In Fiscal Year 2024, Berks County Community Foundation distributed $5.4 million in grants and scholarships to support the community. The year was filled with innovative projects, impactful programs and a strong commitment to our mission.
Berks County Community Foundation helps donors fulfill their charitable desires. The Foundation was established in 1994 as a non-profit, public charity to provide a locally managed resource for establishing endowments. We have program officers on staff who are experts in their focus areas – energy & environment, lifelong learning, health & human services, the arts, and neighborhood & economic development. They steward these charitable funds to ensure that the grants and scholarships awarded from them are making an impact and fulfilling our donors’ wishes.
“The work we do isn’t only about working with donors to establish funds. Nor is it just about awarding grants and scholarships. The team at the Community Foundation convenes local leaders, research national and local trends, and chooses initiatives on which to focus so community conversations get moving and big ideas are discussed”, Kevin Murphy, president says.
The Annual Report highlights our mission of promoting philanthropy and improving the quality of life for the residents of Berks County. The team works hard to bring organizations and individuals together for collaboration to spark change in the community. This year’s Annual Report provides detailed stories and data behind these achievements, underscoring the powerful impact of donor support in the community.
To read the full report, take a look below.
Reading, PA – October 9, 2024 – Berks County Community Foundation is pleased to announce the conclusion of its 3rd quarter grant cycle, which has successfully distributed vital funding to local nonprofits and initiatives dedicated to improving our community.
In this quarter, the foundation awarded grants to a diverse range of projects focusing in areas of environment and energy, education, health and human services, arts and culture, and neighborhoods and economic development; supporting the impactful work of local organizations that improve the lives of Berks County residents.
These numbers are a testament to the Foundation’s commitment to its mission to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County.
- Q3 total grants awarded: 549
- Q3 total dollar amount awarded: $1,459,851
- Q3 number of organizations impacted: 275
“Grants awarded are made possible by generous donors who give back to the community they love,” stated Molly McCullough Robbins, Vice President for Philanthropic Services.
Moving forward, community members are invited to join the Community Foundation in sparking change. Here are two ways to get involved:
- Give to an Existing Fund: Your contributions can help sustain the important work of established funds addressing specific needs within Berks County.
- Create Your Own Fund: Whether you want to honor a loved one or support a particular cause or organization, the Foundation can help you to create a fund that reflects your passions and philanthropic goals.
For more information on how to give or create a fund, please visit www.bccf.org, email Molly McCullough Robbins at mollyr@bccf.org, or call (610) 685-2223.
About Berks County Community Foundation
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.
###
PITTSBURGH – (July 23, 2024) – Green Building Alliance (GBA) will launch its newest program, Resilient Communities, in Meadville and Reading, Pa., providing both communities with a range of services to help reduce energy demand, cut utility costs, and increase energy efficiency and resiliency for the municipal buildings, commercial facilities, and nonprofit and educational institutions within each region.
The Resilient Communities program is made possible through support from the Metropolitan Edison/Pennsylvania Electric Company Sustainable Energy Fund (Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund).
Offered at no cost to participating community partners, the three-year Resilient Communities program of services will augment larger community and economic goals by enabling buildings, infrastructure, and the entire communities of Meadville and Reading to be more resilient to the effects of extreme weather and emergency events; reduce energy and water utility costs; and facilitate making each community safer, more affordable, and attractive to residents, business owners, and prospective investment.
Working with Meadville and Reading project partners, GBA will:
- Provide tailored technical support and guidance to assess opportunities for energy and water efficiency improvements in municipal buildings, saving on utility costs and freeing up dollars to be reinvested elsewhere;
- Facilitate growth of quality jobs in fields that support resiliency and energy efficiency initiatives, such as operating engineers, facilities managers, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) technicians, electricians, and renewable energy technicians;
- Increase community vitality by reducing operational costs and improving the health and quality of small businesses, community anchor institutions, local government buildings, schools, and commercial facilities;
- Open doors to new financial resources by providing grant writing assistance to pursue community resilience and energy-efficiency funding opportunities.
