January 2022
Apply for scholarships now!
We accept applications for most of our scholarships from January 1 to March 15 at http://bccf.link/scholarships.

Since the Community Foundation’s founding in 1994, we have awarded more than $10 million in scholarships to local students. 

By completing one online application, students can be matched to any of nearly 100 scholarship funds for which they may qualify.

To review all of the scholarships that the Community Foundation has available, visit https://bccf.org/search-for-scholarships/.

Questions? Email Kim Sheffer, Lifelong Learning Program Associate, at [email protected] or [email protected].

After taking a two-year break due to the pandemic, we hope to hold our annual Scholarship Luncheon in June to honor this year’s scholarship recipients. (Pictured below is our last Scholarship Luncheon in 2019.)

The online application for K-12 tax credit scholarships in Berks County will be available on our website in May for the 2022-2023 school year.
To apply for a grant, use our online application system, which you can access here. You must create an account to access the system.

The following opportunities are available at this time (with deadlines listed if applicable):

Home Health Care Foundation Fund (apply now until 3/15/2022)
The Home Health Care Foundation Fund provides grants to organizations and programs that do one or more of the following:
  • Help residents recover from illness or disability at home.
  • Support preventative healthcare for residents and overall community health.
  • Provide health-related charity care to residents.
Grants are awarded to organizations and programs that serve Berks County and/or those counties that are contiguous to it. Preference is given to Berks County organizations. The maximum amount available per organization is $40,000.

Power of the Purse in Berks County Fund (apply now until 1/24/2022)
The Power of the Purse 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.

The Youth and Philanthropy Fund (apply now until 1/24/2022) 
This year, this funding is available to organizations that are addressing mental health issues in local youth. The Youth and Philanthropy Fund of Berks County Community Foundation provides grants to Berks County programs that address youth-related issues that are considered critical needs by the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Board, which is managed in conjunction with the Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading, a program of VOiCEUp! Berks. The Youth Advisory Board has decided that it will award grants this school year to organizations that, through education or programs, promote the awareness/importance of mental health, serve/support those who are struggling with their mental health, or create preventative solutions to decrease the scope and severity of mental health issues.

Juniper Fund (apply now until 1/31/2022)
Grants from this fund support the following purposes but are not limited to:
  • individuals to improve basic skills in Scottish music, dance, art, cuisine, etc.
  • activities to promote enrichment experiences in Scottish culture, traditions, and history.
  • activities to benefit the Scottish community and the Murray Clan.

Berks County Angel Funds
The Community Foundation manages several funds that provide grants of $25 to $1,000 for specific needs of children and young adults in Berks County:
  • The Emmanuel 'Manny' Dimitriou Memorial Fund provides grants for children with critical medical, social, or educational needs that will enhance their ability to achieve their full potential.
  • The Camella Maggs Client Memorial Fund provides grants for children who have learning and physical disabilities.
  • The Kraus Gill Fund provides grants for recently discharged adults who were once in foster care who either lived in a Berks County foster home and/or were Berks County residents at the time of their placement in foster care. These grants are to assist them with transitional housing costs in general and/or educational expenses.
  • The Berks County Parrot Head Club 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 is unable to 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.

Arthur O. & Clara M. Schlegel Memorial Fund
This fund provides grants that support the medical costs of physical differences in Berks County children whose guardians are unable to meet such expenses. Expenses that may be covered include direct and indirect medical expenses, such as travel costs associated with treatment.

Bridge Fund
This fund provides grants of less than $1,000 to address critical needs that place juveniles at increased risk of entering the foster care system or the juvenile detention center.

Cystic Fibrosis Fund of Berks County
This fund supports the needs of individuals with cystic fibrosis, including both direct and indirect medical expenses and necessary, but ancillary, expenses related to treatment.

Friends of the Berks County Public Libraries Fund
This fund distributes grants for special projects and emergency needs at Berks County’s public libraries.

Ira M. Becker Fund
This fund provides grants to educate young men (up to age 30) in Berks County, one at a time. These funds can be used for educational purposes but not for tuition. An individual may apply for a grant, or a caseworker or court official may also apply on behalf of an individual.

