The following Guidelines are intended to inform our communities about the Foundation's mission, priorities and application procedures. We invite your interest in our work, and welcome your participation and partnership.

MISSION

The mission of the Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc. 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 and economic 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 eastern New York State and southern Vermont served by Berkshire Bank.

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
• 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

Examples of priority education projects include 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 Foundation, Inc. will also give priority to education and community development applications that are:

• 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 contribution 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 Foundation also initiates its own projects and requests proposals from organizations or agencies within their jurisdiction to help carry out the project.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

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 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.

NEW APPLICANTS OR NEW PROGRAMS

Organizations seeking funds for the first time or seeking funds 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)

LIMITATIONS

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

Organizations that have been funded by the Foundation or one of its predecessor foundations (Berkshire Bank Foundation - Pioneer Valley & Greater Berkshire Foundation) for three consecutive years are not eligible to reapply for Foundation support for two years thereafter. 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.

The Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc. does 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 Foundation in several ways based on the size and type of donation being sought. These are:

1. Sponsorships
   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 or other activities for which the Bank receives promotional or community relations value. For these requests, no formal application is necessary.

2. Small Project Requests
   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. Large Project Requests
   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 clicking on the Foundation 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 Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 1308

Pittsfield, MA 01202-1308

Short Form

Long Form

Requests for $2,500 and below are accepted on a rolling basis. Requests for more than $2,500 are reviewed on a quarterly basis and are due on the first of March, June, September and December. Applicants are 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, Inc. charitable giving priorities and review criteria.

For further information, please call the Foundation’s office at (413) 447-1724 or (413) 447-1722.

Peter J. Lafayette

Foundation Executive Director

plafayette@berkshirebank.com

Revised November, 2009

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