“We are grateful to the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund for making this expansion of GBA’s work into the communities of Meadville and Reading possible,” says GBA COO Chris Cieslak. “By investing in building infrastructure, this project will equip both communities for energy and resource stability in the face of unforeseen emergency events and market volatility. It will also facilitate modifications to reduce utility costs and make each community’s buildings safer, more affordable and more attractive to residents, business owners, and to capital investment.”
GBA will work with community partners, including Generation180 who also was awarded 2024 support under this fund. Generation180 inspires and equips K-12 schools in PA communities to adopt clean, renewable energy and improve energy reliability. With support from the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund, Generation180 offers free technical assistance to schools in PA communities interested in exploring solar energy. Schools can utilize solar energy systems with battery storage to create resilient campuses that can keep schools operating and support community needs during grid outages and extreme weather events.
“Generation180 is thrilled to work with GBA and Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund to help K-12 schools in Reading, Meadville, and throughout Pennsylvania access the benefits of clean, affordable energy,” stated Shannon Crooker, Generation180 Pennsylvania Director. “There’s never been a better time for schools to take advantage of the historic federal grants and incentives to install clean energy technologies that support healthy, resilient communities.”
The Resilient Communities program builds on GBA’s successful work in Erie, which has logged a shared utility savings of over $17 million across 20 public-private partners since partnering with GBA. GBA provided technical guidance and support for the development of the City of Erie Central Fire Station’s solar grid and battery project, allowing the fire station to serve as a community resilience hub in the event of climate disaster or grid outages. The fire station’s on-site solar array produces over 100% of the station’s energy needs, while battery storage guarantees uninterrupted emergency management operations during an outage. GBA has also partnered with Forest Hills Borough, which enacted a net-zero ordinance for their community. Forest Hills is leading the way for other communities by conducting wide-scale energy retrofits in its eight-property portfolio and recently completed one of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s first net-zero buildings.
“We’re excited to support GBA and Generation180’s work to expand energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout Pennsylvania,” says Davitt Woodwell, chair of the advisory committee for the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund and former president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “The committee wanted to drive sustainable energy solutions that will leave a positive impact on our communities and saw no better way than to make grants to two organizations that are already making huge impacts across the state.”
“The City of Meadville is excited to be named a Resilient Community and for the good work that is sure to result from the partnership with GBA,” says Autumn Vogel, City of Meadville Councilmember and liaison to the City’s Environmental Advisory Committee. “This program will help us achieve goals set in our Climate Action Plan for a safer, healthier, more resilient Meadville. Through this partnership, we’ll get much needed support to make improvements to our aging building stock, making the people of Meadville safer and more comfortable in their homes and buildings, while helping residents, community partners, and local businesses save money. It’s a win-win-win. We’re eager to get started and grateful for the opportunity.”
“I’m very excited to partner with the Green Building Alliance. This partnership will increase our capacity and provide critical technical assistance to our community partners, businesses, schools, and our staff as we are working towards our Reading for 100 goal of 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050,” says Reading Mayor Eddie Morán. “The City of Reading and many of our community partners have begun the transition process, and working with GBA will help facilitate and expedite a just transition. We are big fans of Erie’s success and are looking to duplicating it in Reading.”
Media Contacts:
Laura Ellis, Green Building Alliance, 412.952.7844, laurae@gba.org
Erica Caceres, Berks County Community Foundation, 610.685.2231, ericac@bccf.org
About Green Building Alliance:
Green Building Alliance (GBA) positively transforms the world through the built environment to create a sustainable, healthy, and just future for everyone. As Western Pennsylvania’s authority on sustainable design, GBA drives the market for healthy communities while equipping designers, manufacturers, developers, and policymakers to catalyze systemic change. GBA manages the largest 2030 District in North America (the Pittsburgh 2030 District), and in 2019, established Pittsburgh as the 2nd International Center of Excellence on High Performance Building in the world. GBA partners across Western Pennsylvania, with strategic alliances including the 2030 District Network, United Nations and International Living Future Institute.
