Welcome to Our Donation FAQs

You can make a financial donation by calling 1-866-GLEANER or by mailing a check to:

Gleaners Community Food Bank
2131 Beaufait
Detroit MI 48207

Yes. More and more people are choosing alternative gift options for birthdays, holidays, memorials and many other occasions. On the online donation form, select your donation type from the “This donation is an honor/memorial gift:” drop down menu. Fill in the blank space with the title and name of the person you are honoring or memorializing. Then include the name and address of who you’d like to receive a card acknowledging the gift. Including a personalized message, closing, and signature is voluntary.

Much like other nonprofits, particularly those accepting donations online, Gleaners Community Food Bank is charged a processing fee for donations made to our organization. The new donation form option you see to cover transaction costs, shown during the checkout process, allows you to make the decision to help cover the fees we incur to facilitate the transaction to make a bigger impact with your gift. 

These fees may be different than you expect from a standard retail credit card transaction fee, as fees charged to Gleaners include both a merchant services fee from the credit card payment processor (with non-profit rates in place) and a technology platform fee from the donation system provider. Gleaners does not require our donors to cover fees but now can offer it as an option for donors who want their gifts to go further by helping cover those transaction costs.

Yes, once your donation has been processed, you will receive a confirmation letter and receipt (via email if your gift was made online, via mail if your gift was made otherwise) that you can keep for your personal records. You should receive this acknowledgement within 24 hours for online donations, and one to three weeks for all other donations.

To make any changes to your account, please contact our Development Team at 1-866-GLEANER ext. 660. For security reasons, we do not recommend you send changes or updates to your credit card by postal mail.

If you have made an error in making your donation or change your mind about contributing to Gleaners, we will honor your request for a refund made within 15 days of your donation.

To request a refund, call our Development Team at 1-866-GLEANER ext. 660. Refunds are returned using the original method of payment. If you made your donation by credit card, your refund will be credited to that same credit card.

Yes. Gleaners is a 501[c][3] non-profit organization. Your donation is 100% tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Gleaners now uses a safe and secure form to set up your donor advised fund, click here for more information!

Gifts of appreciated securities is an excellent way to show you support and may also provide you with significant tax benefits. Click for more information.

It is important that before transferring any securities to Gleaners that you contact the Advancement Office or Patrick Schulte @ 313-969-8027 or pschulte@gcfb.org. Let us know the name of the stock & number of shares, intended date of transfer, name of your brokerage, and confirm gift intent in advance to ensure proper identification and registration of your gift.

Transfer information:

Broker Firm: Merrill Lynch

Broker: Mr. Brian Kerber
39001 W. 12 Mile Road
Farmington Hills, MI  48331

Phone: (248) 533-6377
Email: brian_kerber@ml.com

Associate: Ms. Sherri Koch
Phone: (313) 642-1057
Email: sherri.koch@ml.com

Account#: 642-03878
DTC#: 8862

Leaving a legacy of support is a powerful way to invest in the future of ending food insecurity in our region. Below is simple language you can use to add Gleaner Community Food Bank to your estate plans. Please let us know of your intentions, since we would like to communicate with and recognize all of our generous donors. If you chose to create an endowment with your estate gift, each year 4% of the annual value of the endowment will provide impact into perpetuity. Visit the Planned Giving page for additional informaiton.

The legal name should be contained in all final documents:

Gleaners Community Food Bank, 2131Beaufait Street, Detroit, MI 48207, a Michigan nonprofit Corporation or its successor, Federal Tax Identification No: 38-2156255

General bequest language:

"I give to Gleaners Community Food Bank (38-2156255), a Michigan nonprofit corporation, or its successor, [insert expected amount here]."

You will want to consult your lawyer for additional information.

RMDs are required minimum distributions investors must take every year from their retirement savings accounts, including traditional IRAs, and employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k)s, and Roth 401(k)s, starting at age 72.

There is no RMD waiver for 2021.

Anyone age 72 or older as of December 31, 2021, must take their RMD by year-end to avoid the 50% penalty―unless this is their first RMD, in which case they have until April 1, 2022.

Click here to learn more about using your gift to Gleaners to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distributions.