The St. David's Foundation board of directors voted Dec. 11 to award the Round Rock Area Serving Center $545,000 in new grant funding.

The grants include $150,000 in annual program funding for 2013 and 2014 and $245,000 for capital funding, said Michael Wilson, St. David's Foundation program officer for Healthy Aging and Healthy Futures.

"The Round Rock Area Serving Center has been a significant partner of the foundation in Williamson County over the last handful of years," Wilson said. "This will be the first year we have done multiyear funding.

"We see that as significant. ... [The Serving Center] can then devote their time and energy for serving the people they work for and support in the Williamson County community."

The Round Rock Area Serving Center is a nonprofit which specializes in providing underprivileged and low-income households in Round Rock and surrounding communities with food, clothing, transportation and financial assistance. According to Executive Director Lori Scott, in 2011 the Serving Center assisted more than 60,000 people with services, food and clothing. The Serving Center, which opened in 1987, operates with only 4 1/2 paid staff members and relies on 250 volunteers to help provide services to the community, Scott said.

"Our partnership with the St. David's Foundation is such a blessing to us," Scott said. "They just really stepped up when we needed them to."

Scott said the annual program funding received through the grant is earmarked for senior care, including the salary of a case management specialist for senior services. The $245,000 capital funding grant will go toward paying off existing debt on the Serving Center's building and property.

"We are very close to being debt-free for 2013," Scott said. "That is important because then we will be able to dedicate more of our resources towards helping members of our community."

Wilson said the St. David's Foundation has worked in partnership with the Serving Center since 2006 by providing it with nearly $1 million in grants. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and receives its funding from the St. David's Health Care system, Wilson said. In 2012, the Foundation distributed more than $34 million to community health programs throughout Central Texas, he said.