A sampling of recent stories of particular interest... A Town Under Fire Becomes a Symbol for Israel; from the front page of yesterday's New York Times: SDEROT, Israel — This long neglected immigrant town a mile from Gaza, pounded by Palestinian rockets for the past seven years, is taking on a new identity, edging into the center of Zionist consciousness as a symbol of the nation’s unofficial motto: “Never Again.” Federation's Stanley Gold slashes board size, reorganizes When Stanley Gold took over as Board Chair he promised major change. He also pledged to have 50% of the board under 50 y.o. within two years. I hope he understands this means including two generations of adults, not one. Last week the 133-member board ...

The American based Jewish Funders Network came to town this past week, but you'd never know it. You see, the community of Israeli philanthropists participating in the Conference put a noose around the JFN's neck and held them hostage. They told the JNF they "suffer at the hands of Israeli gossip columnists" and pushed the JNF team against the wall. The sessions were closed to the media; a 180 degree turn from the JFN's normal practice. The official program stated the sessions were closed not to “undermine the participants’ feelings of privacy and security”. I was told by more than one participant of the JNF's need to have this, their first ever Conference in Israel, succeed; pretty much regardless ...

more housecleaning... The Jewish Funders Network announced this past Tuesday its plan to open a permanent branch office here in Israel. The decision will allow JFN to better meet the needs of its growing membership in Israel. According to JFN President Mark Charendoff, "Our ability to open an office in this location marks a new stage of maturity for the Israeli philanthropic community. It will offer a place for Israel based funders to come together to compare experience, access, information and create partnerships." The organization set a new record of attendance this week at its annual conference in Jerusalem as members from ...

A new international agenda, Tikkun Olam, is uniting Israeli aid amutot and Jewish humanitarian groups from around the world in a common mission: partaking in the global effort to overcome the most serious afflictions of poverty, hunger and disease worldwide. Under the auspices of Tel Aviv University’s Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, this bold agenda brought together, a few days ago, the largest gathering of Jewish and Israeli humanitarian aid groups ever assembled in Israel. Over 100 representatives of Diaspora and Israeli groups participated in a Workshop on Faith and International Development, and heard from development experts, philanthropists, academics and spiritual leaders on the role of the Jewish people among the nations in ...

Breaking News as reported by Jewlicious: Michael Steinhardt, a breadwinnerist, philanthropist, aspiring zoologist, and out of the box thinker-ist has just unveiled a new plan to his Jewish posse while out on business in California: a network of kosher Cannabis clubs to be developed, managed, and operated by Jewish young adults, ages 18-26. The new venture, called 'Project Greenright' (don’t get too creative here Mikey) has plans to open its first club in Los Angeles on April 20th 2008, near the Pico/Robertson district, and after a 3 day evaluation period, has plans to expand all over the West Coast, East Coast, and eventually Israel. read the complete post here

The U.S. election season has put the issues of diversity and gender on the national radar. Now, a new book looks at gender equity through the lens of North America’s Jewish organizations, where 70 percent of professionals are women, yet few hold top positions. In Leveling the Playing Field: Advancing Women in Jewish Organizational Life, three experts in organizational change provide strategies and tools for those who want to champion gender equity in the workplace. This new “how-to” book draws upon best practices in leadership theory and human dynamics to tackle gender inequity, a deep-rooted problem that has been discussed for years by Jewish leaders with little being achieved. In the book, the three authors paint a compelling picture of gender ...

The AFP 45th International Conference on Fundraising is underway in sunny San Diego, California. And, for the first time ever (or certainly in recent memory) we have both a presentation and an affinity session devoted to Jewish Philanthropy! eJewish Philanthropy is appreciative to Dr. David A. Mersky and Dr. Amy L. Sales of the Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and Leadership for the opportunity to post the power point of their presentation this morning. The Abstract: The success of Jewish fundraising has an almost mythic quality yet, for better or worse, Jewish nonprofits have struggled to adjust to significant changes in Jewish philanthropy. The successful ones have grasped the Jewish philosophy that underlies charitable giving and ...

This is a busy ten days: from Oxford University to Tel Aviv; from San Diego to Jerusalem we've got you covered. Over this week, eJewish Philanthropy will bring you a combination of on the spot coverage, conversations, complete presentations and links. Check back often as we highlight goings on in the world of philanthropy. For those of you with an interest in Social Entrepreneurship or Social Philanthropy, the gathering these past few days of the 5th Annual Skoll World Forum at Oxford University will be of interest. Some background: The Skoll Foundation, was established in 1999 by eBay founder Jeff Skoll in order to promote social entrepreneurship. In 2003, the Foundation established Skoll The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship ...

We all know by now that last week the prestigious Israel Prize (for Lifetime Achievement) has been awarded to the Jewish Agency in honor of 80 years of service. The UJC has sent their congrats as has Keren Hayesod. And of course Haaretz has weighed in with their perspective... "I don't know if anyone ever tried to work out the average age of Israel Prize recipients, but the profile is fairly standard. A man or woman in their seventies or eighties, hailed for decades of service in academia or some other worthy pursuit and for his or hers past contribution to Israeli society. Sad but true, this is usually a pre-obituary, almost-last honor, ...

At the 2008 Summit in Washington, D.C., last night, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life announced a $10.7 million grant from The Jim Joseph Foundation to expand the Experiential Educator Exemplar (E³) Program and to support the Campus Entrepreneurs Initiative.

This is the largest single grant in Hillel's history.

"This generation of students, the Millennials, learn through their hands, their hearts and their minds," says Hillel President Wayne L. Firestone. "By providing them with immersive experiences in which they are exposed to Jewish history and tradition, such as Taglit-Birthright Israel and social justice alternative breaks, they are beginning Jewish journeys that will continue back on campus with E³ educators and CEI students."...