Director, Foundation Partnerships & Grantmaking

Co Act Detroit; Detroit (MI); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision

Life Insurance & disability

401(k) match

25 days PTO

Mental health days

Bereavement leave

Professional development stipend

Hybrid scheduling

Job summary

Co.act is seeking a Director of Foundation Services to lead our work with foundations, philanthropic partners, grant administration, and collaborative funding initiatives. This leader ensures exceptional service to funders while building systems that move philanthropic dollars efficiently and equitably into communities.

The Director serves as Co.act's primary relationship manager for institutional clients and leads a team of three overseeing grantmaking operations and foundation services across

Qualifications

• 7+ years in philanthropy, grantmaking, or foundation relations.
• Experience with private, family, or corporate foundations or institutional funders.
• Experience managing full grant lifecycles and funder relationships end to end.
• Strong operational skills with systems, templates, and workflows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with funders, boards, and executives.
• Commitment to equitable philanthropy and community-focused funding.
• Knowledge of Southeast Michigan's philanthropic landscape.
• Experience supervising a small team.

Responsibilities

• Build and grow foundation partnerships across Southeast Michigan.
• Serve as lead relationship manager for foundation and institutional clients.
• Identify and pursue new funding opportunities and develop proposals.
• Oversee the full grant lifecycle and grantmaking operations.
• Ensure compliance, budgets, and reporting for grants.
• Develop and maintain grants management systems and templates.
• Design participatory grantmaking processes and recruit community panels.
• Set team goals, coach staff, and manage workload.
• Improve dashboards and reporting for funder satisfaction.

Skills

Foundation relations

Grant lifecycle management

Funder relationship management

Operations & process design

Proposal writing & pitches

Diversity & equitable philanthropy

Staff supervision

Southeast Michigan knowledge

Job description

Co.act is seeking a Director of Foundation Services to lead our work with foundations, philanthropic partners, grant administration, and collaborative funding initiatives. This leader ensures exceptional service to funders while building systems that move philanthropic dollars efficiently and equitably into communities.

The Director serves as Co.act's primary relationship manager for institutional clients and leads a team of three overseeing grantmaking operations and foundation services across