United Way of the Golden Triangle Region officially has a new home.
The nonprofit celebrated its new headquarters at 362 Park Creek Drive with a ribbon-cutting Wednesday. Executive Director Renee Sanders said the new building will give the nonprofit room to grow, supporting the six counties it now serves.
“This new building is more than just a space; it represents our commitment to the communities we serve,” Sanders said in a press release announcing the move. “With this investment, we’re creating a stronger foundation to expand our services, foster collaboration, and better meet the needs of individuals and families across our region.”
United Way is a global nonprofit that connects donations and volunteers with local agencies. The Golden Triangle Region branch currently funds 21 agencies in the area, Sanders told The Dispatch Friday. Currently, the branch funds the Lowndes County Imagination Library, Starkville Strong, Safe Haven, Bully’s Pantry and more, according to its website.
But United Way does more than that, Sanders said.
“United Way is a multidimensional volunteer-led nonprofit that oversees donors’ dollars with integrity,” Sanders said. “… During the blue skies, we’re doing the fun things like Adopt-a-Family (a Christmas program connecting donors with local families in need). … During the gray skies, it’s all about disasters and filling in and coordinating with our EMA Director, and coordinating the volunteers.”
When Sanders started working as executive director in 2019, the nonprofit only served Lowndes County. However, shortly after she came on board, the organization expanded to Noxubee County.
It later absorbed Oktibbeha, Winston, Webster and Choctaw counties after United Way of North Central Mississippi disbanded in 2021 due to pandemic-related financial issues. Earlier this year, the nonprofit changed its name to reflect its larger service area – United Way of the Golden Triangle Region.
At the same time, the nonprofit was sharing a rented space on 22nd Street North with Helping Hands, Contact Helpline and Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, Sanders said. While the other groups were gracious in allowing United Way to spread out within that building, Sanders said, it was still a tight fit for her team and their growing mission.
“It was four office spaces,” Sanders said. “At that time, I had nine employees. Two working in the kitchen area. Three sharing an office. It is hard for people to work to their full potential if they’re not in their own space. We struggled with having meeting space.”
Sanders said with taking on new counties, United Way of Golden Triangle Region also needs to expand its team. United Way of the Golden Triangle Region Board President Elise Wilson said the new headquarters will help the organization have “space for growth.”
“Where they were located in the old building, there was not enough room for the staff that we had, and with gaining new counties in the past years, we need to hire new staff one day,” Wilson said.
Vital and vested
Having space to add new members to the team could actually lead to different funding opportunities as well, Sanders said.
“I could not go after big grants, because most of those big grants like that will give you the funding to hire the individuals to run the programs that you’re looking to do,” Sanders said. “And if I don’t have space to put a person, I would not even bother to go get those grants. And so now, we can focus on… making the impact our community can see.”
Sanders said she and the board spent three years looking for options for a new space for United Way. One priority, Wilson said, was finding a space that would make the local branch more visible, which also helps to highlight the agencies it supports.
“People invest in what they can see, support what they can see,” Sanders said.
Sanders said the board also considered the best ways to be “vital and vested” in the community in the move. This meant finding a large enough space to grow in for years to come, and purchasing a space rather than renting it, allowing the nonprofit to pay off the building as quickly as possible rather than paying rent indefinitely.
The new United Way of Golden Triangle Region headquarters includes two meeting rooms, where it can host its quarterly meetings with its agencies, along with volunteer activities and team meetings, Sanders said. It also includes separate office spaces for its employees, a dedicated kitchen space and a lobby.
Office Assistant Angela D. Williams said she now has her own office, instead of having to share with another team member.
“We have a lot of room to move around,” Williams said. “We won’t be bumping head to head and toes to toes. I love our new building.”
The new space will give the group a dedicated place to train volunteers to run its Volunteer Reception Centers, which United Way sets up during disaster situations to help connect unaffiliated volunteers with needs of the community, Sanders said.
The new headquarters also includes plenty of storage space for items donated to United Way, like gifts for the 100 families its Adopt-a-Family program supports, Sanders said, or its GAPS bucket program, which provides kids in need with gloves, accessories, personal hygiene items, school supplies.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
