First Responders First Fund
The First Responders First Fund supports the costs associated with mental health treatment for first responders in the City of Reading.
Distributions from this fund will support the costs associated with mental health treatment for first responders in the City of Reading. Applicants must be currently employed by the City of Reading as firefighters, police, or EMS.
If you have questions about this fund, contact Health & Human Services Program Officer, Cindy Milian, at cindym@bccf.org
Russell S. Bickel Family Fund
The Russell S. Bickel Family Fund provides grants to improve the quality of communication between health care providers and their patients in Berks County and to improve access to palliative or hospice care.
PLEASE NOTE: As of 1/5/2026, the application process for this fund has changed. See below for details:
The Russell S. Bickel Family Fund of Berks County Community Foundation invites proposals from organizations, schools, nonprofits, and local businesses for innovative, community-based projects that create opportunities to open the conversation about death and dying. This funding opportunity seeks to support initiatives that foster dialogue, education, and reflection around this important topic in ways that are accessible, engaging, and culturally sensitive.
This grant opportunity is designed to encourage creative approaches to exploring death and dying in community settings. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
- Speaker series or lecture events
- Seminars or workshops
- Community storytelling or oral history projects
- Educational campaigns
This funding is not available for individuals. Funding will not be provided for doula training or grief support groups. Preference will be given to innovative and community-based projects.
To be considered for funding, organizations must fill out a Letter of Intent (LOI) form. LOIs will typically be reviewed within 30 days of submission.
If the project meets the fund’s mission, the Community Foundation will invite the organization to submit an application. Applications will be reviewed typically within 14 days of submission.
LOIs and applications are accepted on a rolling basis as long as funding is available.
If you have questions about this fund, contact Health & Human Services Program Officer, Cindy Milian, at cindym@bccf.org
Cathy and Doug Weaver Fund
The Cathy and Doug Weaver Fund supports animal welfare, the environment, and/or health and human services in Berks County. Grants are awarded annually in those areas of focus. There is no application for this fund. If you have questions about this fund, please email Cindy Milian, Health and Human Services Program Officer of Berks County Community Foundation, at cindym@bccf.org.
The Angel Fund
The Angel Fund will provide financial support directly to or on behalf of individuals in an extraordinary situation where a nominal amount of intervention is likely to yield life changing outcomes. If you have questions about this fund, please email Cindy Milian, Health and Human Services Program Officer of Berks County Community Foundation, at cindym@bccf.org.
Building Justice in Berks Fund
This fund will support research on Berks County’s jail population.
Royals Youth Hockey Fund
This fund provides financial support for youth to participate in ice hockey lessons, camps, clinics, or leagues.
Berks County Angel Funds
The Community Foundation manages several funds that provide grants of $25 to $1,000 for specific needs of children (under 18) in Berks County.
- The Berks County Parrot Head Club Angel Fund provides grants for children (under 18) who are in an extraordinary situation where a nominal amount of intervention is likely to yield life-changing outcomes. Preference is given to Berks County children who have a physical or medical need that the family is unable to afford.
- The Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Dimitriou Memorial Fund provides grants for children (under 18) with critical medical, social, or educational needs that will enhance their ability to achieve their full potential. Distributions also support the needs of individuals in the Berks County Treatment Courts.
- The Camella Maggs Client Memorial Fund provides grants for children (under 18) who have learning and physical disabilities.
A parent, guardian, teacher, social worker, caseworker, or court official may complete the application on a child’s behalf to be considered for a grant. If a parent or individual applies, these applications must be substantiated by a caseworker, school, medical, or court official. Decisions are generally made within 14 days of receiving application and the referral.
Bill Woolworth Memorial Fund for Berks Teens
This fund support’s Co-County Wellness Service’s Berks Teens Program.
Berks Teens is an education and outreach campaign that engages young people to work with their peers. Armed with reliable, well-accepted information and data about the impact of teenage pregnancy and medically sound information about avoiding unwanted pregnancy, the campaign fanned out across the city through social media, youth ambassadors, and outreach to parents.
Emergency Fund for Ukrainian Community Foundations
The Fund for Ednannia collects and distributes donations to community foundations in Ukraine.
All funds raised are distributed to ISAR Ednannia for its Emergency Fund. ISAR Ednannia is a Ukrainian national network for the development of local philanthropy.
This fund was established at Berks County Community Foundation in the spring of 2022 to help Ukrainian community foundations address the most pressing needs in their communities.
Examples of initiatives that have so far been supported by the Fund for Ednannia:
- Food packages were delivered to 910 households made up of the most vulnerable populations in southern Ukrainian town and 10 nearby villages. Among those assisted were senior citizens who cannot access their pensions during the war, families with children, and people with disabilities. Pictures of this operation are featured below.
- New medical equipment — fetal monitors, pulse oximeter monitors, neonatal pulse oximeters, children’s heated mattresses — was delivered to a maternity hospital in in northern Ukraine where other nearby hospitals have been destroyed. The hospital expects the equipment to assist in the delivery of 350 children over six months.
To learn more about the projects and programs that have been funded, read the People to People Impact Report prepared by ISAR Ednannia.
Forest Crigler, Jr. Memorial Fund in Support of Youth Swimming
The Forest Crigler, Jr. Memorial Fund in Support of Youth Swimming awards grants to programs that develop, encourage, and promote youth swimming in Berks County.