About The Metropolitan Edison/Pennsylvania Electric Company Sustainable Energy Fund
The Sustainable Energy Funds were created as a result of electric utility deregulation and subsequent settlement agreements by Pennsylvania Electric Utilities. The funds are designed to promote the development of sustainable and renewable energy programs and clean-air technologies on both a regional and statewide basis. Two of those funds, the Metropolitan Edison Company Sustainable Energy Fund (Met-Ed Sustainable Energy Fund) and the Pennsylvania Electric Company Sustainable Energy Fund of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies (Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund), began distributing money in the form of grants, loans, and equity investments for a variety of projects within the territories originally served by the two electric companies. The two funds share an advisory committee and are commonly referred to in the singular as the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund. Since inception in 2000, the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund has approved 279 grants totaling $7,209,518; 51 loans totaling $25,161,087; and three equity investments totaling $1,600,000. Total funding since inception is more than $33.9 million.
About Berks County Community Foundation
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.
Over our 30-year history, we have had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of people who wanted to make a difference in their community – to give back in support of a cause about which they cared deeply or in honor or memory of someone they loved or admired. Thousands of grants representing millions of dollars have been distributed in Berks County thanks to the foresight of those donors who trusted Berks County Community Foundation with their charitable gifts.
Every year or two, we update the Funds for Grants and Scholarships brochure, which lists the funds currently available for grantmaking and scholarship awards. Feel free to browse the brochure to learn more about how donors have supported individuals and organizations in our community – everything including animals, arts & culture, education, environment & energy, health & human services, neighborhoods & economic development, public safety, scholarships, and youth sports. You may find an opportunity for funding or inspiration for establishing your own fund.
Change starts with a spark. Your spark. We’re here to help – please reach out with any questions or ideas.
Over 100 students from the Berks County school districts came together on April 8th, 2024 at Muhlenberg High School for a mental health event. This inaugural event was created by the Youth Mental Health Ambassadors of Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC), along with students from Muhlenberg High School’s Avedium Club who saw the need in our community.
In the past decade, research has proven that psychological stress influences the physical body and can sometimes lead to death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 is suicide. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that that one in seven 10 to 19-year-olds experience mental health conditions that are largely unrecognized and untreated.
The youth-driven and youth-led Building Unity in Our Community event took place on Monday, April 8th. Student participants received information on mental health from local therapist Paige Schoelkofp from As You Are Counseling Services and from a youth-led panel discussion. Coping skills stations were set up to focus on art therapy, music therapy, journaling, equine therapy, and more! Each station had a hands-on experience. Students were able to participate and ask questions throughout the day.
This program was funded by the Home Health Care Foundation Fund of the Berks County Community Foundation. The Home Health Care Foundation Fund provides grants to organizations and programs that support preventative healthcare, community health, health-related charity care, and/or support in recovering from illness or a disability at home. This fund is available to organizations and programs that serve Berks County and/or those counties that are contiguous to it. To learn more about the fund, please click here.
“Without the funding, I strongly feel that our students would have made the program successful because of how passionate they are,” Lindsay Sites, YVC Program Director at VOiCEup Berks said. “Because of the funding, we were able to have a bigger impact and a bigger reach.”
VOiCEup Berks is an official affiliate of YVC. VOiCEup Berks creates opportunities for people to volunteer, learn and lead in their communities. YVC is a team-based service-learning program for youth ages 11-18. One of the many goals of YVC is to inspire youth to a lifetime commitment to service.
“I wanted to be part of YVC because my goal is to reduce the negative stigma related to mental health. When I graduate and move on from high school, my goal is for the students that come after me to continue reducing the stigma,” Addison McKittrick from Exeter High School said.
To learn more about VOiCEup Berks and how you can get involved, please click here.
