Breckenridge Native Joins United Way

By William Meiners
Herald Staff Writer
In the nonprofit world, the United Way has a global name and presence across 27 countries and more than 1,100 communities. Addressing a host of challenges to make life better, often facilitating the work of volunteers and other agencies, it may be the pinnacle nonprofit.
Good fortune then for a Gratiot County native to land an impactful role with an organization that can positively affect lives. In mid-August, Brittany Stoneman was hired as the community impact manager of the United Way of Gratiot and Isabella Counties.
An “ideal candidate” for the position, Annie Sanders, president of that two-county organization, said, “Brittany was already deeply connected to our community. Her work in her previous role allowed her to have a seat at community collaborative events. She was also already involved in the Gratiot Young Professionals Network, which we love. She was a member of the Gratiot Optimist Club and will remain connected there.”
Through varied roles at Alma College in just over a half dozen years, Stoneman told The Herald she had more and more opportunities to work beyond the campus.
“Most recently, I was the associate director for career and personal development,” she said,” That’s closely linked with the Center for College and Community Engagement, which led to getting involved with different community partners and programs.”
Stoneman worked closely with folks from the United Way and Jenny Cooley, from Alma College, on the United Arts events. In fact, she and her husband danced on the stage in March 2020, just days before COVID-19 shut things down.
Though the Breckenridge native is more familiar with Gratiot County, she’s learning much about Isabella County on the fly.
“In this role, Brittany will be managing all of our impact initiatives and projects in both counties,” Sanders said. “The community impact manager will facilitate long-lasting, meaningful community impact by the maintenance of existing programs, creation of new partnerships, and working collaboratively to achieve agency goals. She will also be involved with the process of fund investment, funded partner support, community research, grant procurement, and grassroots community collaboration.”
To date, Stoneman has already pitched in on several United Way programs, including a couple school-based initiatives. The Stuff the Bus campaign assisted students as they headed back into the class. She is also helping to orchestrate the Coins for a Cause initiative, kicking off in November, which seeks to raise awareness of homelessness while donating money to area shelters.
Stoneman said the United Way team is “very intentional about all of us having a presence in both these communities.” As such, she spends three days a week in the Alma office and two in Mount Pleasant.
Though the importance of being able to do that good work is what gets her to the office each day.
“I knew a lot about what was happening in our community, but you don’t always see how much our nonprofit partner agencies are doing,” Stoneman said. “It’s really cool to be a connector and help share that with others who are seeking services.”
Perhaps just like the name of the position implies the community impact manager “keeps her finger on the pulse of the need in our community,” Sanders said. “She’s working up ways to build awareness, advocate for positive change, and fill gaps where needs exist.”
Feeling very supported and welcomed by her new colleagues, all of whom she has worked with previously, Stoneman is happy one month into the job.
“It’s nice to join a team with such a collaborative nature,” she said.
The respect, it seems, is a two-way street.
“We are absolutely thrilled to add Brittany to an already amazing team at United Way,” Sanders said. “The skill set she brings here will take us to the next level. With the addition of Brittany, we are poised to continue to make a profound impact for our community while serving our friends and neighbors in need.”