Kids and adults jump and play the drums on stage.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Sheffield, Massachusetts

Founded in 1987, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) serves Berkshire County, Massachusetts, northwest Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Columbia and northeast Dutchess Counties, New York. BTCF’s mission is to bring together people, ideas, and resources to address critical issues and improve lives around the region.

Annually, BTCF awards more than $7 million in grants and scholarships from 550 funds whose assets total $135 million. BTCF focuses on early childhood development, affordable housing, access to fresh and healthy food, and nonprofit capacity building, especially leadership development. BTCF’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence offers a comprehensive set of trainings to help nonprofit leaders think strategically, govern effectively, and operate efficiently. A Creative Commonwealth grant of $500,000 will support BTCF's pilot, the Berkshire Arts and Creativity Initiative, in 2018 and 2019. The initiative aims to strengthen community cohesion and more meaningfully engage communities by increasing the access to and participation in the arts and creativity. Through the Initiative, BTCF will conduct research to identify ways to increase arts engagement among young people and in communities of color; distribute grants to local organizations to test new ideas for increasing engagement; and develop new curriculum for nonprofit organizations to deepen their community engagement.

"Being a part of the Creative Commonwealth initiative will allow us to partner with cultural organizations and local residents to test new approaches to community engagement while strengthening the arts as a sector."–Peter Taylor, President

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) is a tax-exempt public charity founded in 1987, created by and for the people of the Berkshire Taconic region. For 30 years, the Foundation has been helping people establish charitable funds to make life better in the communities they love. BTCF works with individuals, families, businesses, financial advisors and nonprofits.