Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

$100,000+ Challenge Grant Announced to Fund Emergency Aid for Berkshire Hilltown Residents

October 29, 2009

Great Barrington, MA——Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Central Berkshire Fund announced today a challenge grant of $100,000+ to support the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program in central Berkshire County. The fund will match $7 for every $1 raised by the 14,550 residents of Becket, Cummington, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Washington and Windsor. Each town must raise $1 per resident up to its population size with a minimum of 10 gifts per town by December 21, 2009.

All of the donations will be dedicated to Berkshire Taconic’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor program for that specific town, providing emergency aid to residents in need. Every town’s donation will be matched individually so long as the full challenge amount is raised. If any town raises less than the challenge amount, its donations will go the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, but will not be matched.

“We have an extraordinary opportunity with this challenge to truly make a difference in the lives of our neighbors who may be in financial distress,” said Jennifer Dowley, president of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. “Donations of any amount are welcome and will have a huge impact as the winter approaches.”

Neighbor-to-Neighbor provides emergency assistance for local residents who are in economic distress. The program makes small grants (generally around $500) to help those with overdue utilities, medical bills, short-term housing costs, and transportation problems. Checks are written to the vendor (landlord, utility company, pharmacy or mechanic) on behalf of the community member in need. The funds are not intended for long-term or ongoing assistance, but for strategic intervention to help achieve a measure of stability and avert further crises. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation has recently launched Neighbor-to-Neighbor throughout the tri-state Berkshire Taconic region, with programs in Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor is an expansion of Berkshire Taconic’s Emergency Relief Fund, which for more than 15 years worked with social service organizations and churches to helpthose in desperate need. Neighbor-to-Neighbor now gives everyone in our region the opportunity to offer help to their neighbors. How the Neighbor-to-Neighbor challenge grant works.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor is partnering with Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC), a countywide social service agency, to administer this program for the Central Berkshire Fund. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact BCAC’s Wayne Cronnell at 413.445.4503 or wcronnell@bcainc.org.

The Central Berkshire Fund seeks to improve the quality of life for the residents of Becket, Cummington, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Washington and Windsor. This Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation endowed fund makes grants annually to nonprofits serving the hilltowns. Grants have supported food pantries, enrichment programs for schools, community recreational trails and youth empowerment programs.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Thanks to its generous donors, in 2008 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $9 million in scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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