Berkshire Taconic Announces Record Year for Grants, Donations and Assets
February 21 , 2008
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA – Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation today announced that its year-end figures show increases in all aspects of its operations: grantmaking, assets, donations and new funds. Established in 1987, the foundation serves Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County.
Berkshire Taconic currently has $86.6 million in assets under management, up from $75 million at year-end 2006. In 2007, Berkshire Taconic distributed a total of $7.4 million in grants, including more than $181,000 in scholarships to 97 students from the region. Other grants supported the arts, public education, health and human services and environmental protection.
“Our growth directly reflects the generosity of our donors and their commitment to improving the quality of life in our region,” said Jennifer Dowley, president of Berkshire Taconic. “We’re also growing because more and more people realize that Berkshire Taconic is an excellent steward of charitable dollars as well as deeply knowledgeable about the needs of this area’s communities.”
Donors established 29 new funds at Berkshire Taconic in 2007, bringing its total number of funds to 511. New endowed funds include the Boschen Fund for Artists, which offers grants to artists and arts organizations through the Berkshire Taconic region, and the Blue Horizon Health Fund, which pays medical and dental expenses of people in need who live in Canaan, Cornwall, North Canaan, Sharon and Salisbury, Connecticut. Both were private foundations that dissolved their assets into funds within Berkshire Taconic.
Dowley noted that even as it grows larger, Berkshire Taconic remains a grass-roots organization, with 75 percent of the 3,900 donations it received in 2007 for $250 or less.
“Berkshire Taconic helps people from all walks of life give back to the community in ways that matter most to them,” said Dowley. “Each year we receive donations from thousands of people who are helping make the Berkshire Taconic a better place for all of us.”
During the coming year, Berkshire Taconic will be launching several new initiatives. These include the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a resource for strengthening local nonprofit organizations; a campaign to encourage donors to start scholarship funds; and its second annual regional symposium.
For more information about Berkshire Taconic, call 413.528.8039, email info@berkshiretaconic.org or visit www.berkshiretaconic.org. Berkshire Taconic is located at 271 Main Street, Suite 3, Great Barrington, MA 01230. ###
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