What You Can Do
- MONETARY DONATIONS
- Annual Fund – Annual Fund requests are mailed out each year in November. Our wish list continues to grow for both our Day Services and Residential Services as we identify needs to improve our programs and the lives of the people we serve with intellectual disabilities and other special needs. Funds can be designated to our General Fund to help defray operating expenses or earmarked for one of the following three funds:
- Laura Isenberg Educational Fund – helps to offset a portion of tuition costs for Prospectus Berco employees who are completing an undergraduate degree, an advanced degree, or continuing educational course to enhance their job skills.
- Building Fund – designates funds for our facility at 840 William Lane and purchases much needed items for Day Services Programs.
- Endowment Fund – allows us to build a healthy, financial future. Monies raised are invested rather than spent and used for future expenditures and/or special projects and programs
Please contact Susan Stalnecker, Director of Development, at 610.372.4637, x 103, to receive Annual Fund information.
Want to make an online donation to Prospectus Berco?
For the convenience of our donors who prefer to make online donations, please click on the Donate Button to make your contribution. We are accepting donations through PayPal although you do not have to have a PayPal account in order to make this donation.
- Memorials & Honorariums – A donation received to honor a special event in the life of an individual or to honor the memory of a friend or loved one’s death is a beautiful and thoughtful way to commemorate their life. If you want to honor someone’s birthday, anniversary, graduation, other special event, or the memory of a loved one, please mail your check to Prospectus Berco and include your wishes. For your convenience, click here to fill out information on the memorial or honorarium you are making with your enclosed payment. Providing contact information for the person whom you are honoring or their family is helpful so that they can be notified of your benevolent gesture.
Please see our Overview Tab under How You Can Help for information on purchasing a Memorial/Honorarium Leaf to be placed in our Main Foyer.
- Planned Giving – What is Planned Giving? According to Robert F. Sharpe, Sr., in his book entitled Planned Giving Simplified, “Planned giving is people (givers) doing what they want to do with their assets and gift planners helping them to do it.”
At a certain age or under certain circumstances, a donor may consider planned giving to a non-profit agency. Planned giving may include bequests to Prospectus Berco in a will or living trust; the formation of charitable trusts or annuities; the naming of Prospectus Berco as the beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy; or a tax-free charitable gift to Prospectus Berco from an IRA. An individual or family chooses to make a gift to an organization because they are satisfied that the agency is providing a worthwhile service. Planned giving, however, is not only based on the agency’s needs but more importantly on the donor’s needs and wishes.
Check with your tax advisor or financial planner on ways to take advantage of this opportunity and what will be best for you based on your circumstances. If Prospectus Berco can assist you in any way, please contact Susan Stalnecker at 610-372-4637, ext. 103, or e-mail at sstalnecker@prospectusberco.org.
- Recurring Contributions- ACH Debit – If you are comfortable with the work and mission of Prospectus Berco, why not consider a recurring gift? You determine the amount; schedule the number of times to donate each year; and give permission to Prospectus Berco to charge your credit/debit card or transfer funds from your checking or saving account. This cuts down on fundraising expenses and allows us to use more of your dollars for program; provides you with a planned budget; and helps us budget our anticipated revenue.
Prospectus Berco can offer you the convenience of ACH debit to facilitate a recurring contribution. ACH debit (Automated Clearing House) or electronic funds transfer allows you to transfer funds electronically from a checking or savings account. Forms must be signed and submitted to us and to your banking institution for the amount and date(s) you specify. Credit/Debit Card Authorization forms are also available for your signature and information. Your account will only be debited with proper authorization from you.
Please contact Susan Stalnecker at 610.372.4637, ext. 103 or e-mail at sstalnecker@prospectusberco.org to inquire on setting this up.
- Special Events – Prospectus Berco is fortunate to have a Golf Committee that holds a golf tournament for our benefit each year. What!! You’re not a golfer? Don’t worry because there are numerous opportunities for you to contribute and support our efforts. Monies raised from the Annual Golf Tournament go toward program needs identified throughout the year.
In addition to the Golf Tournament, special events are periodically held by Prospectus Berco or other organizations wishing to support our cause.
- IN-KIND DONATIONS
We have a “wish list” of items that are needed by our Day Services and Residential Programs that help us to reduce our expenses when we are not required to make these purchases. Please call, and we will let you know if the item(s) you wish to donate are currently needed or will be needed in the future. As with any home or business, storage space can be a major factor on whether we are able to accept your gift. We accept new and “gently used” items.
Also, throughout the year, we hold program and special events in which we ask businesses for items to offer as gifts, auction items, or raffle items. Request letters are mailed, and your support is most appreciated.
- VOLUNTEER
The gift of time, talent, and energy is always a needed asset. There are various opportunities for an individual or group to volunteer at Prospectus Berco. Please click here to learn more about our volunteer needs.
If you wish to volunteer but do not see the opportunity listed, please give us a call to discuss other options.
- SPEAKER’S BUREAU
Need an interesting and informative speaker for your next meeting? If your school, church, business, or service organization wants to learn more about Prospectus Berco and our role in the Berks County community, please call Susan Stalnecker at 610.372.4637, ext. 103 or email at sstalnecker@prospectusberco.org to schedule a speaker for your next meeting or class session.
Uplifting and positive news is always welcome news, and we are more than willing to share our news on the wonderful adults at Prospectus Berco who take on amazing challenges to achieve a fulfilling and rewarding life.
- REDNER’S WAREHOUSE SAV-A-TAPE PROGRAM
Prospectus Berco participates in the Redner’s Warehouse Sav-A-Tape program in order to receive additional funds. Would you like to get involved?
The next time you are shopping at Redner’s, please go to the office and tell them you would like to participate in the Sav-A-Tape program on behalf of Prospectus Berco. You will be issued a Sav-A-Tape card which must be shown to the cashier each time you shop at Redner’s. The receipt will then be designated as a Sav-A-Tape receipt (milk and tobacco products are exempt).
Mail or drop off your receipts to Diane Behm, Accounts Manager, at Prospectus Berco, 840 William Lane, Reading, PA 19604. When we have accumulated a number of receipts, we will turn them into Redner’s. Within 5 weeks, Prospectus Berco will receive a check from Redner’s for 1% of the total amount of receipts submitted.
The more shoppers who participate; the more the proceeds add up. Please pass the word onto friends and family that shop at Redner’s and tell them how easy it is to make a difference for people with disabilities.
Tax Deductible Donations using Credit
We are pleased to offer the convenience of using your Visa or MasterCard whenever you wish to make a tax deductible donation to our agency, or to purchase any item that we offer. For further information on using your credit card for a donation or purchase, please contact Vicki Cook at 610.372.4637, x 302.
“I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life.”
Oprah Winfrey