Fund for Williamstown Honors Founders and First Grant Recipients
January 25, 2008
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass—Nearly 100 people attended a reception on Friday hosted by the Fund for Williamstown to honor its founding donors and first group of grant recipients. The Fund for Williamstown addresses a broad range of local needs, including environmental protection, public education and cultural programs. It is one of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s 11 Area Funds.
Founded in 2006, the Fund for Williamstown met its initial fundraising goal within three months, with 50 community members pledging $1,000 a year for five years. In its first year of grantmaking, the fund was able to distribute $27, 430.
“This reception gives us a chance to publicly thank our donors, whose responsiveness moved us from fundraising to grantmaking so quickly. We expected it to take two years and it took close to two months,” said Mark Gold, a member of the fund’s advisory committee. “That just speaks volumes about the community we live in.”
The fund is unusual in that it accepts grant applications from individuals as well as nonprofit groups.
“We’re looking for projects and ideas that reflect diverse needs and voices, that will help make Williamstown a more vibrant community,” said Gold. “The fund, which is endowed, can now serve as a permanent resource for all residents looking to improve the quality of life for all of Williamstown’s residents.”
One such individual was Barbara Walsh, who applied for a grant to get the softball field Broad Brook Park ready to host the first Williamstown softball team for kids in kindergarten through third grade.
“This is huge for us,” said Walsh, “In a really short time we had a Williamstown team and we can only build from there.”
The fund awarded its first grants to nine recipients: Images Cinema, Milne Library, Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, Barbara Walsh, Williamstown Youth Center, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Williamstown COOL Committee and Williamstown Garden Club.
David Rempell, the director of the Williamstown Youth Center, spoke about the center’s role in the community.
“We try to bring qualified and gifted individuals into the lives of the children to expand their horizons,” he said. One of two grants the center received was for canoe equipment for children. “The equipment allows us to do all sorts of additional planning for summer trips and helps us meet the needs of the youth in the community now and for many, many years to come.”
The next grant application deadline is March 14, 2008. Applications are available beginning in February at the Williamstown Town Hall, by calling Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation at 413.528.8039 or by visiting www.berkshiretaconic.org.
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