Give to BCC

Your support, their success!

Dear BCC community,

As we embark upon the fall 2024 semester at BCC, we are thrilled to announce our highest enrollment in a decade, with over 1,700 students set to begin their educational journeys. Many of these students wouldn't be here without the generous support of donors like you.

The Commonwealth's MassReconnect and MassEducate programs are excellent initiatives for tuition-free access to community college for all Massachusetts residents and represent significant strides in educational affordability. However, these programs operate on a "last dollar" basis, stepping in only after other forms of financial aid have been exhausted.

A significant portion of our students still rely on financial support from BCC, making donations to our annual fund more crucial than ever. Thanks to generous donors like you, BCC awards more than 200 scholarships per year, totaling $400,000 last year alone.

And these scholarships mean much more than tuition assistance — they also support program funding, vital student services, childcare, transportation and the cutting-edge technology necessary to train the local workforce.

In essence, your contributions directly impact our students' futures, enabling residents of the Berkshires and beyond to overcome financial barriers and achieve their educational goals.

"I think a community college education is the best thing ever. It is a way that anyone can try it," says Professor of Sociology Stacy Evans. "We have no entrance requirements except for a high school degree or its equivalency. We want everybody. That, to me, is the beauty of a community college. Everybody gets to try."

Please help us break down financial barriers and ensure that "everybody gets to try" by making a gift to BCC today. With your generous support, we can advance our mission to provide affordable, high-quality education to all who seek it.

I hope your enthusiasm matches ours as we begin the 2024 – 2025 academic year. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for our students and for the Berkshires community we hold dear.

—Ellen Kennedy, President, Berkshire Community College

Give Now

Emergency Financial Aid: 50% of BCC students have issues relating to paying for college or meeting everyday needs

Academic Support: 44% of BCC students need help with study strategies, time management, test anxiety, and organizational skills, and 37% need tutoring

Campus Cupboard: 40% of BCC students have experienced food insecurity

Technology: 9% of BCC students do not have a personal computer and 13% use campus laptops or other technology

Transportation: 5% of BCC students have used campus supported transportation

% of BCC students surveyed fall 2023

BCC Foundation Annual Fund

When gifts from our alumni and friends are pooled together in the Annual Fund, we can do so much to improve the quality of the teaching and learning experience at BCC. Donations to the Annual Fund have an immediate impact on students' success in the form of lab equipment, State-of-the-Art Classrooms, Emergency Financial Aid, and other immediate college needs.

Thanks to the Annual Fund, BCC's students and faculty now have:

Enough microscopes for a full class to use at one time.
Equipment to teach Computer Information Systems students about network security.
A new piano, lighting and sound equipment in the Boland Theatre.
Video simulation and upgraded lab equipment in the Physical Therapy Assistant labs.
A canoe trailer, so Environmental Science students can study in the field.

Unrestricted gifts provide the greatest flexibility for the Foundation to support the greatest needs each year, though you may designate your gift to any academic program or student club.

Contact Us

foundation@berkshirecc.edu
413-236-2185

Give to OLLI

OLLI depends on the generosity of donors like you to support our educational programs and help us continue to serve our lifelong learning community.

Donate to OLLI

Shop Amazon™

When you shop at Amazon.com, Amazon Smile will donate to the BCC Foundation.

Scholarship Support

Over half of today's BCC students receive some form of financial aid, and scholarships are a wonderful way to invest in the future. The Foundation plans to distribute more than $370,000 in scholarships and aid during the 2022 – 2023 academic year.

Gift the BCC Foundation Scholarship Fund

Questions?

To inquire about funding a new scholarship, creating or supporting an endowed fund, or the 1960 Society, contact us at foundation@berkshirecc.edu or 413-236-2185.

Give a Gift of Stock

Review the instructions for funding a scholarship with a gift of stock
Download Gift of Stock (PDF)

Instructions for transferring stock to the BCC Foundation electronically through DTC (shares currently held at a bank, brokerage house, etc.) are below:

DTC (Depository Trust Company) Transfer

Step One

Direct your broker or custodian bank to make the transfer to the BCC Foundation. Your broker or custodian bank is likely to ask you for a letter of instruction before the transfer can be made. Provide the following DTC transfer information for the BCC Foundation to your broker or custodian bank:

Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
DTC Participant #: 0141
BCC Foundation Clearing Account #8716-9388
Reference: (donor name and purpose of gift)**
**without this note, gifts are difficult to identify.

Step Two

Notify the BCC Foundation of your gift. Send a copy of your letter of instructions to:

Email: twoodward@berkshirecc.edu
Phone: 413-236-2185
Mail: BCC Foundation, 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201

Please be sure the following information is included:

Your Name

Your Address

Name of Security

Number of Shares

Purpose of the Gift

Name of Brokerage

PLEASE NOTE: Your gift will be dated according to the day the shares enter the BCC Foundation's clearing account at Wells Fargo. The value of your gift will be based on that date. At busy times of the year, the DTC system can back up.

Year-end gift deadline for tax deductions: Please allow extra time for the transfer from your broker's account to the BCC Foundation's Wells Fargo account, and emphasize to your broker the importance of completing the transfer by December 31. When the 31st falls on a weekend, the transfer should be completed by the preceding Friday.

Endowed Gift to the BCC Foundation

You may choose to invest in future generations of Berkshire Community College students by creating an endowed fund with the BCC Foundation. When you create an endowed fund, the principal is invested in perpetuity and a portion of the earnings is used as the donor intends. The BCC Foundation Board and its Investment Committee are responsible for the oversight of all endowed accounts.

1960 Society

If you plan to leave a gift to the Berkshire Community College Foundation through your will or estate plan, we invite you to learn more about the 1960 Society. Planned gifts can create a permanent legacy and ensure a lasting impact on students' lives. The BCC Foundation can help you and your advisors create a gift that fits your life, your values and your charitable and financial goals.