Public Education Foundation Fund for Instructional Innovation
Grants support innovative teaching programs in Berks County public schools.
Patrick D. O’Pake Fund
Grants support projects benefiting children in the Glenside area of Reading and scholarships for students at St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic School.
Susan E. Kraus/Robert W. Gill Fund
This fund is to assist adults who were once in foster care, lived in a Berks County foster home and/or were Berks County residents at the time of their placement in foster care. Grants should assist with general transitional housing costs and/or educational expenses. Grants to each individual should not exceed $1,000 per year.
IDEA Fund
The IDEA Fund was established to supplement the education of Wilson School District residents who are special education students. The student must have an Individual Education Plan (under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or its successor). The fund provides assistance above and beyond what is provided as part of the student’s Individual Education Plan.
Friends of the Drug Treatment Court Fund
This fund provides financial assistance for participants of the Berks County Treatment Courts. Financial support must increase the participant’s chance of graduating from the court-appointed program. Financial support must be recommended by the judge who oversees the specific Berks County Treatment Court. The fund will also provide financial support for staff training and other legitimate purposes of the court as determined by the judge who oversees the specific Berks County Treatment Court. Grants support participants of Berks County Veterans Court when expenses are not covered by other resources.
Only Berks County Treatment Court Core Team members can apply for this fund. The Berks County Treatment Court Core Team consists of a Berks County Judge, District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation Officers, Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA) staff, Treatment Access & Service Center (TASC) staff, Connections Work staff, Forensic Case Managers from Service Access Management (SAM) and YMCA Specialty Court Case Managers and Treatment Providers. The Veterans Treatment Court Program also includes a Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator who works for the Veterans Administration.
Power of the Purse in Berks County Fund
The Power of the Purse (POP) in Berks County Fund awards grants to programs that break the cycle of poverty by eliminating or addressing barriers for Berks County girls and/or women who want to enter or re-enter the workforce or seek the education they need to do so. For many women, employment is not only a matter of empowerment; it’s a matter of survival. Barriers such as the ability to afford adequate childcare, a lack of transportation, a gap in skills, limited access to dental care or healthcare, or a lack of information about their options keep some women and girls from reaching their full potential.
If your organization makes a difference in the lives of women and girls in Berks County by helping them discover or navigate their way to gainful employment, and ultimately, self-sufficiency, we encourage you to apply for a grant from the Power of the Purse in Berks County Fund.
All proposals will be reviewed by members of the Power of the Purse in Berks County Fund committee, who will conduct site visits as appropriate (and virtually as necessary) in March and April. Final grant decisions will be made in late April, with funds available after May 15.
The Power of the Purse (POP) committee is a women’s giving circle. The dedicated group of women meet several times a year to learn about barriers women and girls face in Berks County. They have visited local organizations that work to break down those barriers, listened to expert speakers, and made thoughtful decisions about how best to help using their own resources.
Four meetings per year:
Meeting 1 – Learn. Listen to a local expert who works directly with women and girls who are working to rise from poverty.
Meeting 2 – Review. Read reports from the previous year’s grants and begin the application review process for the current year.
Meeting 3 – Give. Hear feedback from each site visit leader, get questions answered, and vote to see which organizations will receive grants that year.
Meeting 4 – Celebrate. Gather with other members as well as representatives from the organizations that were awarded grants to honor the impact those grants will have.
7 Reasons to Join Power of the Purse
Improve the Lives of Women and Girls in Berks County
Women have a huge impact on our families, community and the next generation of both women and men.
The Power of the Purse has focused on funding programs that help break the cycle of poverty by eliminating or addressing barriers for Berks County girls and women who want to enter or re-enter the workforce or seek the education they need to do so.
Just scroll down to see the list of grants we’ve given to organizations that are doing important work.
Participate in Research-Based Philanthropy
With Power of the Purse, you can rest easy knowing your dollars are spent in a responsible, effective way. Our funding process starts with a discussion of local issues affecting women and girls and continues with an evaluation of and site visits to programs aimed at improving their lives.
