Meet our Staff

Meet our Board

Berks County Community Foundation Helps People Give Back

Berks County Community Foundation was founded in 1994 to help individuals, families, organizations and businesses achieve their charitable objectives. Since that time, the foundation has grown to manage more than 400 charitable funds valued at nearly $50 million. Each year, those funds distribute more than $2 million in scholarships and grants to support local students and nonprofit organizations and causes.

How it works

The Community Foundation does four things.

First, the foundation helps people structure their charitable giving. Individuals and families often approach the foundation with an idea of a way they’d like to honor the memory of a loved one or support a cause they care about now or after they pass away. Businesses and organizations often approach the foundation to help them manage an existing scholarship or corporate charity.

In either case, a member of the foundation’s senior staff works with the people involved to determine the best way to meet their charitable objectives. Many times, but not always, it makes sense to create an endowed charitable fund at the Community Foundation.

Second, the foundation manages the money in the charitable funds. Funds are created after a simple fund agreement is completed and an initial donation is received. The money is then pooled with the foundation’s other funds and professionally invested for the long term. The foundation’s investment strategy is designed to ensure money is available for grants and scholarships in perpetuity.

Third, the foundation gives money away. The Community Foundation’s grant staff ensures that grants or scholarships from each fund are awarded as stipulated in the fund agreement. One of the advantages of working with the Community Foundation is the knowledge that grants and scholarships are tracked and watched to ensure the money is distributed the way the donor intended, even after the original donor is no longer involved with the fund.

Fourth, the foundation measures the results of its grants and scholarships. The foundation requires grantees to complete a grant agreement and submit a follow-up report at the end of the grant period. Scholarship recipients must confirm that they are attending school and plan to use the funding for educational purposes. In the majority of cases, scholarships checks are co-written to the school and student, providing another layer of oversight.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and learning more about the funds we manage and the work we do.

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