Finance Associate in Detroit, Michigan at Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

The Finance Associate is an essential member of the Finance team, responsible for the accurate and timely processing of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s gifts and accounts payable activity. Reporting to the Accounting Manager, this position sits at the intersection of the Foundation’s donor, vendor, and grantee relationships, ensuring that every transaction is processed with precision, care, and adherence to established procedures.

This is a detail-oriented, transaction-focused role well suited to someone who takes pride in accuracy, thrives on routine processes executed at a high level, and enjoys contributing to a collaborative finance team. The Finance Associate works closely with colleagues in Finance as well as staff across Donor Services, Grants Management, and other departments to ensure smooth financial operations day to day.

About the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM):
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan was established in 1984 to ensure residents in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Livingston and St. Clair counties can thrive. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the Community Foundation supports a variety of activities benefiting economic opportunity, health equity, youth and education, arts and culture, and the environment and public spaces. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has grown to be among the top 35 community foundations in the country and has distributed more than $1.4 billion through roughly 91,000 grants to nonprofit organizations. The Community Foundation’s mission is to make southeast Michigan a desirable place to live, work and play for all residents, today and tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.

Responsibilities:

Gift Processing & Receipting

• Process all incoming gifts accurately and on a timely basis, including cash, checks, electronic transfers, wire transfers, stock donations, and gifts from donor-advised fund platforms and other third-party sources.
• Enter gift data into the Foundation’s donor management and accounting systems, ensuring accurate fund allocation, donor attribution, and transaction coding.
• Prepare and import gift files between the donor management system and the general ledger; identify and resolve any discrepancies between systems.
• Generate and distribute gift acknowledgment letters and receipts to donors in accordance with Foundation policy and IRS requirements.
• Coordinate with the Donor Services team to ensure accurate and complete gift records for donor stewardship and fundholder reporting.

Accounts Payable

• Process all accounts payable transactions accurately and on schedule, including vendor invoices, grant disbursements, scholarship payments, charitable gift annuity distributions, and employee expense reimbursements.
• Verify invoices and payment requests for proper authorization, coding, and supporting documentation prior to processing.
• Maintain vendor records, including collection and tracking of W-9 documentation for all applicable vendors and contractors.
• Respond to vendor and grantee inquiries regarding payment status in a professional and timely manner.
• Prepare annual IRS Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC for applicable vendors and contractors.

General Accounting Support

• Support the month-end close process by ensuring all gift and Accounts Payable transactions are posted accurately and on time.
• Support the Finance team’s transition to a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. including assistance with data validation and testing.
• Assist with records retention and the electronic conversion and organization of financial records.
• Respond to internal requests for information and transaction documentation in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of the Finance team and the Foundation’s mission.  

Qualifications:

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 1–2 years of experience in accounts payable, gift processing, or a related financial processing role.
• Experience in a nonprofit, foundation, or mission-driven organization is a plus.
• Familiarity with donor management or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems (e.g., Blackbaud, Salesforce) is a plus.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience with accounting or ERP systems; willingness to learn new platforms required.
• Comfort working with data imports/exports and file transfers between systems.

Competencies & Attributes

• Exceptional attention to detail and a strong commitment to accuracy and data integrity.
• Reliable and consistent, with the ability to manage recurring deadlines and high-volume transaction processing.
• Organized and self-directed, with the ability to prioritize work and follow through independently within established guidelines.
• Collaborative and service-oriented, with a professional and responsive approach to colleagues, donors, and vendors.

• Discretion and integrity in handling sensitive financial, donor, and vendor information.

Core Competencies

• Customer Focus: Prioritizes understanding and addressing the needs and expectations of our community and stakeholders. Demonstrates active listening, empathy, and responsiveness, with a consistent commitment to delivering exceptional service.
• Plans and Aligns: Invests time in planning, discovery, and reflection. Engages in active mindfulness to identify and adjust mental shortcuts and assumptions. Seeks out diverse perspectives and experiences to test thinking, proactively anticipates reactions and multiple outcomes, and plans for potential issues and industry trends.
• Collaborative: Works effectively with others—within the team and cross-functionally — to achieve individual, departmental, and organizational goals. Values diverse input, shared accountability, and partnership as essential to producing strong outcomes.
• Decision Making & Problem Solving: Simplifies complex challenges using critical thinking and sound judgment. Gathers and evaluates relevant information, incorporates multiple perspectives, identifies root causes, and determines practical, effective solutions. Applies an audience-centric approach by considering the needs of stakeholders when making decisions and implementing solutions.

Benefits & Salary:

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan offers a robust total compensation package The targeted salary for those entering this role is $53,000 - $65,000. In addition to a competitive base salary, benefits include but aren’t limited to 20 days of vacation accrued monthly, 5 personal days, 11 holidays, 9 sick days accrued monthly, paid parental leave, and employer paid short/long - term disability.

The Community Foundation also offers a pension retirement program after 1 year of service which contributes 10% of salary.

Application Instructions:

This position is being recruited on an expedited timeline and the deadline for all applicants is Friday, July 10, 2026. To apply, visit www.cfsem.org/careers and look for "Current Opportunities". Please submit your application, including your cover letter through the online portal.

To provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, height, weight, political or union affiliation, disability or any factor prohibited by law or any factor prohibited by law.