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Message from the President, January 2011
The year is underway with some wonderful pieces of good news. It's comforting to know that contributions to funds at the Foundation returned to pre–recession level. Almost $11 million came into the foundation from donors near and far… and as is often true, 65% of donations were checks for $150 or less.
Over $7 million was distributed to nonprofits and individuals throughout the region with $300,000 in emergency assistance to local families in economic distress. While the recession has not lifted, thanks to you, its grip seems to be loosening.
All best wishes for this year and may more good be done than ever!
Warm regards, Jennifer Dowley
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SABIC Donates to Education Enrichment
 SABIC Innovative Plastics of Pittsfield recently donated $75,000 to the foundation's 13 Education Enrichment Funds in Berkshire County and earmarked the donation for math, science and environmental programs.
This will mean that there will be more projects such as a solar vehicle design project for 6th and 7th graders; a week–long residential environmental studies program; and an initiative to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
This is a remarkable investment in our area's school children by a major corporation. These grants will provide our students extraordinary learning opportunities and help them to develop for future roles in critical areas of study which continue to grow in importance in today's and tomorrow's global economy.
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NONPROFIT SALARY SURVEY RELEASED
Compensation report provides data for nonprofits
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YOU'RE INVITED...
Estate Tax Law Seminars for fund holders & professional advisors
more »
GRANT DEADLINES
Don't miss Feb deadlines
more »
Other news » |
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Poets Chosen for Amy Clampitt Residency
 Residencies of six months in the Amy Clampitt House in Lenox have been awarded to Bruce Snider from San Francisco, California and Glenn Morzzini of Cumberland, Maine.
The Amy Clampitt Residency Program provides a poet or literary scholar with the rare gift of extended time and a reasonable stipend so that he or she may substantially further his or her creative work.
This residency is named in honor of the poet Amy Clampitt, who wrote prolifically from her cottage until her death in 1994.
Selected candidates live and write in Amy Clampitt's prior residence, a three–bedroom cottage in a quiet residential neighborhood a few minutes walk from the village of Lenox, Massachusetts. more »
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Harvard Business School Grant Applications Due March 1
Executive directors of nonprofit organizations in the Berkshire Taconic region may now apply for a scholarship to attend a six–day intensive training program at the Harvard Business School in Boston.
"Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management," is a program designed to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit directors to lead their organizations effectively. The program is for directors of organizations whose budgets are $500,000 and over and will take place July 17–23, 2011. Tuesday, March 1, 2011 is the deadline for applications.
"I've been working professionally in the nonprofit world for some 26 years now and no workshop, class or experience has been half as valuable as my time spent at the SPNM Program at the business school," said 2010 attendee Gary Schiro. more »
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Year–End Investment Returns as of December 31, 2010
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Q4 2010 |
1–YEAR RETURN |
3–YEAR RETURN |
5–YEAR RETURN |
| MANAGED POOL* |
5.6 |
13.5 |
2.2 |
5.9 |
| INCOME POOL |
–0.8 |
7.9 |
8.1 |
N/A |
| MONEY MARKET |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.8 |
N/A |
| SRI POOL |
6.8 |
12.4 |
N/A |
N/A |
| S & P 500 |
10.7 |
15.1 |
–2.9 |
2.7 |
As of September 2010, Berkshire Taconic's investment portfolio completely recovered the losses resulting from the market downturn in 2008 and early 2009 and has continued to grow. Our investment committee remained disciplined during some very difficult times and is now focused on further diversification and opportunities in the markets.
For the full year ended December 31, 2010, all asset classes outperformed their benchmarks. The Managed Pool gained 13.5%, slightly lagging the one–year return for the S&P500. The Managed Pool provides downside protection through diversification and investment in a variety of asset classes, some that did not perform as strongly as the S&P500 during 2010. However, this strategy benefited the portfolio over the long–term with the Managed Pool significantly outperforming the S&P500 over both the three– and five–year periods.
Please refer to our website for more detailed information on our managers and investment pools, which is updated monthly.
*As of December 31, 2010, the asset mix was: 48.9% global public equity, 5.6% global private equity, 21.3% flexible capital, 15.0% credit strategies, 6.8% inflation hedging and 2.4% liquid capital.
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