Like so many who come to San Diego from the Midwest, Jim Floros left the cold winters of Ripon, Wisconsin, and enrolled at the University of San Diego. That is where an internship unexpectedly took him on his life’s path.
Floros started out looking for practical experience at Project Concern International and “fell in love with the idea of making the world a better place.” Thirty-five years later, now as CEO of the San Diego Food Bank, his commitment is unchanged. “Once you get that in your blood, your DNA, you can’t imagine doing anything else,” he said.
The Food Bank is one of 10 non-profits supported by Sage Executive Group and Floros is a member of Sage’s Masters Forum. He oversees one of the most visible non-profits in the San Diego area, makes frequent media appearances and as CEO manages an organization with more than 70 employees and an annual budget of $50 million.
Since that first internship and subsequent position as community relations director at Project Concern, an international development agency, Floros has gravitated to roles that play to his strengths in organizational leadership, community outreach and fund-raising.
At age 33, he was named CEO of the Burn Institute and served for 20 years until 2012. That’s when he “was looking for things to make me relevant,” connected with a recruiter and was hired to head the Food Bank.
There were some “things that needed fixing,” he said, “and the things they were worst at I’m the best at,” which included invigorating the development program and reengaging the board of directors.
Initiatives since he became CEO include the Chefs, Cork & Craft Gala, a fundraiser held annually at the Food Banks’ warehouse. Those efforts have more than doubled the organizational budget, quadrupled the reserves, nearly doubled the amount of food distributed and include starting the first Diaper Bank in the region and acquiring the North County Food Bank.
Floros said that his interactions with Sage members have reinforced his view that a non-profit needs to be run like a business, and that “mutually beneficial relationships” with outside agencies and business are especially important.
At age 58, he is taking extra time to mentor non-profit professionals and to sustain his commitment to “leave a legacy to have made a difference in the world.”