Margaret B. Moeller Memorial Fund for Alzheimer's Home Care Companions
This fund provides grants for families in the Boyertown Area School District with individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia to obtain the services of in-home care companions, aides, or other providers of respite care.

Jess's Sunshine Fund
This fund provides grants to support families who are residents of the Boyertown Area School District with dependent adult or minor children who have special needs arising from a long-term catastrophic illness or injury.

Pets in Need Fund and the Darryl and Susanne Shoff Fund
These funds provide grants for veterinary care for animals in life-threatening situations. Applicants must be residents of Berks County and be referred to the funds by their veterinarian.

To apply for a grant, use our online application system, which you can access here. You must create an account to access the system.
Grants awarded for health care;
more funding is available
Nine organizations have been awarded grants totaling $227,300 for programs that address health-related issues among residents of Berks and nearby counties.

The Home Health Care Foundation Fund of Berks County Community Foundation awarded the grants. This fund is again accepting applications for another round of funding until March 15, 2022.

The Home Health Care Foundation Fund provides grants to organizations and programs that do one or more of the following:
• Help residents recover from illness or disability at home.
• Support preventative healthcare for residents and overall community health.
• Provide health-related charity care to residents.

Grants are awarded to organizations and programs that serve Berks County and/or those counties that are contiguous to it. Preference is given to Berks County organizations. The maximum amount available per organization is $40,000.

To apply, visit http://bccf.link/grants. You must create an account to access the application system.

The Home Health Care Foundation Fund has distributed more than $500,000 since it was established at the Community Foundation in 2020. Learn more at our website, from Berks Weekly, in the Reading Eagle, or at bctv.org.
Grants help Albright
with EV charging stations
Albright College will build 16 electric vehicle charging stations on campus.

The project will utilize two Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Alternative Fuel Incentive grants, as well as a grant from Berks County Community Foundation’s Met-Ed / Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund.

This is happening as Albright moves its vehicle fleet from gas to electric, beginning with five public safety and admission vehicles.

Each charging station will accommodate two vehicles at a time. They will be the first publicly-available charging stations in the city of Reading.

Ten public charging stations will be available in the college’s visitor parking lot and Shirk Stadium parking lot, both located along North 13th Street. Another six stations will be spread throughout campus.
Donald F. Smith Jr. honored
with Sidney D. Kline Jr. Award
The 13th Annual Holiday Benefit Luncheon – a program of the Law Foundation of Berks County and the Reading Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs (PICPA) was recently held at the DoubleTree By Hilton Reading.

Congratulations to Donald F. Smith Jr., a volunteer attorney with the Reading office of MidPenn Legal Services, on receiving the Sidney D. Kline Jr. Award for Outstanding Community Service.

The keynote speaker was Jim Thome, MLB Hall of Famer and former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman.

Berks County Community Foundation is one of the annual sponsors of this event. The Community Foundation works closely with the Law Foundation of Berks County, a nonprofit that raises and provides funds to support charitable, law-related projects, programs, services, and scholarships in Berks County.

Franki Aitken, the Community Foundation's Chief Operating Officer, serves as a trustee for the Law Foundation and as president of the statewide PICPA.

The Law Foundation and Berks County Community Foundation collaborate on the Bridge Fund, which provides grants recommended by social workers or agents of the court system to keep children out of the legal system.
We're now accepting
cryptocurrency donations
Donating a gift of cryptocurrency to Berks County Community Foundation is an easy way to make a difference in your community, impacting today and transforming tomorrow.

Donating cryptocurrency is a non-taxable event, meaning you do not owe capital gains tax on the appreciated amount and can deduct it from your taxes. This makes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency donations one of the most tax-efficient ways to support your favorite cause.

Learn more at https://bccf.org/crypto/
Parents add donation
to artist's memorial scholarship
Ann Lemon and Dane Burkhart stopped by our offices recently to give a check for $20,000 to Franki Aitken, Berks County Community Foundation's Chief Operating Officer, as a contribution to the Amos Lemon Burkhart Art Scholarship Fund of Berks County Community Foundation. The contribution came from the proceeds of a fundraising event that they held earlier this year in memory of their son, Amos Lemon Burkhart.

