Local Impact
Berkshire Taconic established the Fund for Columbia County in 1999 to help strengthen communities and improve the quality of life for the residents of Columbia County, N.Y. The fund serves as a permanent resource to help organizations create and implement programs that make life safer, healthier and more equitable.
Through its Grants for Community Impact program, the fund supports projects that further youth development, economic equity, civic and community engagement, the arts, education, the environment, and health and social services that directly impact the people of Columbia County.
Recognizing the significant needs of seniors in the county, the fund established a Grants for Aging with Dignity program in 2018. Starting in 2021, the fund is also making multi-year investments in innovative projects and services that support high school and college-age youth in making a successful transition from school to work.
$1.6M
Total amount of grantmaking since 1999
596
Total number of grants since 1999
Grantmaking Opportunities
Read about the Fund for Columbia County’s grantmaking guidelines and how to apply.
Grants for Community Impact: Support projects that create or enhance a deep, lasting and positive impact on the residents of Columbia County.
Grants for Aging with Dignity: Supports projects that create or enhance a deep, lasting and positive impact on seniors in Columbia County
School-to-Work Grants: Innovative projects and services that support high school and college-age youth in making a successful transition from school to work.
Grants for New Nonprofits: Provides funding for community groups that are in the process of becoming a nonprofit organization.
- Ancram Opera House, Writing on Your Feet: How to Tell a Story and Write it Down! $4,000
- Beautiful Racket, Music Experience & Vocal Coaching for Disenfranchised Youth in Hudson, $6,000
- Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts, Inc., Year Two of Community Impact Grant, $3,000
- Center For Regenerative Ecological Education & Enterprise Development, Freezers for Food Rescue & Nutritional Justice Programs, $5,200
- Columbia County Pathways to Recovery, Recovery Community Outreach Center, $5,000
- Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, Columbia County Healthy Meals for the Homeless, $7,500
- Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, Year Two of Community Impact Grant, $7,500
- Common Ground Dispute Resolution, Inc., Peaceable Schools: Conflict Resolution & Restorative Practices, $5,000
- Family Resource Centers of Columbia County, Hope and Healing Through Play, $5,000
- Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, Annual Community Building Events, $5,000
- Harmony Project Hudson, Harmony Project Hudson, $5,500
- Hawthorne Valley Association, Inc., Arts Programming at Lightforms Art Center, $4,200
- Hudson Area Association Library, Ailey II in Hudson, $7,500
- Hudson Opera House, Inc., Hudson Hall's Youth Arts Program, $5,000
- Hudson Opera House, Inc., Hudson Hall Winter Walk, $5,000
- Hudson Sloop Club, Inc., Waterfront Wednesdays, $7,500
- Hudson Sloop Club, Inc., Community Support, $500
- Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition, Berkshire Healing, $5,000
- Kite's Nest, Social Justice Leadership Academy, $6,000
- New York Folklore, Folk Art, Foodways, and Place in Columbia County, $3,000
- Perfect Ten After School Inc., RESET 2.0, $6,000
- PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, Sharing Stories with Nancy Rothman, $3,500
- Rock Steady Farm and Flowers, Rock Steady Farm & Ancramdale Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fresh Food Distribution, $5,000
- School Life Media, School Life Media/School Life News, $4,000
- The Canary Project (Hudson, NY), Toolshed Exchange, The Canary Project, $3,000
- Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, Hudson Heath Center Micro-Spend Pilot Program
(Support Restricted to Columbia County Residents,$5,000 - Literacy Connections, Adult & Family Literacy for Columbia County Residents, $5,000
- Claverack Free Library, Senior Flexibility (Tai Chi & Gentle Yoga) and Senior Socialization, $4,160
- Columbia County Habitat for Humanity Habitat, Helping Hands, $5,000
- High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding and Driving Center, 2023 Nursing-Home Visitation Program, $4,000
- Hillsdale Safe at Home Committee, Home Repair & Maintenance Resource Guide & Distribution, $2,195
- Neighbors of Northern Columbia County, Senior Safety in Northern Columbia County, $2,500
- Philmont Public Library/Village of Philmont, Senior Support and Socialization Programs, $3,000
- Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Qigong and Tai Chi for Healthy Aging $3,750
- Beautiful Racket, Careers in the Arts Mentoring Program, $7,500
- Columbia County Youth Theatre, Inc., Columbia County Youth Theatre Intern Program, $8,000
- Columbia Greene Community College, CGCC-Based Cohort that Prepares Individuals with Disabilities (HHS Life studies class) to Enter the Workforce, $5,000
- Columbia-Greene Community College Foundation, Inc., CGCC LPN Program, $20,000
- Common Ground Dispute Resolution, Inc., The Good Pipeline: From High School to the Workforce, $7,000
- City of Hudson Youth Department, Department of Youth Internship Program, $9,000
- Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, Beyond GED and Professional Development Internships, $20,000
- Harmony Project Hudson, Teachers' Assistants Program Development, $10,000
- Hudson Area Association Library, Continuation of One-on-One Job Search, Help & Readiness, $5,000
- Hudson Area Association Library, Second Year of Craft Entrepreneurship School-to-Work Program, $7,500
- Hudson Area Association Library, Crafting for Money: Craft Entrepreneurship for Tweens and Teens, $7,500
- Hudson City School District, Bluehawk Academy, $5,000
- Hudson Opera House, Inc., Hudson Hall 2024 Live Arts & Media Workforce Development Program, $25,000
- Kite's Nest, Youth Employment Programs: Social Justice Leadership Academy, ReGen, and Afterschool, $10,000
- Operation Unite New York, Inc., Career Exploration Program, $1,610
- Questar III Education Foundation, Inc., Collaboration Between Local Businesses and Questar III Students, $5,000
- Taconic Hills Central School District, Tech-Media Program, $20,000
- African American Archive of Columbia County, African American Archive of Columbia County, $1,500
- City of Hudson, Formation of the Trillium Housing Trust, $1,500
- Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market, Support for Web Hosting, Hotspot, Quickbooks Software and a Road Sign, $1,135
- Lebanon Valley Community Corporation New Nonprofit Funding, $1,500
- Overcomer Ministries, Support of the Bro, Bruh, and Sis Community Policing Program, $1,500
- Ramaa, Inc., Website Costs, $700
- Super Stories, Inc., New Nonprofit Funding, $1,500
“We are truly thankful for the outpouring of community assistance for our students.”
- Joan Koweek, Columbia-Greene Community College
Advisory Committee
Peter Frank, Hudson, Chair
AnnaMaria Assevero, Stockport
Didi Barrett, Claverack
Sheldon Evans, Ghent
Hilary Dunne Ferrone, Spencertown
Michelle Kopec, Stuyvesant Falls
Tanu Kumar, Chatham
Lael Locke, Chatham
Katharine Millonzi, Germantown
Jodie Moore, Hudson
Jeffrey Mousseau, Ancram
Donate to the Fund for Columbia County
Make a secure online gift to the Fund for Columbia County on our donate page.
Are you 70 ½ years old or older? A qualifying charitable distribution (QCD) allows you to donate up to $100,000 per year to the Fund for Columbia County (or any eligible charitable organization) directly from your IRA and exclude it from your income. Please email our Philanthropic Services team at PS@BerkshireTaconic.org to learn more.
Double the size of your gift! Many employers offer matching gift programs, allowing you to double the amount you give just by filling out a simple form. Check with your employer to learn more. Berkshire Taconic’s tax ID # is 06-125-4469.
