Microsoft Partners with Minnie’s

Minnie’s Food Pantry is pleased to announce that its organization is the recipient of Microsoft Corp’s Nonprofit Tech Acceleration (NTA) program for Black and African American communities.

Launched this fall, Microsoft’s NTA program provides U.S. nonprofits that serve Black and African American communities with transformative technology solutions that will allow organizations to scale their work and increase the impact on the communities they serve. Under the grant, Minnie’s Food Pantry will receive licenses for Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Business 365 Business Premium for its staff, consulting services, and a host of technological resources aimed at strengthening its data infrastructure.

In 2015, Minnie’s Learning Lab was created to offer client educational training programs to help transform lives. “The pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, and because of social distancing, we had to halt all of our in-class programs. As a result, the buses that transported hundreds of children were no longer arriving at our facility, and our team had to rethink how to administer our curriculum immediately. The technology partnership with Microsoft enables Minnie’s Food Pantry to do just that. We can now offer a state-of-the-art platform to host our classes remotely anywhere in the country. It also gives individuals an opportunity to learn and have flexibility while doing it,” said Dr. Cheryl Jackson, Founder of Minnie’s Food Pantry.

“Our communities are where we live, work, study, play – so we need to devote the necessary resources to improving them,” said Microsoft’s NTA Program Manager Darrell Booker. “Our goal is to bring awareness to these nonprofits that technology should not be a barrier. It’s a necessity, and it’s available, and through embracing it, you can have the biggest impact possible.”

Minnie’s Food Pantry adult classes are focused on financial literacy, health and nutrition, and job skills training. In addition, we partnered with schools across Collin County to educate children on basic life skills and tools for adulthood. Through Minnie’s Learning Lab, more than 4,000 hours of training have been logged, and individuals found gainful employment.