Background
Catholic Charities is a nonprofit organization serving communities throughout the Houston, Texas area. Its programs include legal services, counseling, refugee assistance, shelters, senior services, food pantries, veteran support, homelessness prevention and rental assistance.
Supporting such a wide range of programs requires the organization to manage furniture, equipment, archived files and other resources across locations in Houston, Richmond and Galveston.
Opportunity/Challenge
Previously, Catholic Charities relied primarily on spreadsheets and internally created labels to manage inventory. While the system recorded some purchased items, it did not always provide complete information about where assets were located or when they moved.
The organization needed a more organized way to track office furniture, equipment, children’s items and archived client files. Accurate records were also important for insurance documentation, grant reporting and determining when items should be replaced, recycled or disposed of.
“We didn’t have anything,” said Yadira Barcenas, Director of Purchasing and Support Services. “It was just an Excel spreadsheet, and we would just list them.”
Solution
Catholic Charities implemented Grey Trunk asset tracking software with barcode labels and scanners to create a more complete inventory system. Assets such as desks, tables, chairs, office equipment, gym equipment and carts can now be assigned to specific locations and updated whenever they are moved.
“So, for instance, if my desk would be moved to another office, we’ll make that move with Grey Trunk,” Barcenas said. “So, it’s awesome.”
The organization also uses Grey Trunk to record expiration dates and recall information for children’s furniture, including cribs, mattresses and highchairs. This gives staff a clearer process for identifying items that need to be replaced or removed from service.
Barcode identifiers also show whether an asset was purchased directly by Catholic Charities, funded through a grant or received as a donation. This information helps the organization document how resources were acquired and justify their continued use or disposal.
Result
Grey Trunk has expanded beyond traditional asset tracking to help Catholic Charities manage archived client files more efficiently. Files must be retained for seven years, so boxes are barcoded and assigned to specific pallets, bays and storage locations. Staff can quickly locate records, identify files ready for shredding, and track furniture and equipment as it moves between locations.
“It tells us what pallet, what bay, what box number we need to pull,” Barcenas said. “That helps us a lot. It’s very efficient.”
That visibility can translate into meaningful productivity gains. Research cited by McKinsey found that more than a quarter of a typical knowledge worker’s time can be spent searching for information. By making asset and file information easier to locate, Grey Trunk helps reduce that administrative burden while giving Catholic Charities more time to focus on its programs and services.
The system also supports grant and insurance reporting by providing organized records of assets, funding sources and inventory—helping the organization protect and make better use of its resources.
Grey Trunk also supports insurance and grant reporting by providing itemized inventory reports and records of furniture and equipment purchased with restricted funds.
From a user perspective, the system has been easy to adopt. “Very friendly and easy to use. I love it,” Barcenas said. After recently training another employee, she added, “It’s very simple. It’s very easy.”
By bringing asset, file and funding information into one system, Grey Trunk is helping Catholic Charities improve organization, strengthen reporting and make better use of the resources that support its mission.
