For over 16 years, Ted Kort was the executive director of the Jewish National Fund in Arizona. In that capacity he moved the organization from one known largely for “selling trees” to become a major force for raising money and support for the myriad of environmental concerns facing Israel.
While Ted never thought his road would lead to the nonprofit world, a confluence of circumstances came together to guide him to this most satisfying and significant work.
Ted’s family came to Phoenix from Kansas City, MO, in 1944, with 5-year-old Ted in tow. He attended Kenilworth Elementary School and became a bar mitzvah through Beth El Congregation, which was then on Third Avenue and McDowell Road. After West High School, Ted graduated from Arizona State University, where he was an active member of AEPi, with a degree in political science in 1960. In 1964 he married the love of his life, Elaine Hoffman, whose family was actively involved in the leadership and philanthropy of the growing Jewish population in Phoenix.
The volatile real estate market was home to Ted for a number of years, as he developed small shopping centers around the Valley. But the ups and downs of the business took their toll, and Ted started exploring other options. He already had been involved in a number of nonprofit agencies, serving on the board of the Phoenix JayCees and helping to found Valley Big Brothers. He also served on the board of the JCC, and he received the Sy Clark Young Leadership Award from the local Jewish federation. He moved into various leadership positions with the federation and served as campaign co-chair in 1988.
It was in this position with the annual campaign that Ted started stretching his approach to fundraising and “thinking outside the box.” He held a “draft night” and established teams with names such as “Schleppers” and “Gelt Getters.”
“One meeting I brought in cheerleaders from Camelback High School to lead the teams in cheers. It was an amazing morale booster,” he says with a grin. Ted not only increased participation and enthusiasm, but also was able to increase the campaign to $5 million. (The campaign for the last few years has brought in about $3 million.)
Through his networking, Ted found himself talking to the major players at Jewish National Fund. It took him awhile to understand that he was actually being interviewed for the position of executive director. Upon being hired in 1998, he set out to expand the board and form it into a fundraising body. He initiated a May campaign and taught the board members to embrace fundraising by educating them not only about the depth and scope of JNF’s work, but also about the ins and outs of encouraging others to be philanthropic.
Ted retired from JNF last year after taking the organization to a record-high $1.6-million campaign in 2013 and receiving the prestigious JNF Tree of Life Award in 2014 (an honor he shared with his son Bryan). He continues to have a sincere, strong interest in the nonprofit world. He has written a book entitled Outside the Box Fundraising: The way to nonprofit board success, and he is actively pursuing opportunities to consult with organizations that could benefit from his many years of experience as a lay leader, a professional and a donor himself. The book outlines effective and successful ways to take a board to a higher level of involvement in fundraising, in ways that are both positive and creative.
The book is available through amazon.com, and Ted can be reached at 602-799-5919 or [email protected].
