Adam Hirschfelder

It all began with sportswear. Established in 1979, the Koret Foundation was seeded with the estates of Joseph and Stephanie Koret, whose Koret of California sportswear line was a leader in ladies' coordinated fashion. Due to wise investments made by Tad Taube, now Koret Foundation President, today the Foundation has grown into a Bay Area philanthropy with assets of more than $400 million. Joseph Koret was the foundation's first chairman — a position he held until his death in 1982, when his portion of his family's substantial estate flowed to the foundation and his second wife, Susan, became board chair for life. Over the years, the Foundation's priorities have evolved from feeding the hungry, caring for the elderly, and providing for the needy to contemporary program areas. These include public policy initiatives, K-12 education reform, free-market economic expansion in Israel, a thriving Bay Area cultural landscape, and the Koret Taube Initiative on Jewish Peoplehood. Since 1979, the Koret Foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in strengthening the communities of the Bay Area and Israel. Its cumulative philanthropic investment is currently approaching $500 million.