Getting Started
How to navigate Community Connect
September 16, 2025Getting Started
Hello and welcome to Community Connect!
We’re so glad you’re here. We’re United Way of South Central Michigan, or UWSCMI (you-SEE-me) for short😊, and we serve six counties in Michigan – Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Jackson and Kalamazoo.
You’ve arrived at our Community Connect online community, a place built for connection, collaboration, learning and taking action. Whether you’re a donor, community partner, grant recipient or just someone curious about how to get involved in community, you’re in the right place.
Please be sure to read and follow our Code of Conduct as these are important ground rules meant to ensure the conversations are productive and valuable for all. By joining our community, you agree and accept these guidelines, and our Admin Team reserves the right to remove any and all content or members who display abusive conduct or breach the above guidelines. Though we aim to give notice of any policy changes, community guidelines may change at any time at our discretion.
Ok. First things first.
Sign up!
Our community is open to view, but to actively participate you must sign up and create a free profile. It’s easy to do. Click “Join our community,” type in your email address and continue through the onboarding questions. You'll see some fields that will be visible to other community members, and some that are just for our information. This optional and confidential information helps us build deeper relationships and accountability in our work.
Once your profile is complete, it’s time to explore!
Forums
Our forums are a great place for discussion and questions, and you’ll find a variety of boards to choose from. Navigate to Forums along the top navigation bar, and start by entering the Community Lobby board to introduce yourself to other members.
You’ll do this by clicking “Create a Post” in the upper right hand corner.
Once you’ve introduced yourself, explore other boards and reply to other posts, drop a like, or create your own post.
Explore a wide range of content
Next along the navigation menu you’ll find “Discover.” This is where you’ll find all kinds of curated content to explore:
- Get to know UWSCMI
- Program updates and stories
- Perspectives from guest contributors
- Videos
- More
Groups
Moving along, groups is next. Check out our current list of groups to see if there’s any that fit your interest or connection to United Way. If so, click "Apply to Join," and we'll get you approved.
If you don’t see the group you want, navigate back to the Forums and find the Open Feedback and Suggestions board. This is where you can let us know what you’d like to see.
See you in the community!
Comment (1)
Popular
Popular
Resource
2026-2027 Grant Guide
Dive in