Berkshire Bank Foundations Grant Application Guidelines

The following Guidelines are intended to inform our communities about the Foundations' mission, priorities, and operating and application procedures. We invite your interest in our work, and welcome your participation in seeking to strengthen our communities and improve the lives of those who live here.

MISSION

The mission of the Berkshire Bank Foundations is to strengthen our communities and improve the quality of life for those who live in them. We seek to fulfill our mission by supporting (1) community development activities, and (2) programs that will enhance educational opportunities for the children and adults of Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts, and communities in New York State and southern Vermont served by Berkshire Bank.

STRATEGIC FOCUS

Consistent with our mission and values, the Foundations' grantmaking focuses primarily on improving the quality of life in our communities by:

1. Supporting organizations and projects committed to community and/or economic development

Examples of priority community development projects include:

• programs that encourage entrepreneurship and economic development
• projects that help revitalize low-income neighborhoods and downtown centers
• the development or retention of affordable housing
  
• projects that promote economic diversity and community growth
• programs that help economically disadvantaged persons play a stronger role in the local economy
• programs that help better prepare people-at-risk for the workforce
• programs that support the growth and strengthening of communities

2. Enhancing educational opportunity for the children and adults of our communities

Examples of priority education projects are those that:

• create educational opportunity and foster skill development, particularly for those who are economically disadvantaged or low performing
• represent innovative efforts to improve educational outcomes and skill development, through such programs as early childhood development, tutoring programs, mentoring, school retention and adult literacy programs
• help deserving students access higher education through scholarship programs
• enhance creativity through arts education and student access to cultural institutions, particularly for those who are low performing in school
• financial literacy programs
• environmental education projects

FUNDING CRITERIA AND PRIORITIES

The Berkshire Bank foundations will also give priority to education and community development applications that are:

• Efforts targeting disadvantaged communities or populations - those with significant unmet needs - in order to help build sustainable communities and to help individuals lead independent lives
• Results-oriented programs that positively affect the lives of the people they serve
• Programs in which our contributions can make a long-term measurable, sustainable difference in the quality of an agency's work, and/or on the lives of the people they serve
• Programs that evidence partnership and collaboration among organizations and agencies that seek to address or solve critical problems in common cause
• Programs in which Foundation funds will leverage other funding or resources

The Foundations may also seek to generate particular interest in a proactive initiative by requesting proposals from organizations or agencies within their jurisdiction.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

To be considered for grant funding organizations must:

• Be recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization
• Be located in or provide service in Berkshire Bank's market areas as described above
• Submit a completed Foundation application and provide such other documentation as may be requested.

Organizations seeking funds for the first time or for a new program or a capital project must submit a "Letter of Intent" before submitting a proposal. These letters will be reviewed and the organizations notified if they are invited to submit a full proposal. The letter should be no more than two pages long and include the following information:

• Organization Overview/Purpose
  
• State Reason for and Amount of Funding Request
  
• Describe Needs or Problem (including target population, statistics, examples)
  
• Describe Project or Program
  
• List other Project Funders (prospective and committed)

The Foundations will consider no more than one application per year from any single non-profit organization.

Organizations that have been funded by one of the Foundations for three consecutive years are not eligible to reapply for foundation support for two years thereafter. For purposes of this Guideline, "Year One" will be considered 2006 for those organizations that received Foundation funding in that year. This Guideline is intended to help encourage and ensure that agencies and organizations remain entrepreneurial in their efforts to obtain funds from a variety of funding sources.

LIMITATIONS

The Berkshire Bank Foundations do not generally support:

• Religious organizations, unless the grant will support a project that will benefit the community at large
  
• Fraternal, labor and political organizations, including fraternal orders of police and firefighters
  
• Lobbying groups
  
• Private foundations
  
• Intermediary organizations that raise and distribute funds in their own name
  
• Golf tournaments or fundraising dinners
  
• Annual memberships and annual appeals
  
• Endowments
  
• Underwriting support for conferences or seminars
  
• National programs that do not primarily serve the Foundations areas of geographical focus
  
• Individuals

GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

Non-profit organizations may apply for funding from the Bank foundations in several ways based on the size and type of donation being sought. These are:

1. Organizations seeking sponsorships for events or programs for less than $1,000.00 should submit a letter summarizing the key points of the event, the amount of the request, the benefits that Berkshire Bank will receive as a sponsor and a copy of the organization’s 501(c) 3 tax exempt determination letter from the IRS. Sponsorships might include purchasing ads or giving other forms of support for fundraising events, sports teams or other activities for which the Bank receives promotional, entertainment or community relations value.
2. Organizations seeking financial support of $2,500.00 or less for specific programs or projects (not of a sponsorship nature), should submit the Short Form application found below.
3. Organizations seeking financial support for more than $2,500.00 for specific projects or programs should submit the Long Form application found below.

Applications can be downloaded from the Berkshire Bank website: www.berkshirebank.com and click on the Charitable Foundations link, or by clicking below. Applicants in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York State should submit one copy of the application and all required supplemental materials. Applicants in Hampden and Hampshire Counties in Massachusetts should submit two (2) copies of the application and all required materials. All applications should be mailed to:

Berkshire Bank Foundations
P.O. Box 1308
Pittsfield, MA 01202

Short Form

Long Form

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. Funding decisions are made quarterly in March, June, September and December and applicants are, therefore, encouraged to submit their applications well in advance of any program or event deadline.

Funding decisions are based on available resources and the degree to which proposals meet Berkshire Bank Foundation charitable giving priorities and review criteria.

For further information, please call the Foundation’s office at (413) 447-1724.

Peter J. Lafayette
Foundation Executive Director

November, 2007