Berks County is home to hundreds of houses of worship in both the urban and rural areas, many built throughout the 1700s and 1800s. These buildings have been vital cultural vehicles that have helped knit the fabric of our cultural heritage for generations. But these sacred places are at risk, like many others across America. With this threat to Berks County’s sacred places in mind, it’s important to preserve the contributions that are being made in the community. Sacred places are ubiquitous in our communities, forming an integral part of social safety nets. This started the “Sacred Places” project to set out to build an inventory of the purpose-built sacred places within the city.
Berks County Community Foundation is collaborating with Partners for Sacred Spaces, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that brings people together to find creative ways to maintain and make the most of America’s older and historic houses of worship.
For more than five years, Partners for Sacred Places and Berks County Community Foundation have collected the history of local houses of worship, assessed the condition of the buildings and the stability of their congregations, and encouraged partnerships to preserve these sacred places.
As a result, the Community Foundation will continue its partnership with Partners for Sacred Places in 2024 to provide its New Dollars/New Partners program. Several congregations spanning across denominations, locations, sizes, and missions – will have the opportunity to focus on building capacity to better serve their communities as anchor institutions, nurture transformation, and shape vibrant, creative communities.
If you lead or volunteer with a congregation in Berks County, we invite you to a free informational session on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 6:00 pm at Berks Nature (575 St. Bernardine Street, Reading, PA 19607).
You can register for the informational session by clicking here. In the months that follow, the New Dollars/New Partners training program will be available for congregations interested in participating.
Funding for this project came from James P. Born, Sr. Fund of Berks County Community Foundation. The fund supports local houses of worship, interfaith dialogue, and inclusive programs for all children, including those who are underprivileged.
We look forward to seeing you at the session and collaborating with places of worship in Berks County.
In March 2023, the Berks County Commissioners released a study about public health in our community. The study was conducted by Health Management Associates and listed four recommendations:
1. Create a Berks County Health Director position to lead public health collective action and coordination and serve as a trusted communicator about public health information.
2. Establish a Public Health Advisory Panel and appoint members who can advise on public health assessment, assurance, and policy activities.
3. Support the establishment of a “Healthy Berks” Coalition to serve as a coordinating body for public health efforts in the county.
4. Create a Berks County Health Data Analyst position to improve Berks County-specific public health data completeness and accuracy.
The report and its recommendations have received nearly unanimous praise and support from our region’s medical community and voices representing a wide range of public responsibilities. You can access the report by clicking here.
As the commissioners prepare for a final decision on the study, we are happy to support Berks County Medical Society’s virtual lunch and learn conversation on March 6th, 2024, about this study and its path forward. This event was supported through the Community General Hospital Healthcare Fund of Berks County Community Foundation. The goal of this lunch and learn is to review the report and have an open discussion on the future of public health in our community.
For more information and to save your virtual seat, click here.
On November 8, Berks County Community Foundation held its Annual Meeting at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading. More than 100 civic leaders attended the event, which included brief presentations by the Community Foundation’s program officers and an overview of the year by Kevin K. Murphy, foundation president.
“This year marked the culmination of our plan to increase our impact in Berks County by expanding the number of program officers working on specific causes,” Murphy said. “Our annual event gave us the opportunity to introduce these new faces to the community.”
The program officers oversee distributions from more than 346 charitable funds that were created by Berks County residents to support causes in the community that were important to them. In fiscal year 2023, those grants and scholarships totaled more than $6.2 million. That brings the total amount of grants and scholarships distributed since the Community Foundation’s founding in 1994 to over $101 million.
In addition to Murphy, who provided a recap of the West Reading Disaster Relief Fund, attendees heard from:
Vice President for Programs and Initiatives Monica Reyes about an effort underway with the Berks County Medical Society to share the results of a study about public health released by the Berks County Commissioners this year;
Health and Human Services Program Officer Cindy Milian about the work she oversees to support animal welfare and to assist families who have children with special needs;
Environment and Energy Program Officer Emily Smedley about grants that are increasing energy efficiency for local organizations and grants that are improving soil health by monitoring the flight patterns of birds of prey;
Lifelong Learning Program Officer Kim Sheffer about teacher mini-grants, which support innovative classroom projects across Berks County.
