On Thursday, November 12, 2026, Berks County Community Foundation hosted its annual meeting at DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Reading.
The event was titled “Finding Community-Based Solutions in Rural Berks County” and featured speakers from the Community Foundation and a guest speaker.
Kevin K. Murphy, President and CEO of the foundation, offered opening remarks regarding grantmaking and assets from fiscal year 2026.
“Our fiscal year that ended in June was part of an historic period of growth for the Community Foundation. Our assets increased by $28 million to almost $183 million. Furthermore, they’ve grown by more than $10 million since July. I usually leave the math to Franki, but that’s closing in on $200 million,” said Murphy.
Murphy then welcomed Vice President for Programs and Initiatives, Monica Reyes, and Health and Human Services Program Officer, Cindy Milian, to the stage.
Reyes and Milian engaged in a “fireside chat” to discuss the Northern Berks Connects initiative and the Social Services in Rural Libraries initiative, which benefit the rural communities in Berks County.
Learn more about Northern Berks Connects by clicking here. Learn more about Social Services in Rural Libraries by clicking here and flipping to page 18 of the document.
“The initial investments we made (in these initiatives) are just the start of what’s possible,” said Milian. “The Community Foundation is often ‘the spark’ that starts the work, but it’s up to our community to fan the flame and keep that good work going. We know that philanthropy alone cannot fix the problem, but working together and building relationships always helps.”
Dr. Christopher Beissel, Superintendent for School at Hamburg Area School District and Northern Berks Connects steering committee member, offered the community’s perspective on the rural initiatives led by Milian over the past year.
“The dialogue and collaboration helped translate our broadly identified needs into a defined, cohesive vision for a resource guide. This represents a practical outcome of our steering committee’s work and a tangible next step in turning collaboration into action,” said Dr. Beissel. “Northern Berks Connects must ensure that our work does not end with the creation of a guide but continues as a sustainable community effort.”
To close out the evening, Murphy came back to the stage to moderate a live survey via Mentimeter. The survey included questions about the Berks community attendees knew best, as well as the opportunities and challenges those communities face.
To begin the live survey, results from a question asked when individuals registered for the event were shared. The question they were asked was, “Imagine that it is 2046. A national magazine has named Berks County one of the most admired communities in America. What are we being recognized for? Feel free to dream big and get creative.”
These are the results of that question. Note that the size of the bubble indicates how many people responded similarly. For instance, many people answered the question with health and human service achievements in mind. An affordable cost of living, access to public transportation, and an abundance of community programs were most often referenced.
With this information in mind, Murphy moderated the live survey on Mentimeter. The results of this survey can be found below.
