Policies and Terms of Service
The purpose of our policies is to provide guidelines while ensuring the organization’s mission to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County.
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.
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.
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.
