HOLYOKE — On Thursday, May 21, more than 100 nonprofit leaders, donors, and community advocates will gather for the second and final Resilient Valley Community Lunch of 2026 at De la Luz in Holyoke. The event is a celebration of collective power, marking a major milestone in a collaborative effort to unlock local philanthropic dollars in response to the abrupt cancellation of federal aid for Pioneer Valley communities.

The lunch gathering will focus on what Resilient Valley could become as it seeks expanded engagement, insight, and input from nonprofit organizations, donors, and volunteers throughout Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties.

During the lunch, the coalition will announce the outcomes of its Match My DAF (donor advised fund) campaign, which received 224 grant submissions in its second round totaling $665,000. Of that, $305,000 is eligible for matches to support critical work happening across the Valley. Overall, more than $170,000 has been raised for the matching pool thanks to individual donors, Greenfield Savings Bank, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Franklin First Credit Union, PeoplesBank, and Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee.

“When times get tough, we either grow apart and disappear or come together and collaborate to emerge stronger. We knew, when the federal government walked away from the issues facing our communities, such as hunger, the environment, farms, housing, and supporting the disenfranchised, we had to move toward each other. Resilient Valley has turned into a powerful vehicle for community resilience,” said Billy Spitzer, executive director of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, a coalition member. “We can keep our Valley’s communities, landscapes, and shared future thriving only if we act together.”

The campaign’s first lottery for matching grants was held on Feb. 2 and distributed just under $75,000 in matching funds to nonprofits representing a diverse cross-section of area communities, with missions spanning from hunger and farms to workers’ rights and environmental conservation. On May 21, an additional $95,000 in matching funds will be distributed.

The coalition includes All Farmers, Amherst Survival Center, Cancer Connection, CET, CISA, the Conway School, Grow Food Northampton, Hilltown Land Trust, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Kestrel Land Trust, Mass Audubon, Northampton Survival Center, Nuestras Raices, Peace Development Fund, Stone Soup Café, and committed donors and volunteers.

AMHERST — Less than two weeks remain for donors to nominate their donor-advised fund (DAF) gift to nonprofits in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden counties to be matched dollar-for-dollar through Resilient Valley’s Match-My-DAF initiative.

Resilient Valley is a new initiative born from a simple but urgent realization: nonprofits are stronger when they collaborate rather than compete for dwindling resources.

In February, Resilient Valley gave away nearly $75,000 in matching funds through its Match-My-DAF campaign to support the critical work happening across the region. The nonprofit recipients represented a diverse cross-section of local communities, spanning environmental conservation, farms, food justice, education, the arts, and social services. The next random selection for matching funds is set to take place on May 1.

“Resilient Valley is a powerful statement of community resilience,” said Billy Spitzer, coalition member and executive director of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. “It isn’t just about the funding; it is about a firm belief that we can keep our Valley’s communities, landscapes, and shared future thriving if we act together.”

All remaining matching funds will be distributed to nonprofits randomly selected for dollar-for-dollar matches of up to $5,000. These matches encourage people to support local organizations through their donor-advised funds and nominate those gifts for a match. Any DAF gift of $250 or more given to a Valley organization from Dec. 2, 2025 through May 1, 2026 is eligible to be nominated.

More than $150,000 has already been raised for the matching funds thanks to individual donors and businesses like Greenfield Savings Bank, Franklin First Credit Union, PeoplesBank, Dean’s Beans, and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

The coalition includes All Farmers, Amherst Survival Center, Cancer Connection, CET (Center for EcoTechnology), CISA, Conway School of Landscape Design, Grow Food Northampton, Hilltown Land Trust, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Kestrel Land Trust, Northampton Survival Center, Nuestras Raices, Peace Development Fund, Stone Soup Café, and committed community residents.

To learn more and join the movement, visit www.resilientvalleyma.org.

WESTERN MASS. — A coalition of local nonprofits working in farming, conservation, food security, health, and environmental justice has come together under the name Resilient Valley to respond to devastating federal funding cuts that have slashed organizational budgets by 25% to 40% or more.

The group will host a virtual community discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at noon to explore how donor-advised funds (DAFs) could be mobilized to protect the region’s communities, landscapes, and shared future. The webinar is open to the public. Community members, donors, and funders are invited to register at bit.ly/48Hrx37.

The coalition began taking shape earlier this year when a handful of nonprofit leaders gathered informally over a potluck meal. “We realized we were all telling the same story,” said Billy Spitzer, executive director of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. “Our budgets had been gutted overnight, and the ripple effects were only beginning. That day, we decided we couldn’t face this crisis in isolation. We needed to find strength in each other.”

Since then, the group has grown to include more than a dozen organizations, from land trusts to food banks to community health advocates. Together, they are working to document the scale of funding losses, speak out about the resulting harm, and explore innovative ways to sustain their missions.

One such possibility, slated as the topic of the Oct. 15 webinar, is to advocate for the distribution of donor-advised funds, which are charitable investment accounts that allow donors to make tax-deductible contributions of cash, stocks, and other assets to sponsoring public entities like foundations or banks.

“Across the U.S., more than $251 billion is currently sitting in DAFs. Essentially, these dollars are already committed to serving the community, but they haven’t been distributed,” said Lora Wondolowski, director of Advancement and Communications at the Peace Development Fund. “During coalition conversations, we were inspired by the national Half My DAF movement, which incentivizes donors to spend down their DAFs through funding matches. Could we do something like that in the Valley?”

Representatives from the Half My DAF initiative will speak during the webinar to share insights on how local communities can leverage the model.

The Resilient Valley Coalition is organized and sponsored by Amherst Survival Center, Cancer Connection, Center for EcoTechnology, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Grow Food Northampton, Hilltown Land Trust, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Kestrel Land Trust, Northampton Survival Center, Nuestras Raíces, Peace Development Fund, and Stone Soup Café.