Director of Corporate And Foundation Relations

About Spoonfuls

Founded in 2010, Spoonfuls (formerly Lovin’ Spoonfuls) is an equity-focused food recovery organization that partners with a robust network of 90+ food retailers and brands, including grocery stores, produce wholesalers, farms, and farmer’s markets to keep good food from going to waste. Spoonfuls collects fresh, nutrient-rich food (primarily perishable foods like fruits and vegetables, dairy, and lean meats) that often are too expensive, or inaccessible to many underserved communities, and would otherwise go to waste and deliver it the same day to 190+ community organizations and 55K neighbors facing food insecurity each week. With its proven, scalable model, Spoonfuls prides itself on its proven, scalable model making it the largest food recovery logistics operation in New England—serving communities from Greater Boston and MetroWest to Worcester and Hampden Counties.

Across the United States, more than one-third of available food goes unsold or uneaten; as a result, wasted food—valued at $428B—is the primary source of organic waste in landfills, contributing to the global climate emergency. Hunger in the U.S. is both a social and a political condition rooted not in scarcity, but in inequitable access—both to food and to opportunities, such as education and employment, that enable people to feed themselves and their families. Spoonfuls works to address the health, environmental, and economic factors that wasted food has on the planet, recovering and distributing over 4.7M lbs. of food to over 370k people in 2023.

About Philanthropy at Spoonfuls

Spoonfuls relies on the generous philanthropic support of its donors to sustain its operations and expand its impact. While the organization recovers a significant amount of food through partnerships with retailers and wholesalers, financial contributions are essential for maintaining its fleet, supporting its team, and implementing innovative programs throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.

Over the years, Spoonfuls has secured support from a diverse range of funders, including foundations, corporations, and individual donors, and recently, their development program has seen impressive growth in the past five years, growing from $1.4M in philanthropic revenue in 2019 to $4M in 2023. Their goal in 2024 is to raise $5M, and through continued growth on this team, they anticipate exceeding $10M in the next five years.

The new Development Director of Corporate and Foundations Relations (DC&FR) will be responsible for strengthening existing corporate and foundation relationships while cultivating and securing new funding across various revenue streams. DC&FR will be responsible for growing the corporate giving program. Currently, Corporate giving is around $150,000-$200,000 annually. Growth expectations in the short term are to exceed an annual goal of $500K.

They will develop and lead Spoonfuls’ corporate fundraising strategy, focused on deepening partnerships with existing and new corporate partners to generate financial support, stewardship, and visibility for the organization. The Director will be a contributing member of the front-line fundraisers for Spoonfuls, dedicated to corporate relationships, and will oversee the corporate events, corporate sponsorships, and corporate grants, focusing on prospecting and cultivating a relationship pipeline. Some of Spoonful’s loyal funders include Liberty Mutual Foundation; Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Little Leaf Farms, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resource, and The Ajana Foundation as well as prospects with significant capacity and inclination to support the organization.

About the Position

The Development Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (DC&FR) is a strategic and contributing thought partner and member of Spoonfuls’ senior team, working in concert with their colleagues to deliver upon the day-to-day and long-term goals of the Development team. The DC&FR will report to and partner with the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO), the DC&FR will collaborate to establish and execute annual fundraising strategies, to expand Spoonfuls’ fundraising program, specifically surrounding corporate and foundation contributions.

The DC&FR will oversee all corporate and foundation relation activities, including managing a portfolio of existing relationships and the research and engagement strategy for new C&F funders. Currently, the Director of Development will manage one team member, the Senior Grants Manager; however, they will be an integral part of a comprehensive Development, Communications, and Public Affairs team. The ideal candidate will be driven, self-motivated, and an eager participant in peer mentoring and coaching.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic and collaborative member of Spoonfuls’ Leadership Team.
• In partnership with the CAO, design and carry out the corporate and foundation-giving strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic priorities.
• Together with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the CAO, be a primary spokesperson for Spoonfuls in key internal and external events such as community and speaking engagements, funder meetings, development functions, and other constituent activities.
• Lead the solicitation of corporate partners for five- and six-figure commitments (including multi-year financial obligations and a robust portfolio of corporate event sponsors).
• Work with the Board, event-based fundraising committees, and other ancillary groups to identify and cultivate new corporate and foundation donors.
• Oversee the writing and editing of proposals, reports, letters of intent, and other correspondence for submission of grant applications to foundation, corporate and government funders
• Supervise and partner with the Senior Grants Manager providing strategic direction and assistance to meet annual goals for performance and professional growth.
• Engage in and contribute to philanthropic trends, ensuring best practices within the foundation and corporate giving; recommend new ideas as appropriate to establish a creative approach to securing new funding.
• Exercise good time management, critical thinking, and sound judgment to prioritize projects and identify viable opportunities to pursue funding.

Key Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience and established record of success building relationships with and making asks of corporate funders or foundations, relevant business development experience, or experience managing a portfolio of high net-worth individuals and securing (closing) six-figure gifts.
• Proven track record of cultivating and securing new revenue from a variety of funders, with an emphasis on corporate and institutional giving.
• Outstanding oral and written communication and ability, to tell Spoonfuls’ story in a compelling, nuanced manner to reach a broad range of audiences and stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with demonstrated success managing multiple projects, often with competing priorities and deadlines.
• Willingness to work with a high degree of autonomy and to be flexible with ambiguity and the unknown (agility, resilience, and calm under pressure).
• Superb relationship and people management skills; a natural ability to inspire others while working towards achieving a common goal.
• Motivated by meeting and exceeding revenue goals to drive support for the mission.
• Ability to research and cultivate new and renewed strong relationships among foundation, corporate, and government funding sources.
• Intimate knowledge of the geographic and social landscape of the Commonwealth is a must.
• A deep commitment to social justice, and investment in supporting diverse, and underserved communities in the Commonwealth and beyond
• Familiarity with food rescue and food justice issues is a plus.

Spoonfuls believes that all people have value and can bring their own unique experiences to the table. Their work serves to set the table throughout the diverse communities of Massachusetts without discrimination, and they endeavor to mirror that representation in their organization. Spoonful’s goal is to create and foster an inclusive workplace where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and where all people are valued.

Spoonfuls is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, and Veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

As an organization committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion among staff, Spoonfuls strongly encourages applications from people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, women or non-binary people, and those with lived experience of food insecurity.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $100k-$115k and is commensurate with experience, competencies, and skillset. Additionally, this role is eligible for an incentive-based bonus.

If you are interested in being considered for this search, please use the form on the application site to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Sajana Blank

Senior Consultant

Development Guild