The work we do to help households become stable and ensure children can thrive is only possible thanks to our hundreds of corporate, nonprofit, foundation and labor partners.
United Way is proud to work with hundreds of nonprofit, community and corporate partners to create positive, sustainable change along Michigan's Lakeshore. Access our toolkits to find helpful resources for promoting our collaborative work, upcoming agency support opportunities, and United Way service products.
Volunteers have an enormous impact on the health and well-being of communities worldwide, making a difference in day-to-day life in countless ways. As community needs change, grow, and emerge, the time and talents of volunteers are more important than ever to help those most in need in our neighborhoods.
GetConnected - Digital Volunteer Management!
This program is offered FREE for all agencies, clubs, churches, and schools in Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana counties! Go to volunteer.unitedwaylakeshore.org to get your agency started today!
Why GetConnected:
- An easy volunteer management system for you and your volunteers. Get Connected makes it simple for your volunteers to find and select the opportunities they’re passionate about.
- Give essential tools to your corporate partners. Build and maintain corporate partnerships with automated communication tools, custom landing pages, and real-time tracking of employee impact.
- Make volunteer check-in a snap. Use Get Connected to easily check-in volunteers using an onsite kiosk and a free, mobile volunteer app.
- Track volunteer hours in real-time. Accurately capture every volunteer hour and generate automated reports to show impact within your community.
- Volunteer App - Empower your volunteers to find opportunities, check-in, and track hours with an intuitive mobile app.
- Scheduling - Fill every volunteer shift with tools that manage one-time events, ongoing opportunities, and recurring shifts.
- Volunteer Waivers - Protect your organization by collecting and storing digital liability waivers and e-signatures.
- Groups & Teams - Boost volunteer engagement and impact with streamlined group and team management tools.
- Volunteer Profiles- Give volunteers a custom profile that displays skills & interests, individual impact, and achievements.
GetConnected Training Materials For Volunteer Administrators:
Click Here To RSVP For A GetConnected Training - These Trainings Are Held Virtually Every Fourth Friday of the Month!
Click Here To Download Our Complete "Get Started Manual"
Need support? Contact our Volunteer Coordinator at sara@unitedwaylakeshore.org or call (231) 332-4010
Lakeshore Verified Volunteers!
We know not all nonprofits and service organizations are alike. Some nonprofits have the ability to pay for all background checks, some may not need background checks, and some may need to require their volunteers to cover the costs. That’s why we created Lakeshore Verified Volunteers.
Lakeshore Verified Volunteers help nonprofit organizations gain confidence in the volunteers working with those they serve by delivering thorough, reliable background checks. By enabling volunteers to order, manage, and share their background checks via a secure online platform FOR FREE, a community of vetted volunteers is created, which helps nonprofit organizations save time and money.
Our screening and compliance best practices help nonprofits recruit the best volunteers to maintain a safe environment and positive reputation.
What We Do:
- We run a basic ICHAT and Sex Offender Registry check for free for any volunteer in Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana Counties.
- We verify that they are cleared with no background history and hold on to this information for 1 year.
- Each year we then follow up in the month of January and re-screen each volunteer with their permission.
- Nonprofits that have signed a MOU can request this background check to be faxed or sent to them at any time.
- Volunteers can also manage and share their background checks at any time!
Other Benefits include:
- A paperless, self-service online process
- The cost-sharing capability between volunteers and the nonprofits they serve
- Volunteer ability to securely share background check free of charge with unlimited organizations within the GetConnected System
- Automatic annual updates
- Volunteer manager ability to track, communicate with, and manage volunteers
Interested in being a Lakeshore Verified Volunteer Site? Contact our office today at sara@unitedwaylakeshore.org or call (231) 332-4010.
Volunteer Management Articles:
AmeriCorps Seniors - Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation for people 55 and over. By becoming a National Service volunteer you can use the skills and talents you have learned over the years, or develop new ones while serving in a variety of volunteer activities within our community. Established over 40 years ago, the federally supported program connects individuals who are at 55+ to volunteer opportunities that impact specific needs and goals in their local communities. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is one of three programs operated by the Corporation for National and Community Service under AmeriCorps Seniors.
FY 24 - AmeriCorps VISTA
United Way of the Lakeshore is looking to apply for an AmeriCorps VISTA Grant for FY 24 in the late fall. We are currently looking for partners to help us fill find projects related to investment priorities that serve Muskegon, Newaygo, or Oceana counties.
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is a federal anti-poverty national service program designed to provide resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to strengthen efforts to address poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States. In 1993, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of national service programs, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, now known as AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps VISTA supports efforts to address poverty by providing opportunities for Americans, 18 years of age and older, from a diverse range of backgrounds, to dedicate a year of full-time service with a sponsoring organization (“sponsor”) on a project that will create, strengthen or expand initiatives designed to empower individuals and communities in overcoming poverty.
AmeriCorps VISTA seeks to prioritize investment of national service resources in the following areas:
Economic Opportunity
Healthy Futures
Education
Veterans and Military Families
Environmental Stewardship
Priority Populations: Areas of Deep Poverty, Rural Communities, and Indian Country.
Additional priority consideration for projects that work in the above areas and populations that address issues of racial equity
PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES
AmeriCorps recently released its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan which defines the agency’s goals, objectives, and strategies, to both meet and exceed the agency’s mission to improve lives and strengthen communities.
