Berks County Community Foundation

About Berks County Community Foundation

Berks County Community Foundation Inc is a local funder that pairs large operating support with place-based community initiatives across Berks County. Its recent grants show a strong commitment to organizations rooted in Reading and nearby towns, with recurring support for Berks Nature, the Foundation for the Reading Public Museum, Humane Pennsylvania, and the Animal Rescue League of Berks County Inc. The foundation also backs county-serving work in health care, environmental stewardship, education, neighborhood vitality, and public safety, reflecting a broad community-improvement mandate rather than a single-issue strategy. Several of its largest awards go beyond annual operating support. It funded the Reading Hospital Foundation for the cardiac catheterization lab at Reading Hospital, Tower Health at Home for hospice electronic medical record implementation, and the Reading Public Museum for capital improvements and preservation work on Trudy's Garden. On the education side, grants have supported Berks Catholic High School and scholarship activity, while public-interest and local-information projects include support for Spotlight PA’s Berks coverage. The result is a grantmaker that blends institutional support with targeted investments in infrastructure, services, and local civic life.

What Berks County Community Foundation Funds

Education and scholarship support appears in both institutional and student-focused forms. Berks Catholic High School received $96,225 for general support and scholarship support, while the foundation also administers scholarship opportunities through a universal scholarship application. Health and human services are another clear area of activity. Tower Health at Home received $95,000 for implementation of a new medical record system for hospice care, and Reading Hospital Foundation received $100,000 for the cardiac catheterization lab at Reading Hospital. Environmental and conservation work is also present. Green Building Alliance received $150,616 for its Building Sustainable, Resilient, and Thriving Communities project, and Rodale Institute received $150,000 for the Rodale Institute Science Center. Animal welfare is a recurring theme as well, with Humane Pennsylvania and the Animal Rescue League of Berks County Inc each receiving support for animal care, operations, and healthy pets initiatives.

How Berks County Community Foundation Gives