Berkshire Organizations Partner to Launch New Website to Help Grant Seekers

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Funding Focus (BFF), a new initiative established to support Berkshire County entities seeking federal and state funds for pandemic-related recovery and rebuilding, launched its website in November.
 
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and several partner agencies joined to form BFF in response to a need for a clearinghouse focused on the investment of COVID-19 recovery dollars into the region, to improve the well-being of community members. The initiative provides support for four core groups of potential grant seekers: non-profits, municipalities, school districts, and entrepreneurs.
 
According to a press release, Berkshire County needs financial resources to recover, rebuild, and revive. An unprecedented amount of federal and state dollars are available, beginning with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), and continuing through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the Inflation Reduction Act.
 
Berkshire Funding Focus is here to serve the region as a clearinghouse that:
  • Curates state and federal funding announcements
  • Builds capacity by offering regular training programs for potential applicants
  • Convenes potential partners to explore collaborative and competitive proposals
  • Consults with organizations seeking assistance to help answer questions and navigate applications
"Berkshire Funding Focus is already providing benefits," said Karen Pelto, Recovery Grant Specialist. "We've been able to convene groups to partner on grant applications that will be more competitive and more impactful for the region."
 
The Berkshire Funding Focus website launched on Nov. 1, immediately offering a suite of resources to small businesses, entrepreneurs, cities or towns, school districts, colleges, and non-profits across the Berkshires. A full calendar of workshops and webinars to help grant seekers create stronger applications and be better prepared to manage funds can be found on the website, along with a resource library containing guidance on grant writing, including glossaries to help decipher terminology used by grant makers. In the "opportunities" section, a curated list of currently available grants can be sorted by category (what type of work the grant will fund) topics (what the funders want to support) and audience (who is eligible to receive the funding.)
 
Members of the initiative's Advisory Committee include Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, which serves as the host agency, along with 1Berkshire, BERK-12, Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Black Economic Council, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Berkshire United Way, Health Resources in Action, Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and Volunteers in Medicine.

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Companion Corner: Fox at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and energetic dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for his new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Fox is a 3-year-old Pomeranian who has been at the shelter for about a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Fox. 

"He's a bundle of joy. He would love a family who's home with him a lot, because he's just, he's very social and wants to be with his people a lot. And he would be fun to bring out and about, bring a lot of places, because he's very happy to go anywhere," she said.

When Fox enters the room he is immediately a puffball of energy that goes around and around the room.

He came to the shelter after his former owner could not take care of him anymore. 

"The owner was just not able to care for him anymore. Had he came in with another dog, Wolf, and she already did find her forever home just last week," said Olivieri. "The two of them were left with a friend of the original owner, and the owner did not come back to pick them up, and the friend had too many animals in the house, and too much going on, and she just couldn't continue to look after them, so they did end up coming to us."

Fox can go home with cats and children but is not recommended to go home with other dogs as he gets too excited.

"He would love a home where people are home quite a bit to give him all the attention that he so desires. He loves kids. He absolutely adores children. So he would like a home with kids to play with. He could live with cats. We are saying that he should not live with other dogs. The only reason is that he gets very humpy, and he does not leave the other dogs alone," she said.

With his energy it is recommended he goes to a home that can keep him active whether walks or hikes and even fetch in the yard.

Fox does need to learn more about walking on a leash and has a tendency to mark in the house but he was recently neutered. Olivieri said belly bands will be sent home with whoever adopts him to help prevent marking and managing it.

"He would like an active home. He really does like to go for walks daily. He likes to run around in the yard. He does need a little work on leash walking. He sometimes gets a little tangled still under your feet, and he's learning how to walk on a leash," she said. "So, someone who's got some patience and some time to work on some training with him."

"He also is not fully potty trained, so he does know to go potty outside. However, he will still mark, urinate in the house sometimes, and he might poop here and there in the house."

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