Convoy of Hope reveals name of new global HQ

Convoy of Hope revealed at an Oct. 5 dedication ceremony that the nonprofit’s new $37 million headquarters and training center has been named in honor of owners of a Springfield-based business.

The 200,000-square-foot facility at 1 Convoy Drive near Amazon’s Republic facility was named the Rick and Jan Britton Global Headquarters and Training Center. The husband and wife, who own Digital Monitoring Products Inc., are longtime supporters of Convoy of Hope, said nonprofit spokesperson Ethan Forhetz via email. Convoy officials declined to disclose the naming rights donation amount.

The opening of Convoy of Hope’s three-story headquarters, which is attached to its 230,000-square-foot distribution center by a skywalk on the second floor, marked the first time local personnel will work on one campus in its nearly 30-year history, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Through fundraising efforts aimed specifically at the building campaign, no general fund dollars were spent on either the headquarters or distribution center, which opened in 2021, according to a news release.

Forhetz said roughly 2,000 people attended the invitation-only dedication ceremony, including Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.

“The outreach they have is second to none in what they are doing to change lives around the world,” Parson said in the release. “It is an honor as the 57th governor to support this venture and do everything I can to help.”

Features of the new facility include a 60-by-170-foot atrium with a three-story ceiling, 710-seat auditorium, cafeteria, coffee shop, wellness center, production studios, collaboration workspaces and Hope Supply Co., a store of Convoy of Hope-branded products open to the public, according to past reporting.

Founded in 1994, the international humanitarian relief organization has served more than 200 million people and distributed over $2 billion worth of supplies, officials say. Convoy of Hope employs nearly 350 people in the U.S., including 272 at the headquarters and distribution center, and another 169 outside the country, according to past reporting.

“Today, we look back over these 30 years with gratitude for all that God has done,” Convoy of Hope founder and CEO Hal Donaldson said in the release. “But we believe that the best is yet to come. It’s only the beginning.”