1Berkshire Awarded FY25 Regional Economic Development Organization Grant
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire announced that it is the recipient of a $210,000 Regional Economic Development Organization (REDO) grant from the Massachusetts Office of Business Development through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development.
This grant will directly support the ongoing capacity of 1Berkshire, allowing it to provide a breadth of free resources, opportunities, and support for businesses "from the spark of an idea, to passing the torch."
The annual REDO grant is a competitive program that the 11 legislatively-designated REDO agencies across the Commonwealth are eligible to apply for. The $210,000 awarded to 1Berkshire this year represents the second-largest award of all eligible awardees.
Included among the programs and resources made possible by this vital support are:
- Providing 150-200 one-on-one business consultations each year that provide tailored support and guidance to entrepreneurs and businesses at every stage in their development.
- Ongoing implementation and stewardship of the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, the region's 10-year sustained economic development imperative. Including working with all six of the primary economic clusters, addressing housing, workforce, transportation, technology access, and other cross-cutting issues, and further cultivating a strong business and entrepreneurial support ecosystem.
- Organizing high-impact site visits that convene local, state, federal, and private-sector partners to address and catalyze around critical projects and opportunities.
- Collaboration capacity to work with key regional efforts and programs such as EforAll Berkshire County, Berkshire Funding Focus, the Berkshire Tech Impact Collaborative, and the Berkshire Brownfields Committee.
- Specific tactical support to municipalities seeking guidance and resources to support development, businesses, and ecosystem-building efforts.
- Coordination and conducting of technical assistance cohorts to provide strategic and impactful support directly to businesses, organizations, and individuals to help them start, grow, and sustain their businesses.
- Development, launch, and operation of programs and collaborations such as Entrepreneurial Meetups, the Berkshire Immigrant Entrepreneur Support Program, the Business Succession and Transition Program, and the Berkshire Economic Recovery Program.
- Convening and management of the Berkshire Economic Development Practitioners Group to maintain strong collaborations, collective action, and ongoing shared information and awareness with regional and state partners.
- Maintenance, enhancement, and promotion of the jobs thing as a critical pipeline for workforce retention and recruitment for Berkshire County employers and job seekers.
- Management and leveraging of a regional clearinghouse of available commercial development sites to help potential businesses and industries identify, vet, and start, expand or relocate in the region.
"The capacity that the REDO grant provides us will continue to ensure that we can sustain our diverse portfolio of current offerings and resources, and allows us to remain agile and adaptive to the needs of the business community and economic ecosystem of the Berkshires," said Ben Lamb, 1Berkshire Vice President of Economic Development.
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