AMHERST — A $2.5 million donation from Amherst College will support the Amherst and regional schools, the town’s emergency services, and infrastructure work downtown over the next three years, as well as one of two municipal building projects the town is undertaking.

The college announced last Thursday that it is committing $750,000 each year over the next three fiscal years — 2026, 2027 and 2028 — to be divided equally between the budgets for the public schools, the fire and ambulance services, and roads, sidewalks and other public infrastructure in the downtown Business Improvement District.

On top of that, an extra $250,000 is being earmarked for the town to direct either toward a new fire station in South Amherst, with town officials considering placing that building at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course site, or a new Department of Public Works building to replace the deteriorating century-old trolley barn where operations are currently housed.

Amherst College President Michael A. Elliott said in a statement that the donation shows the deep commitment to the long-term success of and partnership with the town, and that he believes communities surrounding the college are an essential component of students’ educational experience.

“Our direct support of its municipal institutions will further the critical role that they play for Amherst citizens, including so many at the college,” Elliott said. “We look forward to continued dialogue with town leaders in our effort to be good listeners and a thoughtful, strategic partner in tackling the challenges ahead.”

Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman thanked the college for its contribution, said he looks forward to continuing a dialogue with Elliott and other college leaders, observing the significant role the college plays in the town’s economic and intellectual vitality.

“Beyond that, the college is a valued partner in addressing the many challenges before us,” Bockelman said in a statement. “These financial contributions are a generous recognition of our shared needs and values. A vibrant, fiscally stable town is vital to the success of Amherst College.”

Both the Amherst BID and Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce put out statements via social media.

“This is a model for what investment in a cultural college community looks like,” the Amherst BID wrote, while the chamber hailed “stronger sidewalks, stronger connections, stronger town-gown partnerships.”

The latest donation comes after the 2023 announcement that Amherst College would provide $1.3 million to three institutions, including $1 million going toward the $46.1 million expansion and renovation of the Jones Library, $250,000 to expand the emergency department at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, and $75,000 to sustain programming at The Drake performing arts venue in Amherst center.

The college’s existing and ongoing contributions to the community have totaled over $600,000 annually, as well as another $100,000 given to the Jones Library renovation and expansion, with additional support for the public schools and the Amherst Survival Center. That has included offering free courses to public school students and donating more than 10 tons of food annually to local food banks and shelters.

The new pledges bring the college’s total direct support for the town and town organizations to more than $1 million annually.

Last winter, the union representing teachers, paraprofesisonals and other staff, with concerns over significant cuts to the schools budget, brought their appeal to Amherst College. That was followed by the Regional School Committee forming a group to have conversations with the college. In mid-May, with similar funding shortfalls in the Northampton public schools, Smith College announced it would be providing $500,000, spread over three years, to support advancing the educational mission in the city.

Amherst College has made other contributions, such as in 2019, when the college offered the town a 27-acre parcel on South East Street for a new DPW headquarters. The town ended up passing on that due to neighborhood concerns, despite what Town Council President Lynn Griesemer called “a generous offer.” And in the early 2000s, the college provided unrestricted annual gifts to the town in recognition of the fire and ambulance service, and smaller financial donations for social service and educational needs.

In addition to its direct contributions, the college estimates that it generates about $484 million in annual economic activity and supports 2,720 jobs, as its students spend more than $1.5 million per year locally on groceries, dining, entertainment, clothing and transportation.

Amherst College students also volunteer in the public schools and at local nonprofits such as the Not Bread Alone soup kitchen and Amherst A Better Chance, where high school scholars of color live, and last fall painted a mural for the Amherst Senior Center’s lounge.

The college also praised the town for supporting its mission via a deep commitment to housing affordability and investment in roads, public infrastructure, a vital downtown, village centers and many miles of conservation trails.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.