Many area fund committees have focused their grantmaking in 2021 on organizations that meet the needs of our neighbors caused by the effects of the pandemic, and have provided unrestricted general operating support to help nonprofits continue to achieve their missions and allow for planning and recovery.

FUND FOR COLUMBIA COUNTY’S GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY IMPACT

The Fund for Columbia County awarded $64,540 for projects and services that have a lasting and positive impact on the residents of Columbia County.

• Ancram Opera House: $4,305 to help Taconic Hills Central School District students develop skills in writing personal narratives
• The Canary Project: $3,500 for the Toolshed Exchange [read a Register-Star article]
• Columbia County Youth Theatre: $3,500 to adapt the children’s book “The Show Must Go On” into a stage and virtual musical
• Germantown Library: $2,350 to explore Germantown’s natural environment
• Glynwood Center: $2,500 to distribute healthy meat from a Hudson farm to Columbia-based hunger relief efforts
• Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood: $5,000 to safeguard children of arrested parents
• Harmony Project Hudson: $5,000 for a musical mentoring program
• High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding and Driving Center: $2,344 to host activities for Hudson students in collaboration with Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood
• Hudson Hall: $5,000 for a City of Trash theater production on waste management
• Hudson Literacy Fund: $2,500 for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to read and discuss a book together
• Ichabod Crane Primary School: $4,150 for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, a national program that encourages parents to read to their children
• Kinderhook Business & Professional Association: $2,000 for a concert series for young students
• Kinderhook Memorial Library: $2,000 for a decodable book collection for young learners [read a Register-Star article]
• Kite’s Nest: $10,000 for a Social Justice Leadership Academy
• Mental Health Association of Columbia & Greene Counties: $4,891 for a safe outdoor counseling space for groups and individuals
• Perfect Ten After School: $5,000 for a year of tutoring for girls ages 8-18

FUND FOR COLUMBIA COUNTY’S GRANTS FOR AGING WITH DIGNITY

The Fund for Columbia County awarded $19,630 for projects that engage Columbia County’s growing senior population.

• Camphill Ghent: $5,000 for Cultural Lifeline activities for residents
• Hudson Area Association Library: $4,950 for memory kits, collections and programming for person-centered care
• Neighbors of Northern Columbia County: $4,500 for Advancing Neighbors of Northern Columbia County—A Senior Self-Help Project
• North Chatham Free Library: $2,380 for How to Be More Eco-Friendly—A Program for Seniors
• PS21, Performance Spaces for the 21st Century: $2,800 for virtual theater arts

QUAILWOOD FUND

The Quailwood Fund awarded $36,592 for programs and projects that benefit the residents of the Red Rock area in Columbia County.

• Canaan Conservation Club: $4,000 for electrical and plumbing upgrades
• Columbia Land Conservancy: $11,000 for roadway improvements at the Schor Public Conservation Area
• Red Rock Historical Society: $6,000 for a new roof
• Red Rock Rural Cemetery: $3,500 for repairs and restoration
• Red Rock Volunteer Fire Company: $12,092 to support the building fund and replace equipment

FUND FOR WILLIAMSTOWN’S GRANTS FOR OPERATIONAL RELIEF

The Fund for Williamstown awarded $41,020 to provide unrestricted general operating support to help nonprofits during the pandemic.

• Al Nelson Friendship Food Pantry: $1,850
• Berkshire Immigrant Center: $5,000
• Berkshire Nursing Families: $2,500
• Community Legal Aid: $5,000
• Ecu-Health Care: $5,000
• Images Cinema: $3,500
• Louison House: $5,000
• ROOTS Teen Center: $4,000
• Williamstown Chamber of Commerce: $3,320
• Williamstown Food Pantry: $1,850
• Williamstown Theatre Festival: $3,000
• New resident welcome baskets by Debby Dane and Liz Costley: $1,000

HARDMAN FUND

The Hardman Fund awarded $72,400 to nonprofits serving North Adams, Clarksburg and Florida, Mass., and Stamford, Vt.

