Columbia, MO – Heart of Missouri United Way, an organization fighting for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community, has promoted Courtney Daviess to Chief Community Impact Officer.  

In this role, Courtney will be responsible for the successful completion of the yearly grant review process. She will collaborate with staff, volunteers, and interns in making sure key community impact priorities are maintained and advanced. She will continue to oversee the community impact committee, a committee comprised of Heart of Missouri United Way board members whose deep involvement in understanding United Way’s work to collaboratively effect collective impact, act as the liaison between the Community Impact team and Board of Directors. 

“I am excited to continue to grow in the work that I have been so deeply committed to,” said Courtney. “As Chief Community Impact Officer, I look forward to continually improving and expanding United Way’s process for making the most impact through our community investments, continue to collaboratively work to advance collective impact, grow relationships, and support systems change advocacy through United Way’s commitment to an equitable community investment process.” 

Courtney has been a member of the Boone County community for 27 years and has been with Heart of Missouri United Way for almost nine years in a variety of community impact roles. She keeps equity-mindedness, collaboration, and learning to continually improve at the forefront of her work. 

In her community work, she has served as Vice Chair of the Boone County Board for the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) for over six years. She is a founding member of the Boone Impact Group (BIG) and continues her work with BIG. She is learning Results Based Accountability (RBA) to implement RBA strategies throughout her work and other community involvement. 

In her career, she served as Interim Chief Community Impact Officer for the past six months. During her Interim role and continuing throughout her Chief Community Impact Officer role, some of her work includes improving and overseeing United Way’s community investment process. Some of her priorities are; removing barriers to access funding, engaging diverse volunteers to make equity minded decisions for impact, using program evaluation to inform UW’s impact grant investments and to ensure UW’s investments are adaptable to the everchanging needs of the community, service providers and their clients. 

Previously, Courtney worked as the Associate Director of Community Impact for almost six years. In this role, she was responsible for many areas of the community investment processes for health, education, and financial stability. She managed the grant management database, worked to finalize impact grant investments with funded organizations, and oversaw the annual review process for organizations applying for or receiving UW impact grant funding. 

She began her work with United Way in 2014 as the Volunteer Coordinator. Quickly it became clear UW’s Community Impact work was at a point of considerable growth, at which time Courtney’s role shifted to Community Impact Manager. She recalls her first big project working at United way was a playground for the Boys and Girls Club, with funding and volunteers from Veterans Home Loans United. For many years she also oversaw Day of Caring, UW’s community-wide day of service. 

Before joining the team at Heart of Missouri United Way, Courtney had a career in early childhood education. Through her many years as an educator she saw firsthand the difficulties families and individuals in our community experience. 

It’s important in a position like mine, where you’re using data to inform community investment decisions, you believe dignity and respect is for everyone, you possess professional competence and integrity, and your goal is to leverage your work to create equitable access to meet community needs,” said Courtney.  

United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community to advance the common good. We work with residents and public and private partners to co-create solutions that ensures everyone has the resources, support, opportunities, and networks they need to thrive.