SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN — Nonprofits nationwide compete each year to be declared a Best Nonprofit to Work For by a nonprofit management publication.

United Way of Southwest Michigan was chosen as the 14th Best Nonprofit to Work For in the country by The NonProfit Times. Also, Benton Harbor-based nonprofit — and United Way funded-partner — Kinexus ranked No. 29 on the list of 50 nonprofits.

Best Nonprofits To Work For is a survey and awards program dedicated to identifying and recognizing the best employers and providing organizations with valuable employee feedback.

Anna Murphy, president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Michigan said she was honored by the recognition.

“In addition to the rewarding and outstanding work that United Way does in serving our community, it is also an incredible place to work,” Murphy said. “Each person’s unique skills and diverse backgrounds are genuinely appreciated and are important in helping United Way accomplish its mission.”

For their part, Kinexus Group President and CEO, Todd Gustafson also expressed gratitude the recognition. This achievement marks the third year in a row that the nonprofit earned the rank.

“We are excited and truly humbled to be recognized nationally for our culture for the third straight year by the prestigious Nonprofit Times,” Gustafson said. “We believe our team is the difference maker that inspires positive economic change one person, one business and one community at a time. We strive to create a culture that uniquely attracts, values and retains talented people. Without them we can’t solve the complex and challenging issues affecting our communities across our region and state.”

The NonProfit Times, a newspaper covering the business management of nonprofit organizations, partners with The Best Companies Group for an online survey to determine what employees think of where they work, what outsiders think and how that aligns with what managers believe.

According to The NonProfit Times, flexibility, benefits and feeling appreciated were key drivers among this year’s top nonprofit work environments. Organizations that were recognized as the Best Nonprofits To Work For scored an average 90 percent positive responses overall. Many organizations, including United Way, use the survey data to gauge their own operations and garner employee feedback.

The 2019 Best Nonprofits to Work For report was dominated by small organizations with 15 to 49 employees and medium nonprofits 50 to 249 employees. Eighteen small organizations — United Way of Southwest Michigan among them — made the top 50.

“We’re happy that our funded partner Kinexus was also recognized for being a best nonprofit to work for, and we extend our congratulations to them,” Murphy said.

Those interested in reading the full article can visit, thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/flexibility-benefits-and-feeling-appreciated-key-top-nonprofits.

United Way of Southwest Michigan seeks to better community health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. To join the fight—through giving, advocacy and volunteering — people can visit uwsm.org.

Kinexus Group is an organization that invests its time and resources into inspiring positive economic change one individual, one business, and one community at a time. For more information, visit Kinexus.org, follow us on Twitter @KinexusGroup or “like” us on Facebook @KinexusGroup.