Berkshire Taconic Funding Opportunities Across Four Counties

03:47PM / Wednesday, February 05, 2025Print Story | Email Story

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation is offering nearly 20 grant opportunities and 80 scholarship programs in its winter funding cycle, providing support for nonprofits, students, and community organizations across four counties.

Eligible applicants in Berkshire County, Mass.; Columbia and northeast Dutchess Counties, N.Y.; and northwest Litchfield County, Conn., are encouraged to explore funding opportunities that address a range of needs, from environmental initiatives and the arts, to education and food security.

Berkshire Taconic's streamlined scholarship application process connects students with nearly 80 scholarship funds, offering financial support for higher education. The deadline to apply is March 15, and early applications are encouraged, as some scholarships require additional materials. Awards will be announced in June. In 2024, scholarship awards totaled $898,000 through our programs.

For details and to apply, visit berkshiretaconic.org/scholarships.

This winter's grant cycle includes funding for projects that expand access to fresh food, strengthen the arts, advance environmental initiatives, and support nonprofit innovation.

Key opportunities include:

Planning and Technical Assistance Grants (Deadline: Feb. 15) Provides flexible funding to help nonprofits improve programs and strategy.

Fund for Columbia County: Grants for Community Impact (Deadline: Feb. 15) Supports youth development, elder services, civic engagement, education, and the arts.

Fund for Columbia County: School-to-Work Grants (Deadline: Feb. 15) Funds innovative programs that help high school and college-age students transition into the workforce.

Fresh and Healthy Food for All in Columbia County (Deadline: Feb. 15) Supports efforts to ensure equitable access to fresh, healthy food.

Northeast Dutchess Fund (Deadline: Feb. 15) Invests in programs serving underserved children and adults in northeast Dutchess County.

Crane Family Fund (Deadline: Feb. 15) Supports innovative projects that advance environmental sustainability and community health in Berkshire County.

Arts Build Community: Incubation Grants (Opens Feb. 1, Deadline: Mar. 15) Provides support for Berkshire County arts and cultural organizations to pilot new approaches to engaging residents.

A full list of grant opportunities and eligibility details is available at berkshiretaconic.org/winter25.

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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