United Way of Southeast Missouri receives grant for infrastructure

United Way of Southeast Missouri announced Friday it is one of 120 United Way chapters to receive a $10,000 grant from United Way Worldwide's COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.

UWSEMO said it plans to use the grant to update outdated IT infrastructure.

"As with many nonprofits, COVID made it painfully clear that our technology was not prepared for a pandemic or disaster of any type," said UWSEMO executive director Elizabeth Shelton. "As United Way employees worked from home, only one employee had access to a functioning UWSEMO laptop; other employees used personal computers or tablets. Employees without cameras or speakers on their computers had to rely on personal cell phones to attend numerous virtual meetings. They were also unable to host meetings, as screen sharing was not an option," she said.

Shelton said the pandemic-influenced cancellation of fundraisers postponed planned hardware upgrades.

"We have upgraded our software but our devices are eight to 10 years old and our phone system is 15 years old," she said.

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