• 18 Degrees: $3,000 for Kids 4 Harmony
• Arts in Recovery for Youth (AIRY): $4,400 for arts-based suicide prevention programming for youth ages 13-24
• Berkshire Food Project: $6,000 for operational expenses
• Berkshire Grown: $6,000 to purchase CSA farm shares and deliver the food to the Berkshire Food Project
• Berkshire Nursing Families: $5,000 for the northern Berkshire lactation support program
• Berkshire's Tomorrow: $5,000 for a collaboration between Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Berkshire Opioid Addiction Prevention
• The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: $5,000 for grocery store gift cards
• BTCF Community Fund: $1,500 for the Bridging Divides, Healing Communities Youth Film Challenge
• City of North Adams Office of Community Events: $6,000 for the North Adams Farmers Market
• Community Access to the Arts: $5,000 to support programs for people with disabilities
• Ecu-Health Care: $3,000 for ongoing programmatic operations
• Louison House: $10,000 for emergency housing and assistance in northern Berkshire County
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation: $3,000 for the MCLA Food Pantry
• Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative: $7,000 for the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry
• ROOTS Teen Center: $2,500 to enhance and expand a culinary program

NORTHEAST DUTCHESS FUND

The Northeast Dutchess Fund awarded $149,250 to nonprofits serving northeast Dutchess County, with a focus on organizations meeting the needs of residents caused by the effects of the pandemic.

• Astor Services for Children & Families: $3,000 for Chromebooks for Wingdale Head Start
• Center of Compassion: $10,000 for the Backpack Program
• Clinton Community Library: $6,000 for Optimistic Aging senior programs
• Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County: $10,000 for 4-H Cloverbud Summer Learning
• Engaging People in Community (EPIC): $15,000 for general operating support
• Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry: $10,000 for the St. Thomas Episcopal Church food pantry
• Hudson River Housing: $10,000 for the Tri-Town Coalition, which supports affordable housing in northeast Dutchess County
• Innisfree Foundation: $5,000 for Northeast Dutchess Community Days at Innisfree Garden and marketing/communications staff support
• Legal Services of the Hudson Valley: $10,000 for free legal services for northeast Dutchess residents
• Long Table Harvest: $2,750 for a gleaning program
• Millbrook Early Childhood Education Center: $5,000 for a scholarship assistance program
• Millerton Adopt-A-Family: $6,000 for Adopt-A-Family’s Christmas program
• North East Community Center: $10,000 for child-care assistance
• Rebuilding Together Dutchess County: $6,000 to support safe and healthy housing
• Rock Steady Farm and Flowers (in partnership with the Watershed Center): $10,000 for operational support
• Sister's Hill Farm: $5,000 for CSA shares for those in need
• Stonewood Community Project: $5,000 for the First Harvest Community Garden & Pantry
• The Susie Reizod Foundation: $3,000 for new shoes for children
• Vecinos Seguros: $2,500 for a food relief program
• Wassaic Project: $10,000 for general operating support
• White Pine Community Farm: $5,000 for preservation and expansion of farm-based programming for Harlem Valley residents

NORTHWEST CORNER FUND

The Northwest Corner Fund, in partnership with Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, awarded $23,250 to nine organizations in northwest Litchfield County for general operating and programming support.

• Adamah (a program of Hazon): $3,000 to support the distribution of fresh local produce to food pantries
• Housatonic Child Care Center: $5,000 to support general operating expenses
• Housatonic Valley Association: $3,150 to support wages for two seasonal bilingual River Information & Outreach interns
• Housatonic Youth Service Bureau: $2,100 to support the creation of facilitated educational videos to complement telehealth counseling sessions
• McCall Center for Behavioral Health: $1,500 to support general operating expenses
• Music Mountain: $3,500 to support the purchase and installation of a new sound reinforcement, recording and livestreaming system for Gordon Hall
• Noble Horizons: $2,000 to support Wi-Fi upgrades across the campus
• Northwest Connecticut Arts Council: $2,000 to support general operating expenses
• Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy: $1,000 to support technology upgrades to improve remote work, donor communication, and constituent services

SOUTH BERKSHIRE COUNTY FUND

The South Berkshire County Fund has awarded $105,000 for school-to-work projects and teacher wellness.

• MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board: $20,000 to support career readiness programs for students in southern Berkshire County school districts
• Greenagers: $5,000 to provide pathways to trade-related jobs for students
• Railroad Street Youth Project: $30,000 to support career readiness programs for young people ages 14-25
• Teacher Wellness Grants: $50,000 to restore and replenish the personal wellness of teachers in multiple southern Berkshire school districts

The William J. & Margery S. Barrett Fund and the Central Berkshire Fund will award grants later this year. The Fund for Columbia County and Northeast Dutchess Fund will also award additional grants for school-to-work projects and immigrant support programs, respectively.