Through its more than 160 funds, Berks County Community Foundation makes grants totaling more than $2.3 million annually to a variety of organizations and causes.

Each type of fund has its own specific guidelines for grant recommendations. The Community Foundation's Board of Directors makes all final grant decisions.

Grants from Donor Advised Funds are recommended over time by the fund's original donor. Donors choose organizations and causes that interest them and recommend grants to be made from the fund. In some cases, a donor chooses his or her family members to serve on the advisory committee that makes the grant decisions.

Grants from Designated Funds are made to specific public benefit organizations stipulated by the original donor. Designated Funds allow donors to support their favorite public benefit organizations in perpetuity. Sometimes a donor will endow a Designated Fund through a charitable bequest as a way to continue the annual support that was provided to an organization during his or her lifetime.

Grants from Undesignated Funds are made through the Demonstration Grant Program and the Community Investment Grant Program. The Demonstration Grant Program seeks to invest in projects to test and demonstrate innovative approaches to community issues and emerging trends. The Community Investment Grant Program seeks to invest in projects that will benefit a significant number of Berks County residents or provide benefits to the community as a whole. Through its pool of Undesignated Funds, the Community Foundation is able to address emerging needs in the community.

Grants from Field of Interest Funds are made to organizations that work in specific areas of interest designated by the donor. To administer Field of Interest Funds, the Community Foundation will often establish an advisory committee of community volunteers who help guide the distribution of grants. When appropriate, this advisory committee convenes key community leaders and decision makers around a particular issue.

Examples of Field of Interest Funds include several funds that the Community Foundation manages that are used wholly to support programs in the Boyertown Area. Other Field of Interest Funds include the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund which makes grants to support energy conservation and environmental projects and the Youth Fund, which makes grants to organizations for youth-related issues.

Scholarships and awards are granted based on specific selection criteria established with each fund. In most cases, a committee reviews applications and recommends who will receive the scholarship or award.

The Community Foundation's scholarship administrator manages the scholarship or award application process, provides all check-writing services, and professionally acknowledges gifts whenever donations are made to the fund. In some cases, scholarship funds held at the Community Foundation are eligible for matching grants through our association with the Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America and PHEAA's PATH program.