Financial Information
View Our Annual ReportGive With Confidence
Effective stewardship of philanthropic assets is key to our mission of promoting philanthropy and improving the quality of life for the residents of Berks County. Our investment goal? To improve the real value of these charitable assets over time.
Berks County Community Foundation assesses management fees on the charitable funds it administers. The management fees are based on a minimum fund size of $50,000. These fees support costs for grant processing, contribution acknowledgment, audits, tax filings, and personnel. These fees are crucial to allowing us to fulfill our mission to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County.
Permanent Funds
Permanent charitable funds are intended to last in perpetuity, with a percentage (currently 4.5 percent) of a fund’s fair market value used annually for grantmaking.
Management fees on permanent funds are assessed quarterly. The fee is calculated using the fund’s fair market value for the trailing 12 quarters. Permanent fund fees are determined by fund type.
| Permanent Fund Fee Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Type of Fund | Annual % |
| Designated | 0.45 |
| Scholarship* | 1.75 & 2.00 |
| Donor Advised | 1.25 |
| Field of Interest | 1.50 |
| Undesignated | 1.50 |
Pass Through Funds
Some donors establish funds that completely pay out the principal balance over a set period of time. Pass-through funds are charged a flat 10% management fee on the amount of the initial gift and all subsequent donations to the fund.
Investment Management Fee
In addition to the administrative fees listed above, each permanent fund is assessed an annual investment management fee. The investment management fee is currently 0.82% of the fund’s fair market value.
Berks County Community Foundation Properties, Inc.
Berks County Community Foundation Properties, Inc. was established to accept charitable gifts of real estate. Administrative fees on these gifts are established on a case-by-case basis that is determined by the complexity of the gift.
*Scholarship fund fees are determined by the selection process. The 1.75% fee is used when a school district selects a recipient, whereas the 2.00% fee is used when a committee selects the recipient.
Our Board of Directors appoints an Investment Committee to manage our charitable assets. The committee establishes and reviews investment guidelines and evaluates investment performance on a regular basis. Our investment policy is similar to that of most community foundations: to have a diversified and balanced portfolio. The objective of the investment policy is to provide a return that preserves and grows our charitable assets, while ensuring a consistent stream of revenue to issue grants and scholarships.
To help us meet our investment goals, we engage Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) as independent consultants. FEG advises the Investment Committee on investment policy and asset allocation. FEG also advises on manager selection and performance review of our Core Portfolio, which is our primary investment pool. Wilmington Trust is custodian for the Core Portfolio. We also maintain investment pools managed by Buckingham Strategic Wealth, RKL Wealth Management, and Weik Capital Management.
We recently sat down with Andrew Zach, Senior Vice President of Fund Evaluation Group (FEG), to have him answer some frequently asked questions regarding the community foundation’s investment strategy. Watch the full interview where Zach explains who FEG is and how they help the community foundation, our investment philosophy, the definition of “hurdle rate”, as well as how and why investment for the community foundation looks different compared to one’s personal investment.
In addition to our Investment Committeee, our Audit Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities related to our financial, operational and compliance information. The Audit Committee oversees our financial reporting process and annual independent audit and reports results of its activities to the Board.
Our Spending Policy is a formula that determines the annual charitable payout as a percentage of the average fair market value of each endowed fund. Our current Spending Policy is 4.5% of an endowed fund’s value. By adhering to the Spending Policy, we can distribute grants and scholarships in perpetuity. When annual earnings exceed a year’s distribution from a fund, the excess is retained in endowment principal. This strategy is intended to grow fund assets, thereby ensuring that the funds will fulfill their purpose in perpetuity.
In addition to the annual distributions determined by our spending policy, we charge a management fee to all funds we manage based on the type of distributions they make. The minimum management fee charged to a fund at Berks County Community Foundation is based on an endowed fund size of $50,000.
Click on a link below to see our quarterly portfolio results for the past year.
Portfolio Results Ending 12.31.23
Portfolio Results Ending 9.30.23
The Community Foundation maintains an Audit Committee, which assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities relating to the Foundation’s financial, operational and compliance information. They are responsible for overseeing the financial reporting process and annual independent audit on behalf of the Board and reporting results of their activities to the Board.
The Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax return is required to be filed by nonprofit organizations who have $1,000 or more in gross income from an unrelated trade or business. The Community Foundation does not have such income and hence, is not required to file Form 990-T. If the Community Foundation were required to file Form 990-T, it would be made available here.
Click the link below to download a PDF version of our annual report.
