by Jo-Ann Mort The days are long past when organizations in Israel can simply come to America with their hands out asking for funds from donors. As one prominent grant maker recently remarked to me, “Israel is no longer a scarcity society. Problems are often a result of government decisions, not lack of funds.” This means that American donors are demanding more and more of Israeli NGOs, even when the NGOs are not up to the challenge. It’s not that they aren’t doing great work. Many of them are doing extraordinary and necessary work in Israel. But the expectations - especially among US donors, have shifted, employing a more rigorous process to their grant making. This calls for a massive change of thinking among Israeli non-profits. Furthermore, it means that Israeli philanthropists … Continue Reading
Philanthropy Nation?
by Suzanne Last Stone It seems an opportune time to reflect on the attitudes of the Israeli and American Jewish communities toward philanthropy, given both the recent release of Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires, 13 of whom are Israeli, and the appearance [last] week of Dame Stephanie ‘Steve’ Shirley - UK’s former Ambassador of Philanthropy and a Kindertransport refugee - at two [local] conferences, one the Amuta 21C conference on nonprofits in Israel, which face an uncertain future, and, the other, the annual meeting of the United States-based Jewish Funders Network, the largest network of Jewish philanthropists in the world. The Forbes list is merely the latest confirmation of the remarkable economic flourishing of Israel. This development is poised to alter the … Continue Reading
After the JFN Annual Conference: One Israeli Reflection
[A further article in a series aimed at guiding Israeli nonprofits towards successful resource development] by Natan Golan On my way out of the grand ballroom of the Tel Aviv Hilton on the final afternoon of the Jewish Funders Network International Conference last week, I noticed a bin with an attached note “recycle your conference name tag”, which is very new-age, very responsible and certainly thought-provoking. On my long journey home to the northern Galilee, I had time to reflect on yet another Jewish conference I had just attended. Was this conference just “more of the same” or was there some added value here that may light up a path for the future? The annual JFN conference was, in my own view, very important and successful - if only because it was held in Israel and that … Continue Reading
Sunsetting As A Metaphor for the Cycles of Program Support
by Jeffrey Solomon Four foundations actively engaged in supporting activities to improve the quality of life in Israel as a Jewish, democratic state are leaving the scene within several years of one another. Ford Foundation Israel (in cooperation with the New Israel Fund), The Kahanoff Foundation, The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies will exit the grantmaking scene between 2012 and 2016. This coincidence of timing led to the development of a session at the recent Jewish Funders Network Conference in Tel Aviv, to explore “What Happens After?” In a discussion led by Yael Shalgi of Yad Hanadiv, and including Susan Beresford, former President of the Ford Foundation; William Forster, formerly of Bridgespan and current CEO of the Jacobson … Continue Reading
Israeli Group Seeks to Increase Private Philanthropy
A group of twenty Israeli social investors has chosen to work together in order to significantly increase the level of private philanthropy in Israel, to improve philanthropy’s effectiveness and "to change the culture of giving among the country’s affluent." The groups website, Committed to Give, states, "We are driven by a sense of responsibility and commitment to the wellbeing and cohesion of Israel’s civil society. The relatively low level of private donations in Israel in comparison to other countries concerns us. We will, therefore, act to create a critical mass of donors and donations, to strengthen and complement the government’s responsibilities, and to create partnerships between philanthropists." … Continue Reading
JFN 2012: Philanthropy in Action
With the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop, a full week of bright, sunny skies, and high energy, the Jewish Funders Network (JFN) gathered in Tel Aviv last week for their annual conference, the first in Israel since 2008. With 455 registered participants (including 234 from Israel) this was the largest conference ever for the organization. The attendees came from four continents and represented all parts of the philanthropic world - from the largest foundations, to the smaller - and important - individual donors. They included a President, a Dame, a Scholar-in-Residence, a bevy of academics and entrepreneurs and numerous foundation professionals - those responsible for executing thousands of programs around the world. The three-day official program was varied, from keynote presentations on … Continue Reading
Supporting Further Development Of Israeli Civil Society
by Shai Abramson and Barry Camson What will it take for NGO's in Israel to survive and be successful in the globally competitive environment for NGO funding? This post pursues this question and reflects on issues in the development of civil society in Israel. About ten or twelve years ago, Barry was working with a group whose focus was to help support the creation of civil society in Israel. At that time, there were not a large number of non-profits in Israel. There was little in the space between the private sector and government which we refer to as civil society. Israel was in the process of transforming from a society in which large social movements related to political parties, e.g. the Histadrut labor movement, established and maintained the social safety net in Israel. What was helpful … Continue Reading
Jewish Philanthropy in Israel
[During May 2008, eJewish Philanthropy published a series of blog posts titled, Philanthropy in Israel. They were authored by Gidi Grinstein, the Founder and President, of the Reut Institute. With this month's Jewish Funders Network conference taking place in Israel, we thought it would be timely to rerun the series.] Diaspora and Jewish Philanthropy in Israel: Overhaul or Be Marginalized Synopsis: Jewish Philanthropy in Israel: Overhaul or be Marginalized An introductory piece that summarizes the key points of the series. Introduction: Post 1: An Introduction by a Grantee - This is the short version of what has brought me to write this series and an introduction to the logic of its structure. Post 2: Why Should We Care? - This post answers the question: why is this issue important to … Continue Reading
Synopsis: Diaspora and Jewish Philanthropy in Israel: Overhaul or Be Marginalized
[eJP note: This post, by Gidi Grinstein, was originally published on May 14, 2008, as part of a series on Philanthropy in Israel. With this year's Jewish Funders Network conference taking place in Israel, we thought it would be timely to rerun the series.] Jewish philanthropy in Israel is at a crossroads. Powerful trends are marginalizing its impact on Israeli society. More than a billion dollars of philanthropic giving from Jews worldwide, spurred by endless goodwill, passion and care, are not impacting Israel or contributing to global Jewish peoplehood to the extent they should. The current system is in dire need of an overhaul. I write this piece as an Israeli whose national identity is founded upon and deeply informed by his Jewishness. I am also a person who has realized a dream and … Continue Reading
Post 1: Flight on the Wings of Jewish Philanthropy
[eJP note: This post, by Gidi Grinstein, was originally published on May 13, 2008, as part of a series on Philanthropy in Israel. With this year's Jewish Funders Network conference taking place in Israel, we thought it would be timely to rerun the series.] This series of blog posts deals with non-Israeli Jewish philanthropy in Israel with the objective of making a contribution to its effectiveness and relevance. When I started working on this project, my wife, friends and colleagues asked me why I care enough to spend so many hours on a topic that is out of the focus of my professional work. My answer was that I feel a debt to the community that has made my dream possible and that, en route, this may turn out to be a contribution, however small, to Israel’s prosperity, to Israel-Diaspora … Continue Reading
English