During the General Assembly of 2005, I heard a revolutionary idea during a panel discussion: that Jewish institutions should invest 10% of their annual budgets in new programs that can engage the younger set in their communities. The speaker: Aaron Bisman, founder of JDub records, and one of the brightest stars of my generation of committed community activists. Bisman's call made perfect sense to me: Jewish communal organizations are custodians of the Jewish People's organized interests. Along with short-term responsibilities of program provision, these organizations also needed to ensure their prospects for long-term viability, which means that they had to keep an eye on what in the general market would be called 'customer acquisition.' Since all the data I was privy to then and since pointed to … Continue Reading
Broken Business Models in “Non-Profit” Start-ups; Case Study: JDub
by Jacob Ner-David Last week I had a packed Wednesday, starting off the day leading a Wexner Heritage Leadership group focused on the New Economy of Israel. OK, so the new economy is not so new, been around for almost 20 years, but what can I tell you, Americans are slow to pick up on these things. Anyway, talked to them for hours about entrepreneurship in Israel, start-ups, wealth creation, and more. To kick off the day I asked my friend Jon Medved to join us, who is featured prominently in Saul Singer's book, Start-Up Nation. And then I walked down the street to meet with the PresenTense 2011 Global Summer Institute fellows, to talk about business models in the non-profit world, where most of the fellows are planning to make their mark in the near term. I told them that from my … Continue Reading
Innovation at Any Age
by Justin Korda and Esther D. Kustanowitz In the field of innovation, the term “innovative” is almost always paired with the word “young.” Admittedly, at first glance, these two terms seem a natural fit. As Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, points out, the development of high-caliber social entrepreneurs is largely linked to taking initiative at an earlier age. He bases his assertion on both experience and research: in a study of more than 2,500 Ashoka fellows, the organization saw that a significant number of these social entrepreneurs had first experienced the power of being change-makers in their younger years. Closer to home, in a Jewish community focused on courting the “NextGen” population to ensure … 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
Innovation and Responsibility
by Bob Goldfarb Whom does Jewish innovation serve? It's a question that needs closer attention as the sector continues to grow. According to a recent report, The Jewish Innovation Economy, this sector “is more focused on Jewish identity and belonging, along with religious expression, than on social services and large-scale institutional action.” That's markedly different from Federations, which typically have a primary commitment to caring for Jews in need. Another difference, as we know from earlier studies, is that the leadership of startups is atypical of the North American Jewish population generally. “Fully 95% [of startup leaders] have been to Israel at least once, compared with 35% of American Jews overall,” confirms the new report. In addition, more than half of the founders … Continue Reading
Portland Jewish Federation Annouces Innovation Grants
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (JFGP) has inspired innovation within their community as the result of an unprecedented decision - to offer $300,000 beyond the total dollars allocated through its annual campaign to new Community Impact Grants (CIG). These funds created an opportunity for new local initiatives that will engage new audiences - and is being carried out in the midst of continued economic uncertainty. While some organizations have struggled to maintain the status quo, JFGP approached the challenges with a new perspective. A recent demographic study commissioned by JFGP estimates that Portland has over 27,700 Jewish households, a striking difference from the 11,000 households currently identified synagogue and agency rosters. Portland’s Jewish population is a growing, … Continue Reading
How We’ll Fund Innovation and Sustainability
by Joe Brewer for Socialbrite.org It’s time to solve a fundamental problem that plagues progressives everywhere - the lack of seed money to get innovative projects off the ground and the absence of workable funding models to scale up the ongoing efforts to create systemic cultural, economic and political change. Every major economic paradigm shift throughout modern history has been propelled forward by the influx of financial capital to build institutions that support the new framework. In the 1850s and ’60s it was investment in cheap steel to lay down railways. A century later there were massive capital projects to build the interstate highway system and the explosion of suburban landscapes that accompanied it. Now we face a deeper challenge. Not only must we cultivate technological … Continue Reading
Will Portland Become the New Center for Jewish Innovation?
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has hopped on the "innovation bandwagon" - making up to $300,000 available "to inspire individuals, organizations and agencies to develop and implement new or enhanced programs to meet significant community needs or create significant opportunities." The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has also launched a program seeking the "next big Jewish idea". But what sets the Portland program apart is that $300k is almost 10% of their projected revenues! According to Marc Blattner, federation president and CEO, "We are truly looking to change the dynamic of how we allocate dollars and seeking to fund new and innovative programs. Like most federations, we continue to primarily fund our network of partner agencies. This way, we can make an impact by … Continue Reading
The Innovation Buzzword?
by David Cygielman Innovation has certainly been a very popular buzzword over the past two years. Not just in the Jewish community, but in every aspect of promotion and advertising, we continue to hear about the benefits of innovation. Ranging from car commercials to the President’s State of the Union, innovation is clearly seen as a huge benefit. The overarching question, however, is, “What is innovation?” Although I didn’t think about being an innovator when I created Moishe House, I have since sat on many panels discussing the topic and we have even received generous funding targeted towards innovation. So, how can innovation be pushed and nurtured? In a nutshell, innovation to me is not necessarily creating something new but rather, finding a new way to meet an existing need. For … Continue Reading
70 Entrepreneurs Enter Local PresenTense Fellowships
What does the future of Jewish social start-ups look like? Beginning this week, 70 social innovators will enter five local PresenTense Fellowships in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia where they will transform their ideas that address real social problems into sustainable ventures launched into the community. Ventures range in focus from Jewish education to the environment, social action to art and culture, and everything in between. Nearly doubling the amount of Fellows accepted through the previous four years, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia are ready to introduce the next Jewish leaders to the communities they will be serving. The PresenTense Fellowship is a 5-month program which trains Jewish social entrepreneurs to develop and grow … Continue Reading
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