Magnify Your Impact
Through the power of collective giving, your annual gift has the added impact of gifts from dozens of other women. Nowhere else can a relatively modest gift do so much to assist organizations and the women and girls they serve.
Tailor Your Involvement
Whether you prefer just writing a check or also becoming deeply involved, you’re free to do as much or as little as you like, and you can evaluate your involvement every year.
Learn About Issues and Philanthropy
Power of the Purse is an opportunity to learn about the needs of our community and how to effectively address them.
Meet Like-Minded Women
Whether you’re a newcomer or a Berks County native, Power of the Purse helps you connect with women in our community and beyond. Share your expertise, learn about pressing issues and build lasting relationships with new friends.
Leverage Operating Costs and Expertise
As an initiative of Berks County Community Foundation, Power of the Purse benefits from their years of experience and financial stewardship.
Greater Reading Young Professionals Community Engagement Fund
Grants support the attraction, engagement and retention of young professionals.
Emmanuel “Manny” Dimitriou Memorial Fund
This fund helps Berks County children with critical medical, social, or educational needs to improve their ability to achieve their full potential in life and contribute to society. Distributions also support the needs of individuals in the Berks County Treatment Courts.
Berks County Parrot Head Club Angel Fund
This fund provides grants for individuals who are in an extraordinary situation where a nominal amount of intervention is likely to yield life-changing outcomes. Grants are limited to individuals who are under the age of 18 and who reside in Berks County. Preference is given to Berks County children who have a physical or medical need that the family cannot afford. 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.
Ben Franklin Trust Fund
Grants support education as a means of bettering one’s station in life, as stipulated in the bequest of Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin was an amazing American. An inventor, writer, statesman and printer, he was also one of the first to create an endowment for the benefit of his community. In his will, Franklin gave 1,000 Pounds Sterling each to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston.
Franklin left specific instructions about how the money should be invested, and then used for the benefit of the community after 200 years had passed. In the early 1990s, a portion of that money came to Berks County Community Foundation as its first bequest.
Of course, we never had a chance to thank Dr. Franklin for his generous gift. The fund makes annual grants in Franklin’s name for educational initiatives.
We’d like to be sure to thank you in advance if, like Dr. Franklin, you’ve left a bequest for the benefit of your community through the Community Foundation. To that end, we’ve established the Franklin Society to honor those who include a gift that will come to the Community Foundation through their will or other deferred giving vehicle.
Key Points about the Franklin Society
- The Franklin Society is a list of people who named Berks County Community Foundation as the beneficiary of any type of planned or deferred gift … and who choose to be listed. The purpose is to develop a large list that will encourage others to do the same.
- Franklin Society membership is self-reported. We know many others who included the Community Foundation in their estate plans, but who choose to remain anonymous. Thus, they will not be members of the Society.
- Joining the Franklin Society requires two steps. First, arrange for a planned gift in favor of the Community Foundation. Second, inform the Community Foundation by submitting the Franklin Society form.
- There is no minimum deferred gift amount to qualify. The only qualifications are that you’ve made the necessary arrangements and are willing to be listed.
- Franklin Society members may designate the use of the distributions from their future gifts, or may leave the distributions to the discretion of the Community Foundation’s board of directors. A Franklin Society gift of more than $10,000 may be used to establish a new fund with a name of your choice. Gifts of less than $10,000 may be added to any of the Foundation’s existing funds.
- We don’t ask how much is being left to the Community Foundation. We encourage donors to discuss their gifts with us to make sure we can comply with their wishes, but this is not mandatory.
- Bequests are the most common method used to leave a gift to the Community Foundation. However, we also know of people who named the Community Foundation the beneficiary of 401 K/IRA plans or insurance policies, established a charitable trust in favor of the Community Foundation, or used other methods. All qualify a person or couple for membership in the Society.
- We will list the Franklin Society members in our annual report and other publications as appropriate.
- We hold a special reception just for Franklin Society members each year. Society members are invited to all other Community Foundation events.
- Finally, as you structure your estate plan, please consider making a gift to support Berks County Community Foundation. The Foundation uses these discretionary funds to address the most pressing issues in the community at any given time, thus creating a better future for all of us.
