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.

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

“We are truly thankful for the outpouring of community assistance for our students.”

- Joan Koweek, Columbia-Greene Community College

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.

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 Center for the Arts (Formerly Ancram Opera House)

Ayni Herb Farm

Beautiful Racket

Bindlestiff Variety Arts

Center For Regenerative Ecological Education & Enterprise Development

Chatham Public Library

Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market

Claverack Free Library

Coarc

Columbia Childrens Center

Columbia County Habitat for Humanity

Columbia County Recovery Kitchen

Columbia County Sanctuary Movement

Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition

Columbia Pathways to Recovery

Common Ground Dispute Resolution

Family Resource Centers of Columbia County

FASNY Museum of Firefighting

Flying Deer Nature Center

Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood

Harmony Project Hudson

High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding and Driving Center

Hillsdale Safe at Home Committee

Hudson Area Association Library

Hudson City School District

Hudson Hall

Kinderhook Memorial Library

Kite's Nest

Literacy Connections

New York Folklore

North Chatham Free Library

Perfect Ten After School

Philmont Public Library

PS21/Center for Contemporary Performance

Reentry Task Force of Columbia County

Roeliff Jansen Community Library

Super Stories

The Canary Project

The Sylvia Center

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood

  • 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

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.