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Mission
To strengthen Shelburne Falls and neighboring West County communities by investing in gathering places, civic life, and practical skills — including digital literacy — so neighbors of every age can belong, learn, and earn.
Established 1968 · Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts
A foundation supporting our community — now and in the digital era.
For more than fifty years we have invested in the places and organizations that hold this village together. Today we are adding a second charge: helping neighbors learn the tools that turn digital work into a living.
Who we are
A quiet foundation with a public purpose.
Shelburne Falls Community House Inc. is a Massachusetts charitable foundation, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 04-6044077). Public filings describe our work as community improvement: grants and support that keep local gathering places, recreation, and historical memory alive.
We are not a large staffed agency. We are a board-led foundation that converts patient capital into annual support for organizations such as the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, Friends of Buckland Recreation, and the Buckland Historical Society — and, now, into digital skills training and digital-grant navigation for residents who want to work and create online.
Salmon Falls and the glacial potholes, a short walk from the village center we exist to serve.
What we stand for
Mission and vision
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Vision
A village where historic roots and modern tools meet: residents can still gather in a community house, walk a flowered bridge, and also publish work, host a site, edit a film, or use AI with enough skill to make a living in the digital world.
How we work
Three commitments, one village.
01
Community grants
We continue the foundation’s original work: patient, local grants that keep community buildings, recreation, and historical memory in good repair.
02
Digital skills for a living
We teach AI for work, digital arts, video and image editing, social content and vlogging, basic websites and web apps, hosting, and how those skills become income.
03
Digital grant navigation
We look for every nonprofit technology grant and in-kind program that can serve our learners and improve the organization itself.
From public filings
A long record of local support.
Figures below are drawn from publicly available Form 990-PF summaries. They describe a small foundation with meaningful assets and a consistent habit of paying grants into the village.
1968 Year the IRS recognized the organization
$1.4M Approximate assets in the most recent public filing
$62k Grants paid in the 2025 filing year
0 Paid staff — a volunteer board does the work
Workshops are designed for neighbors who may be new to digital tools, not for professional technologists.
Adapting in public
The community house, updated for the tools people now work with.
A foundation that only writes checks can miss the people who never apply. The digital turn is our attempt to meet residents where the economy has already moved: cameras in their pockets, storefronts that live on a domain, and jobs that expect comfort with AI, editing, and publishing.
Classes are practical. A participant should leave able to publish a video, stand up a simple site, host their own work, or use an AI assistant on a real task — and know which of those skills can be offered for pay.
Browse skills tracksSoon
Technology partnerships under review.
We are preparing applications and onboarding for nonprofit programs that reduce the cost of the tools our learners need. None of these marks should be read as a current sponsorship until the partnership page says otherwise.
Coming soon
Goodstack for Nonprofits
Donation infrastructure for organizations that are ready to receive online gifts cleanly.
Coming soon
Canva for Nonprofits
Design tools for flyers, social posts, and workshop materials.
Coming soon
Adobe for Nonprofits
Professional image, video, and document tools for digital arts tracks.
Coming soon
ElevenLabs for Nonprofits
Voice tools that can help accessibility, narration, and learning materials.
Coming soon
Microsoft for Nonprofits
Productivity and cloud credits that keep a small foundation running without a large IT budget.
An open door
Write us if you want to learn, teach, or give.
The official contact address is [email protected]. Mail reaches P.O. Box 232, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370.