Josh Kraft

Joshua Kraft (born April 11, 1967) is an American nonprofit executive who is the head of Kraft Family Philanthropies and board chairman of the National Urban League's Eastern Massachusetts chapter. Kraft previously worked for 12 years as CEO of the Boys & Girls Club's Boston chapter. Kraft is a son of Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team.

In the early 1990s, Kraft began working at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. From 2008 until 2020, he headed the organization as its chief executive officer. In 2020, he became the head of Kraft Family Charities. In 2024, Kraft additionally became the board chairman of the Eastern Massachusetts chapter of the National Urban League.

Kraft ran for mayor of Boston in 2025, spending a record amount of money on a primary campaign. Kraft came in second in the primary, trailing incumbent mayor Michelle Wu by 49 percentage points. His second-place finish qualified him to face Wu on the general election ballot. However, two days after the primary, Kraft announced he would withdraw from the election.

Kraft is the third-born of four boys. His brothers are Jonathan, Daniel, and David. His parents are Robert Kraft and the late Myra Kraft. Myra died of ovarian cancer in July 2011. The Kraft family are Jewish. Kraft's father is a billionaire, being the CEO of the Kraft Group and owner of the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Josh is believed to be one of the future heirs of his father's fortune. In a 2008 profile, Mary Moore of Boston Business Journal idiomatically described his upbringing as having included "silver-spoon comforts" by virtue of his family wealth.

Kraft attended high school at the Rivers School, graduating in 1985. Kraft received his bachelor's degree from Williams College, graduating in 1989. He received his master's degree in education and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Kraft has had an extensive career as an executive at nonprofit organizations. Kraft is considered a well-recognized figure in the city of Boston, both due to his work at nonprofits and his status as a scion of a wealthy and high-profile family. He is the only one among his siblings not to work for the for-profit business side of the Kraft family enterprises.

Kraft spent 30 years working at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. It has been varyingly reported that he either began as head of the organization's South Boston youth outreach program, or that he began in 1990 as the program coordinator at what is today known as the Edgerley Family South Boston Club. In 1993, Kraft established the organization's branch in Chelsea, Massachusetts (the Jordan Boys & Girls Club) and was that branch's executive director until 2008. In a 2008 profile written after Kraft was elevated to an executive position at Boys & Girls Club of Boston, Mary Moore of Boston Business Journal idiomatically described Kraft as having "traded silver-spoon comforts for passion and street savvy" in his work with this branch of the Boys & Girls Club, and as having "earned him both popularity and respect" from members of the branch. She also described him as, "the rare nonprofit leader whose raw enthusiasm for the organization’s mission comes from so many years spent at its grassroots level."

Kraft became president and chief operating officer (CEO) of the Boys & Girls Club of Boston in July 2008, a role he held for twelve years. As CEO, he led a $132 million fundraising campaign. He stepped down as head of the organization in 2020.