Berks County Community Foundation, Inc.

Board and staff members set discretionary initiatives through a periodic strategic planning process. The Community Foundation's discretionary funds and other resources support these priorities.

Discretionary initiatives change over time. During the 2019-2021 pandemic, our focus turned to supporting local nonprofits through that time.

Prior to the pandemic, the foundation's (FY 2014 – FY 2019) discretionary initiatives were as follows:

1. Reposition Reading as a sustainable, vital city in the heart of Berks County

2. Develop and implement an initiative that has a meaningful impact on the arts in Berks County

3. Develop and implement an initiative that has a meaningful impact on educational attainment in Berks County

4. Develop and implement an initiative to strengthen community leadership among key organizations

5. Develop and implement an initiative that encourages data-driven decision making to support community revitalization, particularly in Reading

Initiative: Reposition Reading as a sustainable, vital city in the heart of Berks County.
Rationale: A vibrant downtown, strong civic leadership and an educated workforce attract, create and retain family-sustaining jobs that in turn lead to a better quality of life for residents.

Initiative: Support, promote and fund the arts in Berks County, both downtown and in regions of the county that report lower participation in such activities.
Rationale: If existing arts and culture organizations bring their programming out of the establishment, they will reach a larger audience and expose more people to creative activities.

Initiative: Increase the percentage of Berks County residents who hold high school diplomas, trade/program certificates, and bachelor's degrees.
Rationale: An educated workforce attracts, creates and retains family-sustaining jobs that in turn lead to a better quality of life for residents.

Initiative: Strengthen community leadership among key organizations.
Rationale: Berks County needs more organizations to step up and drive leadership programs or projects in order to bring meaningful community change.

Initiative: Assist with the revitalization of Berks County communities, particularly Reading, by encouraging the use of data in planning and decision-making.
Rationale: Communities that plan based on data rather than hunches or opinions are better able to address the challenges they face and begin to improve.

Mission
The mission of Berks County Community Foundation is to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County.

Values
Berks County Community Foundation is dedicated to the following values:

• Impact: We make a difference.
Every grant we make and action we take is meant to make life better and serve the greater good.

• Transparency: We're an open book.
Our work – including our processes, financial information, results and history - is transparent and open to review and scrutiny by the community.

• Integrity: We honor our commitments.
We are stewards of the legacies of the members of our community who entrusted their charitable gifts and intentions with us to carry out forever.

• Excellence: We exceed expectations.
We always look for ways to do more, be better and hold ourselves to a higher standard.

• Evidence: We respect facts.
We make decisions based on the best facts we can find. Sometimes new facts will emerge that will force us to rethink long-held beliefs.

We're bringing people downtown with events like the Reading Fire + Ice Fest, the Downtown Alive free concert series and arts programming. There is growing interest in the economy of Penn Street.

The city has adopted the Complete Streets principles.

More people are reporting they have access to the arts.

Vital Signs reports continue to be created on a regular basis to gauge progress on several issues.

We are also providing critical support to local nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic.