Over 100 nonprofit leaders representing 40 organizations across the Pioneer Valley attended Florence Bank’s annual Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program reception to network and accept a total of $150,000 in awards.
The event took place at the Garden House in Look Park.
Voting takes place all year long, online at florencebank.com/vote and in bank branches, and each customer has only one vote. To qualify for a community grant, organizations must receive at least 50 votes. In 2024, over 7,500 votes were cast, making 40 nonprofits eligible for a grant.
One of the newest recipients was Stone Soup Café in Greenfield, which received $2,257. The nonprofit provides a pay-what-you-can, gluten-free, from-scratch meal and entertainment on Hope Street every Saturday between noon and 1:30 p.m. to about 200 people. The nonprofit also delivers meals to an additional 120 families.
Dakin Humane Society of Springfield received a $5,000 grant, as it has for the past 13 years. The nonprofit has received a Customers’ Choice grant each of the 23 years the program has been offered.
In addition, these organizations received a $5,000 grant: Amherst Survival Center, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Chicopee, Friends of Forbes Library in Northampton, Friends of Northampton Legion Baseball, Friends of the Williamsburg Library, Goshen Firefighters Association, Historic Northampton, It Takes A Village in Huntington, Northampton Survival Center, Our Lady of the Hills Parish in Haydenville and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Florence.
Along with Stone Soup, the following organizations also received an award: Bright Spot Therapy Dogs in West Brookfield, $4,626; Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, $4,552; Williamsburg Firefighters Association, $4,478; Manna Soup Kitchen in Northampton, $4,367; Friends of M.N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury, $4,182; Friends of Lilly Library in Florence, $4,034; Amherst Neighbors, $3,737; BARC, Inc. in Belchertown, $3,552; Ludlow Boys & Girls Club, $3,515; Kestrel Land Trust in Amherst, $3,293; Smith Vocational High School PTO in Northampton, $3,293; Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, $3,071; Easthampton Community Center, $3,034; Northampton Neighbors, $3,997; Thomas J O’Connor Adoption Center in Springfield, $2,849; Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst, $2,812; Northampton Community Music Center, $2,812; Northampton Youth Football, $2,812; Edward Hopkins Educational Foundation in Hatfield, $2,701; New Hingham Regional Elementary School PTO in Chesterfield, $2,701; Grow Food Northampton, Inc. in Florence, $2,516; Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Holyoke, $2,368; Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, $2,331; Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, $2,257; Safe Passage in Northampton, $1,998; and Northampton High School PTO, $1,850.
Visit florencebank.com/cc-2025 to view the complete list of grant recipients.
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Dakin Humane Society of Springfield has received a $10,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of its work western Massachusetts.
Since its founding in 1999, Petco Love has invested nearly $410 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. Petco Love helps find homes for pets in partnership with Petco and more than 4,000 organizations — like Dakin — across North America, with nearly 7 million pets adopted and counting.
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The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced the availability of $50 million in grant funding for state entities to implement solar and electrification projects. The announcement was made during a ribbon-cutting celebration for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority’s (PVTA) recently completed rooftop solar system at its Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility.
Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony attended the ceremony to celebrate the project, which is expected to save about $2 million over the life of the system and includes an energy storage system to offset peak demand.
PVTA’s 1,036-kW DC system is expected to provide over $100,000 in annual energy savings and generate 1,684 megawatt hours of clean electricity in its first year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 250 homes. PVTA will use 80% of the power generated onsite. The energy storage system will be scheduled to dispatch daily to offset peak demand, adding to the cost savings the solar system alone would provide.