Over the coming years, AmeriCorps will support the following goals to better position the agency to respond to national and local needs and help the communities it serves prosper: partner with communities to alleviate poverty and advance racial equity; enhance the experience for AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers; unite Americans by bringing them together in service; effectively steward federal resources; and make AmeriCorps one of the best and most equitable places to work in the federal government. Over the coming years, AmeriCorps will invest in existing and new partnerships with non-profit, faith based, and Native-led organizations, and state service commissions, to get things done for America. We will prioritize investment in the most critical issues of our time — public health, climate and the environment, education, and economic opportunity — and we will increase our efforts to ensure our AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Senior volunteers reflect the communities where they serve. We will target our investments toward communities where the need is greatest, particularly those with populations that face racial inequality and poverty. These steps will enable more Americans than ever to strengthen the communities that need it most across the nation through their service.
AmeriCorps VISTA is seeking project applications for programming in any of the following five AmeriCorps Focus Areas
- Economic Opportunity
- Healthy Futures
- Education
- Veterans and Military Families
- Environmental Stewardship
Priority consideration will be given to project applications that fall under the specific programming areas below. Additionally, VISTA will focus on awarding projects that advance racial equity and that invest in underserved communities, particularly those impacted by the pandemic. These priorities are established annually based on Administration guidance, input received from AmeriCorps staff, sector research, and a review of the existing portfolio of AmeriCorps VISTA projects nationwide.
Economic Opportunity
AmeriCorps VISTA’s commitment to addressing poverty includes focusing on projects that create or strengthen opportunities for low-income individuals to develop workforce knowledge and skills that will meet the needs of employers. In addition, projects that focus on housing are strongly encouraged to apply. Priority areas include:
- Housing: Transitioning individuals into or helping them remain in safe, affordable housing, with a special focus on veterans and those displaced due to COVID-19 related unemployment. VISTA also strongly encourages organizations focused on eviction prevention to apply.
- Employment/workforce development: Improving or creating job skills training programs that lead to increased employment.
- Federal Benefit access: Increasing awareness of and access to federal benefit programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit (CTC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and others.
Healthy Futures
The VISTA program will give priority to projects that meet health needs for economically-disadvantaged individuals. Priority areas include:
- Access to health care: Connecting economically-disadvantaged individuals to preventative education and treatment/recovery services regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, to include mental health services.
- Food security: Alleviating hunger and increasing access to nutritious food. Potential partners may include, but are not limited to, individual food banks and pantries, networks of food banks, K-12 schools, community gardens, and after-school programs.
Education
The VISTA program will support projects that enhance access to services and resources that contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically-disadvantaged children. AmeriCorps VISTA will target new project development in communities with large concentrations of low-income students (e.g., Title I schools). Priority areas include:
- School readiness and learning loss for economically-disadvantaged children.
- K-12 success in student educational and behavioral outcomes in low-achieving schools, including remote learning program development.
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) to help students gain the skills they need to compete for employment.
- College access and success for low-income students.
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs as pathways for economically- disadvantaged students.
Veterans and Military Families
AmeriCorps VISTA will support projects that focus on Veterans and military families experiencing poverty as beneficiaries. Priority areas include:
- Economic opportunity: Employment and homelessness prevention/reduction.
- Education: School readiness, success in K-12 education, and post-secondary employment success.
- Healthy futures: Access to health services, including substance abuse prevention and recovery and mental health services.
Environmental Stewardship
The AmeriCorps VISTA program will support anti-poverty initiatives that focus on environmental stewardship and climate change in low-income communities. Priority areas include:
- Energy Efficiency: Connecting underserved populations to renewable energy and energy-efficient practices
- Awareness & Stewardship: Building community resilience
Community Trailer Rentals:
Dates Trailer Is Currently In Use:
- June 17
- July 15
- August 19
- September 1 - 16
United Way of the Lakeshore Grants:
United Way focuses on our community’s most serious problems through strategic investments in health, education, and financial stability. We support programs, agencies, projects, and initiatives across our three county regions throughout the year, and we update this site when there are funding opportunities.
Application for Project Nominations:
United Way of the Lakeshore is currently seeking project nominations for volunteer teams to complete. Projects can be in Muskegon, Newaygo, or Oceana counties.
Veteran Homes: This year’s project, MISSION UNITED, wants to pay special tribute to those that have already served and done so much for our community, our Veterans. We are looking for opportunities to serve our local veteran families by assisting with minor outdoor home repairs and improvements, landscaping, and yard work.
Agency Projects: Are you a nonprofit organization, school, church, or governmental agency that is in need of help with a project? We are here to help! We have painted, landscaped, built, and repaired several things for partners in the past.
Community Projects: Is there a community space or park in need? We have revitalized dozens of community spaces over the last 30 years.
Page under construction! Coming soon!
Page under construction! Coming soon!
Access to thousands of products in one place.
The Warehouse is a 20,000-square-foot facility stocked by our Sponsors with new, high-quality products. These are made available to local non-profit organizations for a small fee and are then redistributed to struggling populations in our community. Members of the StoreHouse for Nonprofits are 501(c)3 organizations dedicated to empowering those they serve. In order to improve their situation and obtain self-sufficiency.
Nonprofit Member Information
After completing the process to become a member, the member must maintain good standing by completing monthly reporting requirements. Members pay $10/box of goods. Members are given multiple opportunities for shopping appointments each month. Items change daily and are not guaranteed.
