The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation wants to help make communities stronger by funding local programs designed to bring people with different viewpoints together.

“This grant program is aimed at really building off that strength, that instinct to come together, and to create opportunities for groups at the community level to do just that,”​ said Peter Taylor, President of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.

Taylor says he felt it was necessary after witnessing the division in communities across the country sparked by the pandemic, racial injustice protests, and the presidential election.

“All of these forces have the potential to divide us, but also have the potential to bring us together. In this region in particular, in the Berkshires and the broader region served by the foundation, we have a heritage of coming together in a time of challenge,” said Taylor.

Nonprofits, schools, local governments, and faith-based organizations will be eligible for grants up to $2,500. Taylor says some of the funded programs could include community forums, arts programs, and service projects.

“The relationships and the trust and the reciprocity that is achieved through doing a joint activity can have long lasting positive effect for communities.”

Taylor says all the programs will have to comply with COVID-19 safety regulations, but he’s excited to see what proposals the community comes up with.

“There is great imagination and creativity in this region, and a strong and vibrant nonprofit community that does this type of organizing,” said Taylor.

The deadline to apply for the program is December 1, and Taylor says they hope to be able to start awarding grants by Christmas.​