halloween Lantern Parade and Day of the Dead Parade; and Cranksgiving, a scavenger hunt/food drive for Moveable Feast, a local food bank. We held several social events including a Sip & swap; Plant Swap and Bicycle Tour to promote Earth Day in April; a National Night Out event to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie and a Honey Happy Hour with a local beekeeper to inform residents of the importance of bees in Aug.; an Oktoberfest to celebrate fall; and a Progressive Dinner to encourage adults to socialize with other residents. We beautified the neighborhood by holding monthly cleanups to pickup trash, leaves, etc.; provided four dumpsters for residents to get rid of their bulk trash, reminded residents to keep the areas in front of their house free of snow, trash, and other debris and our certified TreeKeepers pruned several street trees. We gave tips on how to reduce waste and encouraged residents to use curbside compost pickup and installed extra lighting and safety cameras to help in reducing crime. Also, our website (www.upperfellspoint.org) enhances communications with our residents and fully discloses our regulations and financials. Committees have news/events pages and current/past newsletters are posted. An electronic newsletter (e-blast) is provided monthly, or when needed, and includes important items that need to be communicated. We are also on Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram, and post to a Google calendar to provide information and important notices to area residents. We accept online payments for membership dues, donations, fund-raisers and events, as well as for newsletter ads and garden dues. One member composed 11 issues of four-page newsletters which were printed by a local business and 19 volunteers distributed 1,200 copies for 11 months. Nineteen volunteers spent 271 volunteer hours on the newsletter. Also, two Association members contributed an additional 103 volunteer hours to electronic media efforts in 2024.Part III, Line 30 Community Garden: The Association began maintaining three vacant lots at 1825-27-29 E Pratt St. totally 4,600 square ft. as a community garden in 1987. Our garden has 26 plots for 35 gardeners with a city water line and a green space used for community events. Gardeners turn yard waste into compost for their own use in their plots. The garden property is protected as a permanent green space by the Baltimore Green Space Land Trust and was purchased from the City with funds provided by our Association. Our Association is the Baltimore Green Space Partner Organization and our Community Garden Committee Chair is the Baltimore Green Space Site Manager for this property. In addition to maintaining their individual garden plots, at least two of our gardeners clear the public sidewalk in front of the garden of any snow or ice during the winter months and all of our gardeners spend a total of 32 hours/month from April through November to maintain the overall garden space by watering and weeding plants, cutting the grass, and taking out the trash/recyclables. To celebrate Earth Day in April, we hosted a Sip & swap; Plant swap and Cycle Tour with over 200 plants available for free to attendees while cyclists toured several green spaces in the neighborhood. In addition, 16 gardeners spent over 100 hours building 44 new raised bed boxes. In August, over 75 neighbors and gardeners attended a Honey Happy Hour at our neighborhood garden to celebrate National Honey Bee Day. This included a presentation by a local beekeeper who discussed the importance of bees and had raw honey for sale. In addition, the Association has on our website information about pollinators and the best plants to provide food and habitat for them (information was provided by Bee Informed Baltimore, Sierra Club and Baltimore Bee-Friendly Apiary). The community garden also provides many native and other pollinator-friendly plants for pollinators. Also, over the summer we partnered with Baltimore Green Space and Ask A Bumble Bee Project to track the number of bumble bees that visited the garden. The Association's community gardeners held an Oktoberfest in our neighborhood garden in October whereby over 100 people attended. We cooked sausages and hot dogs and had other side dishes and refreshments. A garden social membership was available for non-gardeners too. Thirty-five people contributed a total of 1,221 volunteer hours to the garden in 2024 Part III, line 31: Community Mural Project- Upper Fells Point Improvement Association installed a new mural on 200 block of South Chapel Street known as Lady Day Way which depicts Billie Holliday. The mural is lit up at night and is enjoyed by visitors and all residents. Safety Committee: The mission of the Safety committee is to support the general welfare and safety of the community. We take on efforts such as installation of Cafe lighting and security cameras. We monitor these cameras and through 911 requests release footage to the police and those who have been victimized. We maintain a connection with the local police department to report issues that we think are impacting the neighborhood. We also maintain a Block Captain system and strive to create a more interconnected neighborhood. Neighborhoods are safer when people know each other and can help each other. We encourage neighbors to keep the front and back of their properties well-lit in the evenings to give people a sense of safety and also make the cameras more effective.To that end we distribute LED dusk till dawn night bulbs to help residents easily and affordably address this goal.Additionally, we take on ad hoc matters such as problematic dog ownership issues and advise neighbors on how best to interact with municipal authorities to make their life better.We are initiating Citizens on Patrol walks as another form of community engagementBeautification Committee: The Beautification committee held four dumpster days during the year for residents to dispose of bulk trash items. Monthly cleanups were held to remove trash and leaves from streets, sidewalks and gutters. Additional litter pickups were held on several evenings during the year. Tree pruning under the supervision of a certified tree keeper was done on several blocks in the neighborhood. A potted plant project provided low-cost plants for neighbors to beautify their streets. A free plant swap was held so that new plants could be exchanged. All residents and visitors to Upper Fells Point benefitted from the efforts of the Beautification committee.Community Activities: National Night out was a free event held to introduce local BPD officers to the community and to encourage community unity. Food, drinks, music and games were held and enjoyed by community members who attended. A Winter Wander Scavenger hunt was held with prizes and free pizza and hot chocolate. Signs were posted around to neighborhood to encourage community participation.Lady Day Way Committee seeks to improve and beautify the historic street where Billie Holiday lived. Projects completed included planting flowers, lighting for the newly installed Billie Holiday mural and paint for a garage door which was an eyesore in the neighborhood. These projects will be enjoyed by community members as well as the many visitors to this historic block on South Durham Street. Land Use Committee: Monthly meetings were held to discuss issues relating to building permits and liquor licenses. Committee members worked with state and local officials to work through issues relating to these topics. Community members benefitted from these efforts.