Local Impact
Berkshire Taconic formed the Northeast Dutchess Fund in 2001 to improve the quality of life in this region. Launched with a $100,000 challenge grant from Judy and Russ Carson, part-time residents of Millbrook, the fund set in motion a community effort to build an endowment dedicated to these towns, villages and hamlets, and their residents.
Through its annual grantmaking cycle, NED seeks to support new or existing projects, programs or organizations that have a meaningful and positive impact on the residents of NED, with particular emphasis on low-income and/or historically underserved adults and children.
In order to respond to unmet needs of the growing immigrant population, NED and the Carson Family Charitable Trust partnered to launch the NEDCorps program in 2007. Initially, the program supported two social workers who traveled throughout the region to help their clients access resources including Medicare, Medicaid or other health insurance; literacy and translation services; prescription drug programs, food pantries, shelters, mental health programs, emergency cash grants and more.
The program has since grown to comprise three core elements: an expansion of the original mobile case management program; a grants program for organizations that serve and support immigrants; and investments in educational programming designed to support young adults’ successful transition from school to work and improved earning potential.
$4.48M
Total amount of grantmaking (including cash assistance) since 2001
660
Total number of grants since 2001
Read about the fund’s grantmaking guidelines and how to apply.
Neighbor-to-Neighbor for Northeast Dutchess County $30,000.00 general operating support Center For Nonprofit Excellence- PTA grants $19,000.00 PTA Grants Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse $10,000.00 Personal Safety Program Center of Compassion $10,000.00 Operations Support Grant Clinton Community Library $6,000.00 Optimistic Aging 2024 Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County $10,000.00 Literacy In Action 1 Dover Union Free School District $1,500.00 Dover Guitar Program; Eric Anderson Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry $10,000.00 Food Insecurity Missions at St. Thomas Amenia Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County of Wappingers Falls $35,000.00 Mobile Home Repair and Replacement Program Hudson Valley Hospice $10,000.00 Charity Care for Under or Uninsured Patients Innisfree Foundation $6,000.00 2024 Innisfree Community Days Legal Services of the Hudson Valley $10,000.00 Free Civil Legal Services for Residents of Northeast Dutchess County, 2024 Long Table Harvest $5,000.00 The Gleaning Program, Long Table Harvest Millbrook Early Childhood Education Center $10,000.00 Scholarship Assistance Program at Millbrook Early Childhood Education Center (MECEC) Millbrook Library $10,000.00 Millbrook Library Connectivity Kits & Public Computer Update New Pine Plains Herald $10,000.00 New Pine Plains Herald North East Community Center, Inc. $10,000.00 General Operating Support, Transportation Program Assistant North East Community Center, Inc. $10,000.00 Adopt A Family Program NorthEast-Millerton Library $1,600.00 Music in the Annex 2024 Concert Series Nuvance Health Foundation $10,000.00 Workforce Development Program: Career Readiness Initiative at Sharon Hospital Rebuilding Together Hudson Valley $6,000.00 2024 Rebuilding Day Program Support Rock Steady Farm and Flowers $10,000.00 Rock Steady Farm General Support Sisters Hill Farm $9,250.00 Ten full CSA shares @ 925 per share for low income Northeast Dutchess County residents. Sky High Farm $5,000.00 Sky High Farm Food Access Program Stonewood Community Project $10,000.00 The Market Garden at Stonewood The Susie Reizod Foundation $3,500.00 New Shoes Donation Program for Economically Insecure Children in Northeast Dutchess Town of Dover $500.00 For Those Who Work in Acres, Not Hours: Cultivating Fertile Minds at the Farm Village of Millerton $5,000.00 Century Boulevard Redevelopment Planning & Design Project Wassaic Project $10,000.00 General Operating 2024 Willow Roots $10,000.00 Willow Roots Food Pantry & Giving Box Center For Nonprofit Excellence- board leadership scholarships $500.00 area fund sponsored scholarships for the 2024 Institute of Trustees
“These funds have allowed us to provide weekly backpacks to children who would otherwise not be eating nutritious meals when the schools are not in session.”
- Karen Finnerty, Center of Compassion
Advisory Committee
Sarah S. Stack, Clinton Corners, Chair
Annemarie C. Abrams, Dover Plains
Diana Bontecou, Millbrook
Gloria G. Callen, Millbrook
Wendy Curtis, Millerton
Deban Flexner, Millbrook
Nancy N. Hathaway, Millbrook
Ken Holzberg, Millbrook
David Offensend, Wassaic
Daphne Richards, Stanfordville
Nancy Stahl, Millbrook
Donate to the Northeast Dutchess Fund
Make a secure online gift to the Northeast Dutchess Fund 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 Northeast Dutchess Fund (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 06-1254469.
