wfn.org | NCC names Kaboth director of development

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>Kaboth named Director of Development
>for National Council of Churches USA

New York, January 13, 2008 -- Kurt Kaboth, who has been serving as  Interim Director of Development for the National Council of Churches USA  since April 2008, has been named to the full-time position by the Rev.  Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC General Secretary.

In the past nine months, Kaboth, a Presbyterian Church (USA) layperson,  has worked in concert with NCC staff to increase support of the Council  by member communions, conducted two successful mail campaigns, received  a million dollar individual gift, and increased the number of foundation  grants.

As Director of Development, Kaboth is responsible for advancing the  mission and programs of the Council through the management and expansion  of resource development, including communion support, individual gifts,  foundation grants and planned giving.

Kaboth is also responsible for managing the Resource Development  Department, including an assistant and support staff member, who  research and solicit financial contributions; receive, process and  recognize these gifts; and tell the story of the many people, churches  and institutions that support the unity and mission work of the Council.

Kaboth was previously a consultant to nonprofit organizations in the  areas of strategic planning, marketing and resource development with an  emphasis on planned giving.

Before that he served as the Head of School for Eastern Christian  School, a 900-student, 3-campus K-12 Christian school in northern New  Jersey. In that role he reinvigorated annual and special fund-raising,  increasing unrestricted giving each year, began a donor recognition  society, and initiated a capital campaign for facilities improvement.

Kaboth has an extensive local church background, formerly serving as  president of the board of trustees of West Side Presbyterian Church  after its 2001 fire and leading the efforts to rebuild the $26 million  sanctuary and chapel buildings. He served as treasurer of the Presbytery  of the Palisades in the early 1980s and continued in that position in  2008.

Kaboth also served as secretary and general counsel of the YMCA  Retirement Fund which managed the retirement program for YMCA's in the  U.S. He led the efforts to obtain from Congress a special tax law  permanently protecting the fund's 80,000 beneficiaries. He helped  develop and teach the highly rated pre-retirement and financial planning  seminars for YMCA employees.

Kaboth holds three academic degrees at Indiana University: a Juris  Doctor, MBA and a bachelor's degree in history.

Kaboth is married to the Rev. Katherine Cunningham who, with other  pastors, operates a non-profit counseling center in New Jersey. The  Kaboths have one son, Asher, now a graduate student in Physics at  Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"The most effective mission-driven organizations," Kaboth observes,  "obtain for themselves an attitude of giving, open and effective  communication, and aggressive pursuit of resource development."

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228, NCCnews@ncccusa.org