Details about each of these initiatives are available in the Community Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report.
In addition to learning about the work the Community Foundation is undertaking, attendees were invited to pick up a brush and add their touch to a Berks County mural, and to listen to a trio of local student musicians.
If you’d like to join the Community Foundation at future annual meetings, please send your name and email address to info@bccf.org and ask to be added to the invitation list. If you’d like to learn more about the Community Foundation, including how to start a charitable fund of your own, visit www.bccf.org.
READING, PA (August 2, 2023) – Berks County Community Foundation recently awarded more than $80,000 in grants to thirteen organizations from the First United Church of Christ Mission Fund and the St. John’s UCC Reading Fund.
The organizations receiving grants and the amounts received are as follows:
$1,100 to the Reading Musical Foundation for its Summer Music Camp Scholarship Program. This program awards scholarships to Berks County students so that they may attend a summer music camp of their choosing. This funding will support the cost of camp scholarships for two Reading School District students.
$3,000 was granted to Bethany Children’s Home to support summer programming. During the summer months, Bethany Children’s Home provides fun, first-time experiences for its residents like going to the beach, an amusement park, or an art museum. Funding will support travel expenses, meals, souvenirs, and potential admission costs.
$3,500 to Reading Youth Legion Baseball. Reading Youth Legion Baseball will provide children from the City of Reading with the opportunity to play competitive baseball while keeping costs affordable. Funding will support umpire fees, registration and insurance costs, uniforms, and equipment.
$4,623 to The S.P.A.R.K.S. Foundation for its Classroom Visitation Program. This program brings STEM lessons to elementary school students who are otherwise not able to participate in extra-curricular activities due to financial barriers. The hour-long program of lessons coupled with experiments covers topics that address educational standards in science for the grade level. Funding will support the costs of materials used for the STEM lessons and overhead costs such as rent, office supplies, and utilities.
$4,790 to Berks Youth Chorus to teach young people to perform confidently in a choral setting and to help students improve their overall musicianship. This grant will support the costs of operation that would normally be paid through a raised tuition. Keeping tuition costs low allows students to participate, regardless of their family’s income level.
$5,500 to The LGBT Center of Greater Reading for its Discovery Day Camp. Discovery Day Camp is geared towards helping youth ages 14 to 18 explore their identities in a safe and healthy environment. Through this camp, participants will learn, connect, and express themselves with like-minded individuals. Funding will support activity supplies, breakfast, lunch, insurance, and training for facilitators.
$6,500 to GoggleWorks Center for the Arts for its ongoing “GoggleWorks Gardens at Lauer’s Park” project. This project has four local gardens, which serve as local green spaces and outdoor classroom spaces for students. This program will provide two recurring weekly classes in the garden classrooms, as well as four after-school art programs. GoggleWorks Gardens at Lauer’s Park is a collaborative program of Lauer’s Park Elementary, Longwood Gardens, Rodale Institute, The Food Trust, and local farms. The funding will support program staff salaries.
$6,510 to Opportunity House for kitchen equipment upgrades. This grant will support the cost of upgrading the kitchen, which will allow the shelter to produce meals more efficiently and offer a greater selection of meal options. Funding will support the cost of a planetary floor mixer, a combination food processor, an immersion blender, and a meat slicer, as well as the cost of shipping for these appliances.
$6,750 to Immanuel United Church of Christ for its Preschool summer camp. This project provides summer day camp programs for children ages three to five. The goal of the day camp is to help students retain their school year momentum during the summer and to help younger students start their preschool education in a Christian setting. This grant will support the teacher’s salaries and supplies for snacks and crafts.
