How Ridgecrest Foundation Modernized Security Across Three Ministries

Three Ministries, One Outdated Camera System

The Ridgecrest Foundation was established in 2020, in the middle of the global pandemic, and oversees three key ministries: a conference center and two youth camps, one for boys and one for girls. Its mission is “to impact lives for God's glory,” and it pursues that mission through discipleship, adventure, and purposeful hospitality.

Security hadn’t kept pace. The foundation was running a lot of outdated cameras on old technology, and the setup couldn’t do what the team actually needed: there was no mobile access, no real-time alerts, and no way to add modern capabilities like facial recognition.

“We had a lot of outdated cameras... Our team wanted to have access to not only review footage but have real-time updates and alerts on their mobile devices, which we were not able to do at all with the previous solution,” said Robert Suggs, CFO. What Ridgecrest needed was a security solution that was scalable and cost-effective — one that could grow with three ministries without throwing out the cameras it already owned.

‍

An Open Platform That Works With the Cameras They Already Had

After evaluating several options, Ridgecrest Foundation chose Coram for its open platform and scalability. Two things carried the decision: Coram could integrate the foundation’s existing cameras, and its analytics went well beyond what the old system could do. The demo made that difference concrete: Coram could go back through recorded video and pull analytics from it, which Suggs called a huge differentiator.

Coram stood out for a few specific reasons:

• Works with existing hardware: Coram runs on Ridgecrest’s current camera systems, reducing initial costs
• Mobile access: A robust mobile app for real-time monitoring and alerts on staff devices
• Advanced analytics: Facial recognition that can match against local offender registries, adding a layer of security at the camps
• Analytics on recorded video: The ability to go back in time and run analytics on footage already captured — the demo moment that sold Suggs
• Built to scale: An open platform the foundation can expand as it grows

{{quote-banner-1}}

‍

Easy Access to Every Feed, From Anywhere

The change staff noticed first was access. Live feeds and recorded footage are now available anytime, anywhere, on the mobile devices the team already carries. “What I like the most is just the easy access to our footage and our live feeds,” Suggs said. Behind that convenience sit early detection features and alerts that have strengthened the safety protocols at the camps.

What Ridgecrest Foundation Is Doing with Coram

• Monitoring from anywhere: Staff watch live feeds and review recorded footage anytime, anywhere, from their mobile devices.
• Acting on real-time alerts: Updates and alerts reach the team’s mobile devices as things happen, instead of waiting for someone to review footage.
• Strengthening camp safety: Early detection features and alerts have bolstered the safety protocols at both youth camps.
• Screening with facial recognition: Matching against local offender registries adds a layer of protection at the camps.
• Growing without starting over: The foundation can easily expand its security infrastructure as it grows.

For a foundation established in 2020 and still growing, the upgrade delivered exactly what the old setup couldn’t: mobile access, real-time alerts, and modern analytics on the cameras it already owned, across all of its facilities. Suggs puts it simply.

{{quote-banner-2}}