Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Awarded $50K Barr Foundation Grant

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC) is the recipient of a $50,000 grant (over two years) from the Boston-based Barr Foundation. 
 
"This grant is the largest gift in our 9-year history," NPC founder Liana Toscanini said. "It's transformational in that it will allow us to focus on strategic planning and organizational growth to better serve Berkshire nonprofits."
 
Founded in 1997, Barr has grown to become one of the largest private foundations in New England. This grant extends from Barr's Sector Effectiveness grantmaking, which aims to strengthen organizations dedicated to helping New England nonprofits thrive and sustainably achieve their missions. 
 
According to a press release, NPC serves as a support and infrastructure organization for the large Berkshire nonprofit sector, helping nonprofits connect, learn and grow. The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires is planning for growth to meet increasing demand from nonprofits for higher-level trainings, more networking events, resource-sharing and advocacy.  
 
"At Barr, we believe that thriving and robust nonprofits don't happen by accident," said Rory Neuer, Senior Learning Officer. "They depend in part upon a strong ecosystem of supports and services. The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires plays a vital role in helping organizations across the Berkshires connect, learn, and grow. We're excited to invest in NPC's work, and in turn, position nonprofits across the region for greater impact."
 
"There aren't many grants for sector infrastructure," added Toscanini. "We're honored to be recognized for the unique work we do, and grateful to Barr and its investment in NPC and the Berkshires."

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Friperie Berkshires Moves to New Great Barrington Location

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Friperie Berkshires has moved to new quarters on Bridge Street and will reopen this Friday, Feb. 13.

Owner Elizabeth Conkey has relocated her store from Lee above the Berkshire Co-op at 34 Bridge St., in Suite 101. 

The space is twice the size of her former spot in Lee, which is better for her, she said, because she needed it to add more services for her customers.

"I've been looking for a permanent space to land, and this space is perfect, because it's twice the size of where I was and I needed more room because I'm going to start doing men's and children's clothing as well," she said.

Besides adding more clothing, she will also be implementing a wardrobe service for her customers. 

"In addition to just constantly stocking the store and finding treasures, I started offering a capsule wardrobe service," Conkey said. "So it has three tiers, and basically, people can hire me depending on what tier of offering they're interested in, and I will go and thrift specifically for them based on a mood board that they send me from Pinterest, or just a file folder of photos that they like."

Conkey kept the Lee storefront through the summer and had been renting a space in Great Barrington from a friend. She finally found her new space around New Year's, and will be launching a website.

She is excited to open just a short distance from where she was. 

"I've really grown pretty exponentially in the past six months. I'm launching a website. I'm so thrilled with the growth. So it just seems like appropriate to finally move into the forever space, and have room to spread out and offer more categories of clothing," she said.

She also wanted to express her gratitude for her customers and friends' support to keep her dream alive.

"I am just so grateful to the people who have continued to shop in my store from the day it opened. Through the holidays, I had an incredible holiday season, and I just felt so grateful to everybody for telling their friends at my store, sharing about what they bought on Instagram, encouraging co-workers to come in," Conkey said. "It's been such a gift to feel welcomed by the community, and I feel like now my customers are becoming my friends, and I'm just excited to start this new chapter and never have to move all of this inventory ever again."

She will be open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. She encourages people to check her Instagram for updates on clothes and her store.

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