Southern Good Faith Fund is the new administrator for Entergy’s “Project Deserve”

Project Deserve, a fund established by Entergy Arkansas to help elderly and disabled customers pay their electric bills in times of financial crisis, has begun its 25th year in 2007 with a new fund administrator, Southern Good Faith Fund.

Source: KARK Channel 4

In 2006, Entergy Arkansas customers and employees contributed $317,413 for Project Deserve. Today Entergy announced that it has matched $135,512, raising the total 2006 contribution to $452,925. Checks are distributed monthly to Southern Good Faith Fund.

Since Project Deserve’s inception in 1982, the American Red Cross had served as the non-profit agency that managed customer casework and disseminated monetary assistance that Entergy customers, employees, shareholders, and others contributed to the fund.

The Red Cross is now dedicating all of its resources to its core mission priorities of disaster relief, response, training and military casework. As a result of focus on its core mission, the agency asked Entergy to seek out a new administrator of Project Deserve.

After considering numerous proposals over a period of several months, Entergy Arkansas selected Southern Good Faith Fund, a non-profit affiliate of Southern Bancorp to administer Project Deserve. The transition took place at the beginning of this year.

“We are very fortunate to have teamed up with an agency of the quality of Southern Good Faith Fund, which has an impressive track record of success in helping Arkansans succeed in the face of adversity,” said Hugh McDonald, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas.

Angela Duran, president of Southern Good Faith Fund, said: “Southern Good Faith Fund is excited to launch this partnership with Entergy as Project Deserve fits well with our mission of helping families increase their incomes and assets.” Since its inception 20 years ago, Southern Good Faith Fund has helped thousands of families in Arkansas and Mississippi earn their dream of going to college, owning a home and starting a small business.

Entergy customers may apply for Project Deserve funds at a variety of locations, most of which will be the same as before. The contact for Pulaski County is: Central Arkansas Development Council, 5620 West 12th #9, Little Rock, Ark., 72204, 501-603-0909.

Processing of the Project Deserve applications and fund disbursement will occur more quickly and easily with a new online system.

Entergy periodically solicits customer contributions to Project Deserve and would like to remind donors and potential donors that the need is always greater than the supply of funds available, so contributions are always welcome and appreciated. To donate by adding a dollar or so onto monthly electric bills, call 1-800-ENTERGY.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 14,000 employees.

Southern Good Faith Fund, Southern Financial Partners, and Southern Property Corporation are affiliates of Southern Bancorp, a $500 million rural development bank holding company working to transform rural economies by stimulating investments in people, jobs, businesses, and property with banking operations in Arkansas and Mississippi.

For more information:
Entergy’s online address is http://www.entergy.com
The Southern Good Faith Fund’s online address is http://www.southerngff.org

 Archive: April 2007 | Section: Media, Southern Bancorp, Southern Good Faith Fund, Video