Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas is accepting applications for 2012. Bikkurim seeks innovative, NYC-based, Jewish, non-profit projects that are in early stages of formation. They provide free office space, free and subsidized capacity-building consulting, small stipends, access to local and national networks and a strong peer community. Bikkurim is a joint project of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Kaminer Family. Pre-applications can be downloaded from bikkurim.org and are due February 1, 2012. For more information, contact Caryn Roman at info@bikkurim.org or 212-284-6896. … Continue Reading
Internalizing Innovation
by Evonne Marzouk Our recent investment in Jewish innovation has caused a proliferation of small, scattered non- profits organizing individual programs and competing against each other for scarce funding. Caryn Aviv and Shawn Landres have recently written important articles about this Jewish innovation landscape. Shawn Landres argues for impact investing as a new paradigm. Caryn Aviv suggests the possibility of “for-profit” organizations. Both of these are valuable potential models for future Jewish innovation. In this piece, I’d like to suggest another potential model for bringing innovation into existing Jewish institutions. One of the challenges of this burgeoning innovation sector is that, as a Jewish community, we’re losing focus. Young Jews are connecting to smaller and smaller … Continue Reading
Increasing Supply, Not Only Demand
by Shawn Landres People sometimes ask me how Jumpstart balances what appear to be the competing dimensions of our work: global vs. local, research vs. advocacy, startups vs. the “establishment,” and, most fraught of all, funders vs. grantees. The thing is, we just don’t see our work that way. In our effort to help make Judaism & Jewish life vibrant and relevant, we know we gain strength and purpose by working together. Changemakers with shared visions shape the world with the tools they have available, whether those tools are financial or programmatic, operational or intellectual. I was struck by Yoni Gordis’s observation to a roundtable on innovation and philanthropy moderated by Seth Cohen, just published in the October 2011 issue of Sh’ma: “...We’ve done a great deal … Continue Reading
Building the Innovation Community
by Eric Levine Many of us have followed the dialogue about innovation with intense interest, especially discussion about insufficient funding and the demise of organizations in the Jewish innovation sector, such as J-Dub. Over and above this specific case, we should all lament the passing of innovation projects. I had an experience of my own many years ago (too many!) when I created a student-led organization providing social support and friendly visiting to homebound elderly Jewish adults in the South Bronx. Looking back, that start-up (and I) would have benefited tremendously had we been a Bikkurim resident project. As readers may know, Bikkurim is the model par excellence of a non-profit incubator for groups with new Jewish ideas, vision and entrepreneurial spirit, providing a physical home as … Continue Reading
Young Funders: To Innovate or Not to Innovate: That Is the Question
by Erica Schacter Schwartz Is funding innovation economy-sensitive? Does it flourish during good times and wane during an economic downturn? Has the relationship between young funders and innovation been a mere fling that is likely to unravel from the pressures of a new economic reality? Based on conversations with some young funders and professional staff from across the Jewish philanthropic landscape, the answer appears to be “no.” The interest of young funders in innovation seems to be stronger and more long term than a fling. Through collective philanthropic funds, family foundations, and as individual donors, young funders who have pursued innovation during periods of economic growth have continued to pursue innovative projects and organizations during today’s more challenging … Continue Reading
Sharsheret Receives CDC Grant
The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Sharsheret a grant to develop survivorship programming and culturally-relevant resources for young Jewish breast cancer survivors. The CDC grant is a three-year cooperative agreement to support breast cancer awareness in young women. According to the CDC, "This new program will provide resources to organizations to establish or enhance existing support services for young (<45 years of age) breast cancer survivors and their families. Organizations also will be funded to develop tools and resources to increase patient and provider knowledge of health behaviors and other strategies for reducing disease risk ..." The CDC’s work with young breast cancer survivors falls under the Affordable Care Act and the funds made … Continue Reading
Helping Innovations Survive, Thrive, and Go to Scale
by Aliza Mazor Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas has been the proud home of 26 innovative start-ups over the past decade. We have served as a laboratory for new ideas, giving them physical space, start-up capital, skills training, coaching, consulting, a peer community, visibility, and more. Our goal has been to nurture the growth of these ideas, help them become effective organizations, and enable them to achieve lasting impact. This article highlights some of what we have learned in the “lab” over the past decade and our understanding of what enables innovators to gain credibility, attract investors, and bring projects to scale. Of the 26 organizations we have helped incubate since our founding, 5 have ceased operations, 9 have created high-quality small or local programs, and … Continue Reading
Post-Start-Ups Need Support, Too
by Nina Bruder The news that JDub Records - one of the largest, most successful, and heavily funded Jewish non-profit start-ups of the past decade - is closing due to lack of financial support is sending shock waves throughout the Jewish innovation world. JDub Records was an early entrant that helped shape the field of Jewish innovation and start-ups. From 2003-2008 they were part of Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas. While not every start-up organization - not every organization! - can or should last forever, some are, indeed, poised for genuine growth. In my opinion, post-start-up growth and sustainability are the next frontier for the Jewish innovation ecosystem. Many of us eagerly await JDub’s wind-down report detailing their circumstances and decisions; there is much to … Continue Reading
JDub Closing Up Shop
Venture is aging out of the cohort of Jewish “start-ups” JDub, an initiative touted as being at the forefront of a Jewish cultural renaissance, has announced it will be closing due to financial pressures. Founded in 2002 by two then NYU students, Ben Hesse and Aaron Bisman, JDub was one of the earliest projects incubated through both Joshua Venture and Bikkurim (2003-2008). In its start-up phase, the organization focused on developing a small group of artists, including Matisyahu, SoCalled and Balkan Beat Box. As time went on, JDub's artist roster grew to include Israeli hip hop, Biblical indie-rock, Yiddish Punk, Cantorial Afrobeat, Sephardic rock and Jewish Kids music. Among the reasons stated for closing are "aging out of the cohort of Jewish “start-ups,” a troubling thought to those … Continue Reading
Storah13 Gala: An Organization Comes of Age
by Eszter Margit Storahtelling, recognized nationally as a leader in transforming the contemporary Jewish experience, is turning 13 this summer and reinventing the B Mitzvah Celebration in honor of this milestone. This evening, hundreds will gather in Tribeca’s City Winery and raise a glass to 13 years of pioneering innovation and success. The gala, Storahtelling’s first, will honor Marina Pinto Kaufman, Storahtelling’s founding Board Chair, and salute Amichai Lau-Lavie, the organization’s visionary founder, who is stepping down this summer. The Storah13 Gala features a demonstration of Storahtelling’s unique approach to the B Mitzvah experience, starring actress and comic Jackie Hoffman, direct from Broadway’s “Addams Family”. Jackie has been trained through Storahtelling’s … Continue Reading
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