1Berkshire, thanks in part to funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation (PERC), is excited to announce its upcoming slate of technical assistance offerings through the Berkshire Economic Recovery Program (BERP).

Through its highly successful series of cohorts spanning over five years, the Berkshire Economic Recovery Program Technical Assistance series has been able to support more than 250 businesses through targeted training and focused convenings, resulting in notable business improvements, and quantified by over $3,000,000 in funding collectively accessed by businesses through their participation. Going into the Spring of 2026, the program is excited to continue with four educational cohorts. These cohorts will each provide between five to seven participating organizations/businesses support through a two-hour kick-off workshop with learning resources and specific actionable guidance, followed by up to two additional hours of one-on-one direct targeted technical assistance by the workshop expert. 1Berkshire, through competitive grant funding secured from the USDA and partnership support from PERC, is able to provide this high-impact service at no cost to businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations located in any of the 32 cities and towns of Berkshire County, representing more than $1,000 in  direct value per business in each cohort.

The upcoming cohort kickoff dates are:

  • April 23rd, 9am-11am – Building a Social Media Marketing Strategy, with Francesca Olsen
  • April 27th, 4pm-6pm – Turning Retail Visuals into Revenue: Ins and Outs of Visual Merchandising, with Alex LaValley
  • May 7th, 4pm-6pm – Exploring Employee Ownership, with Kevin Pink
  • May 13th, 8:30am-10am – Succession Planning for Small Businesses: Understanding Your Options and Preparing for Transition, with Robin Helfand

Because the BERP Technical Assistance is FREE, each cohort has a capacity of between five to seven participants; space is very limited, and registration is required. For details on these technical assistance offerings and more, please visit: https://1berkshire.com/economic-development/businesses/

For more information, or for additional inquiries, please contact the 1Berkshire Economic Development Team at EconomicDev@1berkshire.com.