Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Kurtzman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Matthew. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Wilmette and had somewhat of a storybook childhood. I went to good schools, lived in a nice safe, suburban community. My parents were very supportive and involved. I was fortunate to have two brothers I got along with well along with a solid circle of friends. I had a great foundation and was taught the importance of hard work. I attended the University of Illinois, majored in speech communications and lived the majority of my time in the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.
About 15 months after graduation from college, I moved to NYC and got a job working on Saturday Night Live as a production coordinator on the film unit. After 12 months, I moved back to Illinois as I had an opportunity to work with my dad in his start-up ad agency. Over time the agency grew and I spent about 15 years as a partner focusing a lot of my energies on account management and producing TV and radio spots. Then I moved on to do marketing consulting on my own.
One of my client’s, the Community Currency Exchange Association of Illinois (CCEA) allowed me to create a school supplies program for them as a community relations effort. The program evolved and expanded so that by 2010, the CCEA created a nonprofit, put me on the Board of Directors in addition to having me serve as the Executive Director.
In 2015 we changed the name to Back 2 School Illinois (B2SI). I’ve always enjoyed volunteering and worked to contribute to society. I was fortunate that many of my volunteer experiences, as well as consulting gigs for charities, helped to prepare me to run a nonprofit.
Recognizing how fortunate I was to have a good childhood and receive a first-rate education, helped to set the stage for where I am today. Every day, I try to make a contribution, whether it’s running B2SI, volunteering for other nonprofits, helping young people find jobs and launch their careers or being a good steward of the environment.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have had some challenges or obstacles in my life but it’s a relative thing. I try, not always successfully, to keep it all in perspective. Compared to so many people on the planet I’ve had it easy. It is hard for me to complain when I think of those who have had to really struggle just to survive.
Millions of people don’t have a safe place to live, a roof over their head, fresh water to drink or enough food to eat. They don’t have access to decent health care, are living in communities or countries where it is not safe to walk the streets or speak their minds.
With that being said, one of my biggest challenges had to be “coming out.” It was a secret I kept for over a decade. It caused a tremendous amount of angst and self-doubt. It gave me an ulcer as a young adult. The fear of rejection by family and friends was painful and at times debilitating. In the end, though, everyone accepted me but not knowing led me to hide a part of who I am. The plus side to the entire experience is that it taught me to be more accepting of others in general.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am CEO of Back 2 School Illinois (B2SI). Our mission is to create and support educational opportunities that enrich the lives of Illinois children. Our biggest program is providing school supplies to children from low-income households. I am proud of the tremendous growth of our organization and the number of kids we’ve helped over the years.
Since inception, we’ve given one of our Back 2 School kits to over 192,000 kids. We not only provide the kid’s supplies but in doing so let them know they are worthy of learning and receiving a good education. The efforts of B2SI also reduce the financial pressure on the parents of our kit recipients and their teacher, whom often dip into their own pockets to buy their student’s school supplies.
Our success is due in part to the partnerships we’ve developed with other community organizations and government agencies. They are the ones that help us make sure the kits are getting into the hands of the truly needy. We also focus a lot of effort on our reporting and communications.
Whether it’s too our corporate sponsors, volunteers or individual donors we are always doing outreach and providing them with information on how their support is impacting our efforts. For example, our annual Back 2 School program recap for sponsors is over 125 pages. We conduct research every few years of our kit recipients. Our website, e-newsletter and social media report on all aspects of our programs.
I work extremely long hours but the reward is well worth it. I know what we do makes an important difference in the lives of so many children (and adults) that are not as lucky as me. I will not kid you. At times it is exhausting work. I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself but the results justify the sacrifices I make.
I thrive on problem-solving and love overcoming obstacles, which allows me to build a better organization year after year. Education is the cornerstone of our society. Most of the problems we face today can be resolved if people were more enlightened. We are helping to make that happen.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
While we serve all of Illinois, much of our work benefits the city of Chicago. In a perfect world or in this case city, my nonprofit would not need to exist. However, given all the financial challenges of that exist to both families and the city government, our role is an important one, as well as so many other nonprofits that fill in the gaps.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3959 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60613
- Website: b2si.org
- Phone: 847.268.3550
- Email: info@b2si.org
- Instagram: Back2SchoolIL
- Facebook: Back 2 School Illinois
- Twitter: Back2SchoolIL
- Other: LinkedIn Back 2 School Illinois
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