Resilient Valley

The Resilient Valley Collaboration: Match My DAF Campaign

A shared and inspired vision for our Western Mass community that is sustainable, healthy, vibrant, and just for all. 

Your donations to this pool will match gifts given to good causes in the area and inspire others to give more generously.

Our goal is to raise $250,000 in matching funds to unleash the generosity of donors with donor advised funds in the CT River Valley of Western Massachusetts. Together we can encourage donors to unleash their generosity to help us meet unprecedented funding losses.

Over $251 billion is sitting in donor advised funds (DAFs), while local organizations have lost millions in federal funding over the last 6 months. Our goal is to inspire more giving with $250,000 in matching funds.

We are kicking off the campaign on GivingTuesday, December 2^nd, 2025.  When DAF holders commit to increase their DAF giving to local organizations by May 2026, the grants made to organizations in Hampden, Hampshire or Franklin counties become eligible for matches from ValleyDAFDown.

A coalition of climate, food system, and farm justice organizations began meeting two years ago to collaborate around joint fundraising. At a potluck gathering in March, we shared challenges of more than $3 million in federal grant losses.  The group began sharing their vision for a more resilient region that is at risk with the federal government's pull-back and attacks on our freedom and our shared future. 

 All of our local, beloved, community-serving organizations, non-profits, direct service providers, farms, hospitals, and regional higher educational institutions are better off together than apart in our efforts to respond. Is it possible that by working together, we will emerge stronger and better able to obtain the sustainable, healthy, vibrant, and just future for Western Mass that we all need? 

This collaborative fundraising campaign is the result of those conversations and the launching pad to build our resilient future together

The campaign will kick-off on Giving Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025.  When DAF holders commit to spend at least 10% more than last year from their DAF by the end of May 2026, the grants they make to CT River Valley organizations become eligible for dollar-for-dollar matches from #MatchMyDAF. After February 2, 2026 and again after May 2, 2026, we will randomly select  grants to be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000 – with 1 random raffle of $5,000

Organized by: Center for EcoTechnology, Grow Food Northampton, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Kestrel Land Trust, and the Peace Development Fund  Cosponsors: All Farmers, Amherst Survival Center, Cancer Connection, CISA, Hilltown Land Trust, Nuestras Raices, Northampton Survival Center, and  Stone Soup Cafe.