Berks County Community Foundation helps people find the best way to make charitable gifts to support their community. Established in 1994, the Community Foundation is a public benefit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors who set the strategic goals of the organization. They facilitate the progress toward these goals by staying alert for opportunities to improve the quality of life in Berks County and assist in identifying ways the philanthropic sector can contribute.

What We Do

The Community Foundation staff manages more than 350 different funds, each established with a specific purpose determined by the original donor. Some donors have decided it is best to leave the use of funds to the discretion of the Community Foundation Board. In this way, the Community Foundation can remain flexible and responsive to community needs. Grantmaking programs and initiatives evolve and develop over time in order to meet the emerging needs of the people that live and work here.

The Community Foundation has grown to eight staff members, more than $40 million in assets and will distribute $2.3 million in grants this fiscal year, a testimonial to the strong philanthropic tradition of this community.

Who Benefits

The people of Berks County benefit from our services. By providing grants to organizations that address critical and emerging needs in the community, and by focusing the interest of philanthropists on those needs, the Community Foundation provides for the future well being of the community.

How You Can Help

Anyone can make a gift to a Community Foundation fund. Individuals are encouraged to contact us to discuss ways personal philanthropy can create positive change in our community.

The Community Foundation helps people to define their goals for personal philanthropy by developing a charitable giving strategy. When that plan involves establishing a charitable gift fund, the Community Foundation offers services for administering and managing those funds.

Permanent endowment funds keep the principal balance of a gift intact and grants are made from fund growth. This is the underlying concept of a community foundation. Gifts donated to the Community Foundation today are maintained into perpetuity and provide a lasting and stable mechanism of support for the people of Berks County. Click here to learn more about the Community Foundation's Investment Policy and Strategy.

About Berks County

Berks County Community Foundation is located in southeastern Pennsylvania and serves a population of more than 375,000 people in a county that is strategically located at the intersection of a dynamic trade market in the New York-Washington, D.C. corridor. 

Berks County is home to outlet shopping, pretzels, industry, and manufacturing. The county combines the rich tradition of Pennsylvania Dutch life with an expanding Hispanic population, creating unique cultural opportunities for residents. The county seat is the city of Reading, which is the center for government, cultural and business activities of an urbanized area surrounded by a county that maintains 40% of its land for agricultural uses.