Pope Francis Center

Carmen Szurpicki, Director of Philanthropy

Carmen Szurpicki joined the Pope Francis Center team in September 2023 and currently serves as the Director of Philanthropy. A metro-Detroit native, Carmen has worked in the nonprofit fundraising field for 20 years, including roles at Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley, Michigan Women Forward, and The Children’s Center of Wayne County. Carmen’s experience developing and implementing a wide range of fundraising strategies, in partnership with her expertise in relationship-based philanthropy, allows her to lead the PFC Philanthropy Team to create innovative, intentional, and strategic approaches to raise support while keeping the donor at the forefront. Carmen is focused on strategic planning to ensure immediate goals are met while creating systems and structures to support a sustainable fundraising program in the future. Carmen’s passion for social justice issues began at an early age and has been the driving force in her life and career, leading her to PFC, where her enthusiasm for ending chronic homelessness in Detroit is being put to work. Carmen is most passionate about helping people and is grateful that in her role at PFC, she can support a wide range of people, including guests experiencing homelessness through services we provide, donors, and supporters by inviting them to join us on this vital work and helping them fulfill their philanthropic goals, and through empowering a team to work hard to make a meaningful difference.

Carmen holds a Master of Business Administration in Nonprofit Management from Eastern Michigan University and a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal Communication from Michigan State University.