Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to Move Headquarters to Sheffield, MA

January 4, 2010

Great Barrington, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that it has purchased an office building at 800 N. Main Street in Sheffield, MA to house its operations. The 5,000 square-foot property was purchased from Landmark Volunteers, Inc. The foundation will move into its new headquarters after making minor improvements and creating parking sufficient for staff and visitors. “Berkshire Taconic is here forever and we are thrilled to be able to invest in a permanent home for the organization as we commence our 23rd year of work,” stated Virginia Smith, chair of the foundation’s board of directors.

The purchase of 800 N. Main Street concludes a three-year search for a long-term home for the foundation. A task force composed of members of the foundation’s board of directors, chaired by Ed Hoe, looked at properties up and down the Route 7 corridor. “We found nothing to compare with the condition and size of this Sheffield property within our price range,” stated Hoe. “The foundation was outgrowing its space in Great Barrington and needed room for community meetings, as well as for its expanding operations over the next five to ten years.”

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation was founded in 1987 as a Connecticut nonprofit organization and leased space in Lakeville, CT for several years. As its work expanded beyond Northwest CT and Northeast Dutchess County into Berkshire and Columbia counties, it needed to move its base of operations to the geographic center of its catchment area. In 1997, the foundation leased space at 271 Main Street in Great Barrington, MA where it has resided for the past 12 years. “The opportunity to buy our own building is terrific,” stated Virginia Smith. “The money we save on rent can now shift to providing more resources to our communities.”

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 2009 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $7 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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