EASTHAMPTON - In an economic climate where assistance for nonprofits can be hard to come by, the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts is stepping up when it counts.

Fund officials announced Tuesday that they plan to allocate $500,000 in grants over the next two years to programs that serve women and girls in the western four counties.

The commitment represents a 150 percent increase from amounts granted over the previous two years.

The "springboard" that made such a commitment possible, said Executive Director Carla Oleska, is an anonymous $300,000 donation in September from a woman who said she had received the money from her mother and wanted to give it to community efforts.

"We will steward this gift very carefully," Oleska said. "We have to keep making sure we're strengthening the social fabric."

Oleska said that the fund's board of directors fully understands the kind of fundraising it will need to accomplish to dole out a half million dollars, but said that she takes solace in steady private donations the fund is currently receiving, even before the large donation last year.

"We still have a region filled with wonderful people," she said.

Oleska said that the fund's endowment is currently around $3 million, after taking a 20 percent hit in the market.

But in tight times, nonprofits struggle even harder for funding, a fact that ultimately led to the decision to increase grant amounts, Oleska said.

"The need and what we focus on takes long-term commitment," she said. "There's no quick fix for economic justice, education and safety from violence.

One of many organizations in the region happy to hear the news Tuesday was the Amherst-based Youth Action Coalition.

Executive Director Stacey Lennard said that Women's Fund grants have made a photography program called "Girl's Eye View" possible for several different years.

"It's about giving young women a safe place to dialogue about what's important to them," she said.

The Women's Fund has decided to raise the cap on grants that can go to a given organization from $10,000 to $20,000 and has also decided to reinstate multiyear grants.

"It's like manna from heaven when you receive a multiyear grant," Oleska said. "It eases you up for a bit. You're sure of something."

Lennard couldn't agree more.

"It allows you to plan for the future," she said.

Grant proposals are due Feb. 2, and awards will be announced in May, Oleska said.

Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.