About Gleaners Community Food Bank
For nearly 50 years, Gleaners Community Food Bank (“Gleaners”) has been a cornerstone of the supplemental and emergency food network, innovating solutions for households facing hunger in Southeast Michigan. Founded in 1977 by Gene Gonya, Gleaners was among the first food banks in the United States and has been recognized by Feeding America as a Food Bank of the Year. Gleaners has earned a 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator and Platinum status from Guidestar for its effective board governance, transparency, and dedication to stewarding resources entrusted by supporters. Today, Gleaners remains unwavering in its mission: To provide households with access to sufficient, nutritious food and related resources through collaboration, efficient operations, education, and innovative solutions.
Serving the greater Detroit area, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, and Monroe counties, Gleaners works with nearly 350 community partner agencies—including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and schools—to reach neighbors experiencing food insecurity. With the support of this robust network, along with direct-service mobile food distributions, Gleaners ensures that nutritious food reaches people where and when they need it most, to eliminate trade-offs so families, children, seniors and others can thrive.
Gleaners’ work is grounded in a set of core beliefs:
- Hunger can be solved.
- "Child" and "hunger" should never go together.
- Everyone benefits from a hunger-free community.
- Real change requires courage and collaboration.
- Every person deserves dignity.
- Good data leads to better decisions.
Food Insecurity in Southeast Michigan More than 47 million Americans struggle with food insecurity. The need for food in our communities has escalated, first with the soaring immediate need resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and then again when pandemic-era programs were discontinued, just as inflation, soaring food costs, and reduced federal assistance took over, exhausting household budgets and resources.
Food insecurity affects over 600,000 people across Gleaners’ five-county service area, with 68% of those served living at or below the poverty line. While food insecurity can vary in its intensity, hunger does not have a face or a zip code and can happen to anyone at any time, making the food safety net a vital lifeline in our communities.
Innovation & Impact
Through a combination of cutting-edge technologies, efficient operations, and strong community partnerships, Gleaners has become a model for effective hunger relief. With decades of operational refinement and community engagement, Gleaners leverages:
- State-of-the-Art Distribution: Operating from advanced distribution centers in Wayne and Livingston counties, Gleaners safely and efficiently handles large volumes of donated and purchased food, including fresh produce and milk, minimizing waste and maximizing impact. Gleaners will also soon open Fresh! By Gleaners, which will include in-store ‘shopping’ and order-ahead curbside pick-up options for community members.
- Mobile Food Distribution: Operating five days a week in rotating locations, Gleaners' direct-service drive-up sites provide balanced nutrition—no appointment necessary—ensuring equitable access across the region.
- Partner Support & Capacity Building: Gleaners helps food pantries and service organizations stretch limited resources, enabling them to better serve their communities.
- Education & Empowerment: Through food programs and community education, Gleaners helps households build long-term food security and resilience.
In 2024, the impact of this work resulted in the distribution of over 53 million pounds of food, including 18 million pounds of fresh produce and over 860,000 gallons of milk – reaching over 1 million households. Beyond the numbers, Gleaners uses its Household Impact Model to guide decision-making and success by determining the operations and programs providing the greatest impact toward economic benefit, stability, health and empowerment for households across Southeast Michigan.
Looking Ahead: A Vision to End Hunger
Gleaners’ vision is bold and clear: To end hunger in Southeast Michigan. To achieve this, the organization is pursuing a strategic path focused on long-term solutions and sustainable impact:
- Meeting People Where They Are: Eliminating barriers to access by designing programs responsive to the lived experiences of food-insecure households.
- Fostering Innovation: Leveraging data and partnerships to continuously refine programming and explore new models of food security.
- Partnering for Greater Impact: Collaborating with healthcare, government, education, and business sectors to align goals and resources.
- Optimizing People Power: Building a diverse, inclusive culture internally and externally, and mobilizing volunteers as essential changemakers.
- Scaling Solutions That Work: Strengthening infrastructure and inviting large-scale investment to ensure the region’s hunger relief system can meet the full scope of community needs.
As Gleaners pursues this strategic vision, they are guided by their core values:
- Innovation: Food insecurity is a solvable problem, and the team makes its best effort to bring forward new ideas to improve systems and respond to community needs.
- Compassion & Respect: Solving food insecurity requires a deep understanding of the community and a dignified approach to work with all stakeholders.
- Excellence & Grit: The team holds themselves accountable to high standards, and remains nimble to changing community needs.
- Integrity: The Gleaners team is transparent, reliable, and trustworthy in all aspects of their work.
As Gleaners enters its next chapter, it does so with deep experience, a trusted reputation, and a commitment to innovation and equity. By empowering individuals and collaborating across sectors, Gleaners is not just feeding people today—it’s laying the foundation for a hunger-free tomorrow.
Learn more about Gleaners Community Food Bank at https://www.gcfb.org/.
The Opportunity
At this moment of rising need and extraordinary potential, Gleaners Community Food Bank is seeking a strategic, collaborative, dynamic and mission-driven leader to serve as its Senior Director of Advancement | Strategic Philanthropy (“Senior Director”).
Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Senior Director is responsible for leading members of the Advancement’s frontline fundraising team who play a key role in raising philanthropic gifts in the mid ($1K - $10K) and major ($10K+) donor giving segments.
As a senior leader in the Advancement division, the Senior Director will lead the Community Giving and Strategic Gifts/Grants (including planned giving) areas by developing strategies and tactics to grow existing as well as establishing new relationships with corporate, foundation and individual donors.
The Senior Director will lead a team of two (Director of Community Giving and the Director of Grants), and collaborate with a Development team of 6, including the Senior Director of Communications, Marketing, Media & PR and the Senior Director of Data Analytics.
Together, the Advancement team is responsible for raising $18M annually through a comprehensive, relationship-based fundraising program that includes integrating annual fund (direct mail, communications, community giving, and fundraising events, both internally managed and third-party), mid-level giving (approx. $1K-$10K), and major giving (over $10K). Of the over 32,000 donors, giving from individuals comprises 54% of philanthropic gifts, corporations and corporate foundations makes up 26%, foundations including family foundations - 11%, and organizations - 9%.
Responsibilities of the Senior Director include, but are not limited to:
Strategic Leadership
- In collaboration with the Chief Development Officer and other fundraising leaders on the team, utilize key performance metrics and milestones for donor engagement tactics aligned with Gleaners strategic objectives as outlined in the programmatic and operational cases for support.
- Work cross-functionally across all areas of the organization and directly with the members of the Advancement team to create and implement the strategies and tactics needed to accomplish individual and organizational financial goals and foster a culture of relationship-based fundraising.
- In collaboration with the department’s leadership team, develop and implement budget targets for revenue and expenses to meet Advancement objectives supporting the strategic initiatives of Gleaners.
Donor Management
- Further develop the implementation of mid and major donor relationship portfolio assignments and roles for all front-line fundraisers.
- Further develop and expand the team’s proactive use and management of donor data giving analytics, donor records and the tools within the donor database, Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT, namely through the use of the action, opportunities and other related donor/prospect database features.
- Actively manage an individual portfolio of approximately 50-75 donors and prospective donors.
Data Management
- Devises tracking and management mechanisms to analyze fundraising activity; research findings to assist staff in enhancing and revising fundraising cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies.
- Conducts performance and program analysis to develop modifications and/or enhancements to meet budgeted and/or revised forecast goals.
- Ensure active performance tracking, management, and reporting to deliver targeted results and to drive continuous improvement.
Team Leadership
- Maintain staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training employees, developing personal growth opportunities.
- Coach, counsel, and drive accountability through planning, monitoring, and tracking results; conducting training; enforcing policies and procedures.
- Promote a positive work environment where team members feel empowered, engaged, and connected to Gleaners mission and strategic plan.
- Demonstrate and support the Gleaners mission, vision and values throughout all professional responsibilities and activities.
- Foster a culture of professionalism, team cohesion and accountability.
- Support open and transparent communication.
Candidate Profile
While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following offers a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:
A Strategic Leader with Expertise in Fundraising and Development
- Proven ability to set vision and strategy for philanthropy programs.
- Ability to set strategy and translate it into action.
- Strategic, innovative, agile, and pragmatic in approach.
- Deep experience in major gifts, grants, planned giving, and donor stewardship.
- Proven experience in cultivating and securing five- and six-figure philanthropic gifts, building relationships with high-net-worth individuals, and securing corporate gifts and grants over $10,000.
An Agile, Flexible, and Curious Self-Starter
- Able to thrive in ambiguity and pivot strategy in a constantly evolving fundraising landscape.
- Demonstrate a high degree of curiosity and eagerness to understand the nuances of food banking.
- Self-starter energized by possibility and motivated by ambitious goals.
- Able to balance both strategic leadership and hands-on engagement in fundraising.
An Exceptional Relationship Builder & Ambassador
- Strong relational skills with the ability to build genuine connections with donors, staff, media, and stakeholders.
- Highly collaborative and team-oriented.
- Comfortable and effective presenting to media and the public; capable of articulating the organization's mission in compelling and accessible ways.
- Proven experience in team building and problem-solving.
A Commitment to the Mission & Detroit Region
- Passionate commitment to Gleaners’ mission, vision, and future.
- Personal alignment with the organization’s values.
- Energized by the opportunity to drive impact across the Detroit region.
- A leader of high integrity who brings sincerity and transparency to all interactions.
Location: This position accommodates a hybrid work schedule, including both in-office and remote work based on the needs of the team and the organization.
Compensation and Benefits: Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $135,000-150,000 with a generous benefits package.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Cheryl Stevens and Claire Hunt. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan is committed to a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where all team members, volunteers, leaders, board members, and guests feel respected and valued regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, education, or any other identity.
We are committed to being nondiscriminatory and providing equal opportunities for employment, volunteering, and advancement in all areas of our work.
We respect the value that diverse life experiences bring to our team, leadership, and board. We are committed to modeling diversity, equity, and inclusion and maintaining fair and equal treatment for all.