Planning and Technical Assistance Grant Program

The Planning and Technical Assistance Grant Program by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation aims to support nonprofits in enhancing their organizational capabilities. With up to $10,000 available, the program encourages capacity-building projects, such as strategic planning and board development, especially for organizations with budgets under $1 million. This initiative, which has a rolling deadline until funding is exhausted, prioritizes projects that demonstrate clear needs and potential for long-term impact on community service.

Program Information
To help our region’s nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers better achieve their missions, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation regularly offers grant funding, workshops, learning opportunities and leadership development.
In addition to this support, we also recognize that from time to time nonprofits have a need or an opportunity to engage in a capacity building project that requires immediate additional resources. These projects can range from strategic planning assistance, board development, organizational assessments, evaluating business models and fundraising strategies, to website and database enhancements.
In response to this need, the foundation is piloting a Planning and Technical Assistance grant program with a rolling deadline that will remain open until approximately $60,000 in funding is expended.
We seek to provide flexible funding to allow an organization to seize an opportunity to refine their strategy, invest in board development, and evaluate and refine program delivery at a time when their missions are needed most by the communities they serve.
Organizations with defined projects approved by their boards are encouraged to apply. Project proposals should be able to illustrate how investing in this capacity building strategy now will result in enhanced organizational strength, resiliency, or effectiveness and how this hoped for outcome will result in the ability to advance their mission.
Priority will be given to organizations with operating budgets under $1 million annually. Foundation staff in making decisions will also seek to ensure there is proportional funding across the foundation’s region.
Project Examples
For information purposes only (similar projects are not guaranteed funding):
Hire a consultant to assist your organization in strategic planningHire an outside facilitator to conduct board listening sessions on roles and responsibilitiesPay for technical assistance training in building organizational capacity (finance, HR, fundraising)Hire a consultant to do an organizational assessmentTraining for current staff to implement new technology (CRM, website, database, etc.)
Review Criteria
Applications will be reviewed fairly and competitively on a rolling basis using the following criteria:
Impact of the organization on the residents of the Berkshire Taconic region.Potential impact of the proposed capacity building project on the longer-term effectiveness of the organization.Demonstrated need for BTCF funding at this point in time.Readiness of the organization to implement proposed project, as communicated by the applicant (e.g., organization history, organization health and/or capacity goals, or significant changes to the organization).
Awards
Grants range up to $10,000 for a single year.

Eligibility

Applicants must:Be incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization or operate under fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3) organization.Have operated with active programming for at least three years.Be based in and serve residents of the Berkshire Taconic region of Berkshire, Columbia, northeast Dutchess and northwest Litchfield counties. Fiscal sponsors may be located outside of the region.Not include in its by-laws or practice discrimination against a person or group on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief.Have a funding need that is not eligible for consideration by a Berkshire Taconic area fund or have a funding need that falls outside an area fund’s grantmaking cycle.