If there is one thing Sunny Isles Beach resident Stuart Paskow knows well, it’s how to be charitable. Stuart is the Chief Executive Officer of Mitch Stuart, Inc., and is responsible for raising nearly a billion dollars of revenue for charities and nonprofit organizations through the company he started with his partner Michelle Cohen.
Stuart created a unique program associated with the travel industry by offering travel packages to be auctioned or sold at fundraising events. Not only has Mitch-Stuart gained national recognition, but the company recently won the 2013 SCORE national award for the best small business started by an individual over 50.
Stuart is the former owner of the Harbor Island Spa Hotel in New Jersey. He was also Assistant Professor of Hotel Management at the New York Institute of Technology, where he helped to coordinate the school’s hotel management program.
He then became the National Communications Director for a non-profit organization, along with Michelle Cohen, called the Frequent Funder Awards where they helped develop the first charitable-giving program of its kind, and marketed the concept using TV and print campaigns.
In 1993 Stuart and his business partner created the American Airlines AAdvantage Fundraising program, which they managed for over 20 years. This innovative program introduced the concept of using airline miles for non-profit donation use.
In 2005 Mitch-Stuart, Inc. launched “Destinations of Excellence” which allows guests to purchase or bid on vacation trips, ranging from mid-priced to high-end packages. The idea is simple: if you bid on a trip and win, you are connected to their concierge office, which takes care of the details on a one-to-one basis. The best part is that the bidder gets a great deal on the price and the proceeds of the bid go to the charity. It’s a win-win for all since the charity doesn’t pay unless they sell the trip.
Stuart’s passion for giving doesn’t stop at his business endeavor. He is the founding member, creator and former board member of the International Arid Land Consortium. The members are the Jewish National Fund, Arizona State University, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Its purpose is to assist farmers in desert areas of the Sub Sahara countries to use Israel-developed technology to successfully farm arid areas in the Middle East.
He also sat on the Incentive Customer Advisory Board for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and participated annually in Marriott’s Individual Incentives Customer Forum. In 2008 Mitch-Stuart, Inc. was established in the UK to introduce charity incentives to the UK and Europe.
Stuart lives in Winston Towers with his wife Audrey, maintains an office in North Miami Beach and continues to travel across the country to his office in the Los Angeles area.