$8,000 to Hope of the Nations (HOTN) Hope Center for its Summer Arts Camp. The weeklong summer arts camp will feature dance classes and hands-on crafts. HOTN will partner with Feet on the Streets Ministries to serve elementary and middle-school-aged children. Funding will support camp administration, food for students, craft supplies, dance instruction, and more.
$8,250 to Café Esperanza for a project called “The Breakfast Club.” This project works to combat hunger in the summer months by providing free, nourishing breakfast to kids that would typically get free breakfast at school. Café Esperanza plans to provide additional summer enrichment activities for students, such as gardening, an art camp, a support group, and an anti-bullying program. Funding will support the costs of food, plants, garden expenses, art supplies, and salaries for supporting staff.
$10,000 to New Journey Community Outreach Inc. for its ongoing Fighting Poverty, Feeding Hope project. The goals of this project are restoring hope, dignity, and comfort in the community, while providing individuals in need with clothing and food through various outlets, including a daily soup kitchen, weekly grocery distribution, and an emergency food distribution and clothing center. Through this program, New Journey Community Outreach Inc. plans to serve 50,000 lunches and provides food pantry groceries for 9,200 families and emergency food for 480 families. Funding will support program staff wages, professional fees, and utility costs.
$10,000 to The Salvation Army for its Rental Assistance Program. The Salvation Army – Reading helps support local individuals and families who are struggling to pay rent, with an emphasis on supporting older clients who live on a fixed income. This allows these individuals to stay in their homes, reducing homelessness and eviction in the community. Funding will pay landlords to support families in need of rental assistance.
Both the First United Church of Christ Mission Fund and the St. Johns UCC Reading Fund were created with the goal of supporting causes that were important to the churches, with an emphasis on addressing pressing needs for youth. To learn more about the St. Johns UCC Reading Fund, visit https://bccf.org/funds/st-johns-ucc-reading-fund/. To learn more about the First United Church of Christ Mission Fund, visit https://bccf.org/funds/first-united-church-of-christ-mission-fund/.
###
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.
Having a community-based summer camp opportunity for children can be beneficial – and in some cases necessary – for families. The Salvation Army Reading Citadel has long recognized the need for affordable summer childcare and hosts a summer day camp for children ages 6 through 13. The program is supported in part by a grant from the First United Church of Christ Mission Fund of Berks County Community Foundation.
Last year, the Salvation Army’s summer camp provided 42 children with a healthy environment where they could spend their days during the summer. The camp offered activities to keep the kids entertained, such as academic instruction, arts and crafts, unstructured playtime, opportunities to explore science and nature, field trips, bible lessons, and more.
This summer camp first ran in 2021, and the Salvation Army Reading Citadel was able to host 26 children. The following year, the camp expanded, and a decrease in COVID-19 cases in the area allowed for more field trip opportunities.
The primary goal of summer camp is to further develop academic, artistic, and leadership skills while helping children retain the academic progress they had made during the school year.
To achieve this goal, the camp staff had the children take math and reading assessments during the first week of camp. Based on the performance of the campers, the camp staff assigned children math and reading lessons that would benefit them the most. At the end of the camp season, the children took a new exam at the same difficulty level. The camp staff found that the children had improved their scores by an average of more than 16 percent.
The First United Church of Christ Mission Fund supports causes that were important to the mission of the First United Church of Christ in Reading, PA, including helping Berks County children participate in activities that their families would otherwise not be able to afford.
When asked about the impact that summer camp had on student life, Victoria Schrag, secretary of Salvation Reading Citadel, said, “It felt like we were building a family here at the summer camp.”
In the coming years, the Salvation Army Reading Citadel staff hopes to expand to support even more campers.
To learn more about the First United Church of Christ Mission Fund, visit https://bccf.org/funds/first-united-church-of-christ-mission-fund/
To learn more about the Salvation Army Reading Citadel, visit https://easternusa.salvationarmy.org/eastern-pennsylvania/reading-pa/
