Deb Lans is passionate about helping her community. When she moved to Columbia County full-time in 2017, she began deepening her volunteer work with local nonprofits to better understand the community and meet new people. It was through her involvement with nonprofits that she first encountered Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. She has found that connecting with BTCF has been a great way to learn even more about the local nonprofit landscape and get an in-depth perspective on the region.

A Family Tradition

Lans traces her philanthropic roots to her family’s tradition of giving. “My grandmother set up a small, private foundation, and when she passed away, my mother, brothers, and I took it on,” said Lans. This tradition continues to unite Lans and her siblings, who live outside of Columbia County. Each year, they discuss the issues and organizations they will support through the family foundation, whether for their respective communities or a shared purpose.

Nonprofits Collaborate for Solutions

Childcare, early literacy, health care, the environment, and housing are causes that Lans supports through her Donor Advised Fund at BTCF. “There are lots of wonderful local organizations addressing these issues…It’s actually incredible. Yet, they don’t always rise to the surface.”

One of the nonprofits Lans has supported is Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood (GHPN), which has a focus on early literacy. GHPN also addresses a variety of other community needs. The nonprofit strengthens support networks throughout Hudson by advocating for change and finding connections between issues like legal system reform and direct support to families. Lans recognizes that in a rural setting, it is important to support solutions that help overcome site-specific barriers. “It’s our backyard. It’s a fantastic county, and yet, there’s plenty of need. Rural counties have challenges that are different from urban settings.”

Land conservation is a central issue in Columbia County, which has abundant natural landscapes and farmland that is falling out of use. Thoughtful approaches to land use and development become critical: “How these landscapes are preserved versus the needs of the community is crucial, and it’s tricky to balance all the factors.” Lans, a member of the President’s Council at the Columbia Land Conservancy, points out, for example, that the conservancy’s expertise in land assessment can be put to good use for site evaluation for housing initiatives. “The Land Conservancy is actively working with affordable housing groups to meld the needs of the communities.”

Contributing & Connecting

Lans also serves the community as a member of the Board of Trustees for Columbia Memorial Health where she was Board Chair during the height of the pandemic. And as a contributing writer for the local news outlet, The Columbia Paper, Lans skillfully links national issues, like childcare, water quality, and housing affordability, to the dynamics of the local community. Lans says, “When organizations can build bridges between needs and connect the dots for people experiencing similar things even in the same county, that can be very powerful.”