In June 1994, I was hired as the first employee of Berks County Community Foundation. The foundation was a scrappy startup when it was founded 30 years ago. In its first full fiscal year, we were able to award four grants. Berks County and the Community Foundation have come a long way since then.
The idea of a community foundation for Berks County came from the Wyomissing Foundation. One of their board members was involved with the Triangle Community Foundation in North Carolina and asked why Berks County didn’t have a community Foundation. Alfred Hemmerich, a board member of Wyomissing Foundation, was particularly excited by the idea of a community foundation when asked why one did not exist in Berks County. Alfred took it upon himself to explore how community foundations worked and whether it would be possible to start one here.
And so, in June of 1994, Berks County Community Foundation began. The original board included members who were well-respected in Berks County. Although the Community Foundation was a brand-new organization with no track record, the board members’ reputations, along with the blessing of the Wyomissing Foundation, gave the community confidence in this new endeavor. People began to give money because they respected the civic leaders who were involved.
Fast forward to 2024. We now manage about $140 million in assets and nearly 400 funds that award grants and scholarships. Thousands of grants and scholarships have been distributed, totaling over $79 million, since our founding 30 years ago. Looking back, it is difficult to pick one grant, one event, or one initiative that makes me most proud.
The Community Foundation team works hard to bring organizations and individuals together to collaborate and create positive change, to provide more opportunities for nonprofits to thrive, and to inspire our residents to give to the causes about which they care the most.
A lot has changed in 30 years. But, for the Community Foundation, our mission to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County remains our North Star.
We are shocked by the shameful comments made at a local school board meeting regarding students from the Antietam School District. These comments are a reminder of the need to value all students in our community and to recognize that potential is distributed evenly but opportunity is not.
The challenges facing the Antietam School District are unprecedented in the history of our Commonwealth. Rather than cast aspersions and make derogatory comments about our children, we as a community need to find a way to provide opportunity for these students whose school buildings have been made uninhabitable by previously unimaginable flooding.
We condemn in the sharpest language possible the comments made at the Oley Valley school board meeting and urge our entire community to condemn them as well.
Kevin Murphy
President
Berks County Community Foundation
UPDATE – More than $660,000 has been donated to the West Reading Disaster Recovery Fund since it was established on Saturday, March 25. Donations have been made by more than 1,500 individuals, families, and businesses across Berks County and the country.
To assist with urgent, immediate needs, on March 30 the fund distributed a total of $220,000 to the families of those who died and to those displaced from their homes. An additional $230,000 will be distributed to those groups in the coming days.
“Out of respect for the families, we will not be providing specific details regarding those distributions,” said Kevin K. Murphy, president of Berks County Community Foundation, which created the fund in partnership with the United Way of Berks County at the request of West Reading Borough Council. “Our hope is that the funding will ease their burden as they cope with their loss.”Based on the level of donations received, the fund will continue to provide grants until it is depleted. The priority of those grants is as follows:
- Support to the families of individuals killed in the explosion for immediate financial losses.
- Support to individuals displaced from their homes as a result of the explosion.
- Support to organizations helping individuals displaced from employment as a result of the explosion.
- Support to the Borough of West Reading for planning and/or implementation of historical commemoration of the explosion (including, but not limited to the creation of a memorial to those lost).
“We are grateful to everyone who has given to the fund,” said Tammy White, president of the United Way of Berks County. “The outpouring of support of neighbor helping neighbor has been inspiring. The magnitude of this event transcends geography as local giving from Berks Countians is joined by contributions from people across the United States showing their support for our community. We thank everyone for the kind generosity.”
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Berks County Community Foundation is a nonprofit corporation serving as a civic leader for our region by developing, managing, and distributing charitable funds to improve the quality of life in Berks County, PA. More information is available at www.bccf.org.
Media Contact: Erica Caceres, Communication Manager, Phone: 610-685-2231, Email address: ericac@bccf.org
