The Hot Springs Giving Circle has given Project HOPE Food Bank a $4,550 grant to upgrade its 20-year-old computer system, the organizations announced this week.
The new equipment will provide the up-to-date information needed to solicit grants and to furnish impact information to valued foundations, a news release said, and will also provide information regarding inventory and distribution, allowing the food bank to accurately order food when needed and to project trends in inventory.
Project HOPE Food Bank distributed 250,000 pounds of food to 45 area agencies from January through March. Partnering schools have received 13 percent of their total distributions in an ongoing effort to fight child hunger, "which is a major issue in the community," the release said.
Area pantries and feeding programs regularly receive assistance from Project HOPE, "which allows them to stretch their budgets and offer more help to families and seniors who are in crisis and struggle with food insecurity. Since most of these agencies do not have the space needed to house large quantities of food, the food bank's ability to pool resources and to store and distribute food efficiently and effectively is an invaluable service to the community," it said.
The new equipment, a 2019 Dell PowerEdge T440 Tower, will provide "years of service and sustainability to the food bank." The grant also covered the cost of installing the software and make it fully operational.
"This new server is fast and reliable," Ted Thompson, Project HOPE director, said in the release. "It eliminates a lot of the frustration and downtime we faced with the old server."
The Hot Springs Giving Circle is a component fund of the Hot Springs Area Community Foundation, a group of "active community philanthropists who can analyze situations in a timely manner and promptly render appropriate responses when nonprofit organizations encounter unanticipated needs," the release said.
Combining their donations allows the group to have more impact in funding specific, one-time needs of 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the city of Hot Springs and throughout Garland County, it said.
"Along with their philanthropy, members of the Hot Springs Giving Circle also bring a variety of high-level expertise in fields such as medicine, art, education, finance, operational management, construction, manufacturing, marketing, and design to assist their nonprofit partners. Many members also serve on a variety of local and statewide nonprofit boards or operate their own charitable foundations," it said.
Now in its 11th year, Hot Springs Giving Circle has granted over $640,000 to area nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations must meet the Hot Springs Giving Circle's guidelines before being considered as grant recipients. Nonprofits who are interested in seeking a grant can email [email protected] for more information, the release said.
Project HOPE Food Bank relies on its donated warehouse and office space, grant-obtained and debt-free equipment including freezers, refrigerators, fork truck, box truck and van, and a volunteer warehouse staff, including the executive director and inventory specialist, to maximize its impact on the community, according to the release.
"The capital grant provided by the Hot Springs Giving Circle to install a new computer server allows Project HOPE Food Bank to utilize other grants and donations to distribute food to a community where so many children, seniors, and families struggle with hunger," the release said.
Local on 04/21/2019