Registration Now Open for Nonprofit Leadership Conference

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SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation presents the 2023 Institute for Trustees (IFT), a virtual conference for nonprofit leaders and board members from March 28 to May 15.? 
 
The 2023 IFT will offer 18 educational workshops and networking opportunities led by experts in the nonprofit sector. Participants can sign up for any of the workshops on topics ranging from strategic planning and fundraising to inclusion and board development. The conference is presented collaboratively with several Massachusetts community foundations.? 
 
All nonprofit executive directors and board members serving Berkshire County, Mass., northwest Litchfield County, Conn., and Columbia and northeast Dutchess counties in New York are invited to attend the conference.? 
 
On March 28, Rachel Hatch, chief operating officer at Institute for the Future (IFTF) – a nonprofit research firm that helps organizations, communities, partners and leaders build resiliency – will kick off the 14th annual Institute for Trustees with a discussion that answers this question and more. Hatch will talk about the ways in which nonprofits and philanthropy will need to evolve to address the biggest shifts facing our sector in the coming decades: from a changing climate to the evolving world of work and more. 
 
"Collaboration and board leadership are key elements to organizational resiliency," said Peter Taylor, president of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. "It's fitting, therefore, for the state's community foundations to come together to offer support through the broad-reaching learning opportunity the IFT provides to our nonprofit partners as they work to build resiliency during times of change." 
 
To register for and learn more about the 2023 Institute for Trustees Virtual Conference, visit?www.eccf.org/nonprofits-grants/ift.
 Registration will cost $130. Full board registration is available for $550 with no limit on the number of board members who can attend.? 
 
 The 2023 Institute for Trustees is presented by Berkshire Taconic Foundation in collaboration with Essex County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts in Springfield and SouthCoast Community Foundation in New Bedford, Mass. 

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Elevated Mercury Level Found in Center Pond Fish

BECKET, Mass. — The state Department of Public Health has issued an advisory after a mercury-contaminated fish was found in Center Pond. 
 
According to a letter sent to the local Board of Health from the Division of Environmental Toxicology, Hazard Assessment and Prevention, elevated levels of mercury were measured in the sample taken from the pond. 
 
The concentration in the fish exceeded DPH's action level of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram, or parts per million. 
 
"This indicates that daily consumption of fish from the waterbody may pose a health concern. Therefore, DPH has issued a FCA for Center Pond recommending that sensitive populations should not eat chain pickerel and all other people should limit consumption of chain pickerel to 2 meals/month," the letter states.
 
The letter specifically points to chain pickerel, but the 60-acre pond also has largemouth and smallmouth bass and yellow perch.
 
The "sensitive populations" include children younger than 12, those who are nursing, pregnant, or who may become pregnant.
 
The Toxicology Division recommends reducing intake of "large, predatory fish" or fish that feed on the bottoms of waterbodies, such as largemouth bass and carp. More information on safely eating fish can be found here
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