Photo by Julia Jacobsson
Greetings from 1Berkshire’s Economic Development Team!
It’s been quite a year so far! We’ve been hard at work on some exciting events and projects since we last checked in. As a concept, economic development can be hard to define, but it connects to so many aspects of life in our region, from business to infrastructure, leadership development, and more. We thought this would be a great time to share news and let you know how you can connect to and get involved with what we’re working on!
What We’ve Been Up To
In September, 1Berkshire, the Berkshire Innovation Center, the Massachusetts Founders Network, and Valley Venture Mentors coordinated a Western Massachusetts Ecosystem Summit at the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield. This event welcomed over 50 economic development stakeholders from across the western four counties of Massachusetts to connect, share best practices, discuss cross-county collaboration, and map economic opportunities for Western Massachusetts. It was a great day filled with new information and connections and the spirit of collaboration!
Speaking of connections and collaboration, our Youth Leadership Program (which kicked off with an opening retreat in June) is now in full swing. Our first session in August took us to Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington to polish public speaking skills and determine the subject of the class project. The Class of 2025 has chosen a project focused on teen mental health, and will continue actively working on it throughout the year to come. Our September session took us to Bousquet Mountain in Pittsfield and focused on Outdoor Recreation. The class met with professionals in the field from Greenagers, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Happy Trails Guiding, and Bousquet to discuss careers in Outdoor Recreation and enjoyed afternoon activities including a mindfulness walk, scavenger hunt, and hike up Mahanna Cobble. Our October session (held virtually due to weather considerations) was focused on Food & Agriculture, and featured time for the class to connect with representatives from Roots Rising, Berkshire Grown, Mumbet’s Freedom Farm, and Berkshire Bounty. The class continues to bring great energy to learning about the region and their personal and professional development. You can learn more about our students and follow their sessions by following the Youth Leadership Program on Facebook!
1Berkshire has always been happy to lend our support to grant and project proposals for exciting work in our region. To date in 2024, we have supported grant proposals garnering over $983,000 coming to our region. We are thrilled to see so many good ideas receive funding in the Berkshires, and will be glad to provide letters of support in our capacities as the Regional Economic Development Organization and Regional Tourism Council that many grant applications seek. If you would like a letter of support for your grant proposal, please submit your request with this form. We ask for a two-week lead time, as major grant deadlines sometimes mean that we receive many requests all at once. Looking for grant opportunities? Check out Berkshire Funding Focus, which aggregates funding opportunities for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and school districts.
What We’re Working On Now
We continue to provide free business consultations to businesses large and small, from every phase in their business journeys (from “thinking about starting a business” to “thinking about selling my business and retiring”). During a business consultation, we learn about the entrepreneur’s business or business idea and ask questions that help us think about ways we might be able to help. Afterwards, we send a follow up email containing links to any resources we discussed and, with permission, make introductions to programs, partner organizations, and state agencies that might be able to assist. All of our consultations are completely free and confidential, and our consultations are open to anyone regardless of 1Berkshire membership. If you are a business owner or aspiring to be one, use this link to make an appointment for your free consultation today!
You may recall that 1Berkshire successfully applied to host an Economic Recovery Corps fellow. Cody Chamberlain, the region’s ERC Fellow, hit the ground running earlier this year. He has been actively working to build his network in the area with entrepreneurs and startups in order to help create and sustain a pipeline of young and local talent to startup businesses in the area. Part of this project has been the establishment of a pilot internship program, which will connect high school and college students throughout the county to small businesses and startups in the region to help those interns gain valuable experience while leveraging their abilities to enhance the capacity of their host businesses. You can learn more here. Is your business interested in hosting an intern? Click here to sign up! Are you interested in being an intern? Click here!
What to Look Forward To
1Berkshire has once again secured funding for technical assistance programming from the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Small Business Development program. Since 2021, 1Berkshire has been offering technical assistance programming as the Berkshire Economic Recovery Project, supporting over 260 hours of technical assistance programming for more than 100 small businesses through nearly 300 workshops and one-on-one sessions. Our first workshop will be “Jump Start Your Crowdfunding Campaign” with Laura Christensen, a crowdfunding expert who has helped multiple Berkshire businesses launch crowdfunding campaigns. The program begins with a 2-hour workshop (Thursday 11/21, 4-6pm) covering the basics of crowdfunding. Participants who complete the workshop will be eligible for up to 2 hours of one-on-one crowdfunding coaching with Laura. Seats are limited, so don’t wait to register. Keep an eye on 1Berkshire social media and eCommunications for news about other technical assistant opportunities.
Join us on Tuesday, November 26th at 4:30pm for November’s Entrepreneurial Meetup, hosted at Pop Up; North, Truffles by Tarah’s pop-up shop at 48 North Street. These informal events are great for seasoned entrepreneurs, people thinking about starting a business, and everyone in between! Connect with other entrepreneurs for networking over refreshments, then hear from owner Tarah H. Warner about her entrepreneurial journey! Free to attend, but registration is required. Register here: https://bit.ly/4eKRr62
Applications for the Youth Leadership Program’s Class of 2026 will be opening following the Thanksgiving break. Students participate in the program during their junior year, and applications are open to any student in a Berkshire County school (including public, private, and home schools) who is in the sophomore class. Keep an eye out for announcements about applications opening, and about potential visits to Berkshire schools.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this update on the Economic Development team’s work this year. For a fuller picture of what our team (and the 1Berkshire team as a whole) has been up to this year, consider joining us at 1Berkshire’s Annual Meeting beginning at 3pm on Thursday, December 12 at Barrington Stage Co.’s Boyd-Quinson stage, 30 Union Street in Pittsfield. Enjoy networking with other 1Berkshire members, learn about what 1Berkshire has been working on this year and some of our plans for the year to come, and celebrate the end of the year with us! Sponsorship opportunities still available!