Ann and Dane established the scholarship at Berks County Community Foundation in 2018. Amos, a 2017 graduate of Governor Mifflin High School, possessed both great technical ability in drawing and painting and unusually advanced conceptual gifts, as evidenced by his large body of work (check out the photos below of his work from a recent exhibit at the Goggleworks Center for the Arts).

Amos was awarded a presidential scholarship at Montserrat College of Art for the fall of 2018 to study animation and painting. Sadly, Amos suffered from mental illness and trauma and passed away in May 2018 at the age of 19 from causes related to substance abuse.

This fund provides scholarships to graduating seniors of Governor Mifflin High School who display extraordinary artistic promise and will be furthering their education after high school. Scholarship recipients are selected by faculty in the Art Department at Governor Mifflin High School.
Community Foundation realigns
leadership roles and strategy
Berks County Community Foundation is starting 2022 with a reorganization of its staff to align with its new strategic plan and position the organization for future growth.

As a key part of the restructuring, the Community Foundation promoted longtime employee Heidi Williamson to chief strategy officer. She previously served as senior vice president of programs and initiatives.

In this newly created position, Williamson is building and overseeing the implementation of an external strategy that strengthens the Community Foundation’s brand, attracts new assets, and elevates awareness of the foundation’s community leadership activities.

Under the new structure, Kevin Murphy, Community Foundation president, is leading all grant-related and community leadership work. An expanded team of program officers – who are experts in their fields – supports Murphy. That team includes Monica Reyes, health and human services program officer; Kevin Lugo, energy and the environment program officer; and Kim Sheffer, lifelong learning program associate. The Community Foundation recently hired Lugo and Sheffer to their posts, which are new roles at the Community Foundation.

The promotion of Williamson to chief strategy officer rounds out the executive suite at the foundation, which includes Murphy as president and Franki Aitken as chief operating officer. Jason Brudereck, director of communication, reports to Williamson.

Williamson joined Berks County Community Foundation in 2001 as director of communication. She later became vice president for communication and then senior vice president for programs and initiatives. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English/professional writing from Kutztown University and a Master of Arts in strategic communication and organizational leadership from Seton Hall University.
Brudereck appointed
to county library board
The Berks County Commissioners recently appointed Jason Brudereck, the Community Foundation's director of communication, to the Berks County Public Libraries Advisory Board in a unanimous vote.

Before joining the Community Foundation in 2014, Jason spent more than 15 years as a reporter and columnist at the Reading Eagle. Jason has volunteered for several area nonprofits, such as the Literacy Council of Reading-Berks, where he served as president of the board.
Team member graduates
from career program
Monica Reyes, the Community Foundation's Health and Human Services Program Officer, has officially graduated from the prestigious Career Pathways program. The Council on Foundations runs Career Pathways as a highly-selective leadership development program designed to diversify the talent pipeline for executive positions in philanthropy.

In her role at the Community Foundation, Monica manages the grant distribution process for a growing portfolio of charitable funds that promote public health and help those in need in Berks County. She is coordinator of both the Berks County Task Force for Oral Health and the Power of the Purse in Berks County, a philanthropic initiative for local women. She also serves on the Berks County COVID-19 Health Advisory Panel.
Yocum Institute presents
Children's Theater Festival
The Yocum Institute for Arts Education is staging the Children's Theater Festival of Berks County from February 11 to February 13, 2022.

During the celebration, Yocum will present stories of "Friendship, Laughter, Dance and Music."

Productions include Elephant & Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" One of the shows will be a sensory-friendly performance.

This initiative is supported by a grant from Berks County Community Foundation.
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The mission of Berks County Community Foundation is to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County.
Berks County Community Foundation
237 Court St., Reading PA 19601
610.685.2223
This e-newsletter is issued monthly and is the only place where we comprehensively compile all current funding opportunities.
Berks County Community Foundation develops, manages and distributes funds for charitable purposes in the community. The official registration and financial information of Berks County Community Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.