Funding Resources & FAQ

The Community Foundation manages about 400 charitable funds. The funds were created by local individuals, families and businesses to support causes and organizations they cared about. Many of the funds exist solely to provide annual grants to specific nonprofit organizations. Other funds were created to support organizations and projects that address certain quality of life issues or assist projects in specific geographic areas. We call these “field of interest” funds.

All grant payments will be sent via ACH (Automated Clearing House) effective January 1, 2025. To read more about this transition, please read our latest news story about it by clicking here.

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.

We encourage you to watch this 4-minute video for an overview of the registration, application, and grant follow-up process. To begin a grant application, click on this link to register your organization or log in with your existing account. After you register, you can apply for any grant opportunities that match your program and are listed as currently accepting applications.

Our e-newsletter comes out once per month. No more, no less. We promise not to spam you. The e-newsletter is the only place that consistently lists all of our current grant opportunities. The e-newsletter also contains information about educational opportunities, our events, scholarships, and more. Sign up here.

We also administer scholarships. The online application period for our scholarship opportunities generally runs from January 1 to March 1 each year. Click here to learn about all of our scholarship opportunities.

If a follow-up report is required for your grant or scholarship it will appear on your personalized dashboard in our online grant or scholarship application system. You will also receive an email from the system to let you know when it is due.

Contact us at grants@bccf.org or 610.685.2223.

Berks County Community Foundation does not fund special event sponsorships, table purchases, program advertisements/listings, or tickets.   There are two exceptions to this rule: (1) when a current foundation board or staff member is being honored, or (2) when a current foundation staff member sits on a group’s board or committee. In those cases, we may consider a program listing and/or table sponsorship.  The Community Foundation supports nonprofit organizations through the distribution of grants from a variety of funds created by local donors. These grants support organizations and causes at more significant levels than those ordinarily sought through event sponsorship.   To learn more about grant opportunities that may be available for your organization, explore our website and subscribe to our e-newsletter.  Note that the Community Foundation may choose to advertise in certain publications from time to time as part of its own marketing efforts.