Home Archives for Joshua Venture Group

Change the Conversation

Posted on May 28, 2013 Written by 1 Comment
Change the Conversation

The following is an excerpt from Joshua Venture Group’s newly released report, Change the Conversation, Change the World: Reinvigorating Our Communities through Investment in Social Entrepreneurship - a look inside the organization’s own impact assessment, with implications for JVG’s work and the field. --------------------------------- If we truly want to achieve a more just, vibrant, and inclusive Jewish community in our lifetime, it is our responsibility to support the changemakers whose visions reflect this reality - and we will need to do it together. For Greater Communal Impact, We Must Organize Collectively to Support Entrepreneurs JVG recognizes the power of entrepreneurial ideas to shift the Jewish landscape and commissioned two important studies - 1) a two-year, comprehensive … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The American Jewish Scene Tagged: , , ,

What Does Collaboration Look Like?

Posted on May 14, 2013 Written by
collaboration

As a "sector-within-a-sector," the Jewish innovation space must work together if we are to achieve maximal impact. Important conversations about growth, sustainability, and impact cannot take place exclusively behind the closed-doors of boardrooms or within the four walls of any one organization. by No'a Gorlin, Lisa Lepson, Aliza Mazor, Toby Rubin, Jenny Kibrit Smith, Justin Rosen Smolen and Naomi Korb Weiss Business experts tell us that the proverbial saying "two heads are better than one" is actually true. Organizations that stress cross-functional collaboration in diverse teams see the benefits of enhanced camaraderie, heightened creativity, and a greater return on investment than organizations that operate in compartmentalized silos. But thinking more broadly, what does collaboration look … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The American Jewish Scene Tagged: , , , , , , ,

WANTED: More Spaces to Harness Leadership Talent

Posted on May 5, 2013 Written by
talent

by Justin Korda The application process for the ROI Summit is simultaneously one of the best and hardest times of the year for me - best because it reinforces the incredible young Jewish talent coming of age in communities around the world; hardest because I'm reminded that the Jewish world still does not have enough compelling opportunities to nurture all of it. Until we do, far too many young Jews who want to contribute to strengthening the Jewish future will be told “no, but” rather than “yes, and.” Faced with a negative response, many will choose to focus their time and talent elsewhere - a loss for them and for our community. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged: , , , , , ,

WarGames: Matthew Broderick Wished He Got a Badge

Posted on March 12, 2013 Written by
PBLheptagon_red

by Sarah Blattner In the 1983 film WarGames, Matthew Broderick stars as David, a precocious teen, who has computer skills beyond most of his contemporaries and adults in his life. David hacks into a military computer system named Joshua, where he is challenged to play a nuclear war game. America and Russia go head-to-head as the real military system begins to launch a countdown to start World War 3. It was fun rewatching this film with my own children recently, where they were confused that a computer system took up the space of an entire room. As an educator contemplating learning in the digital age, I noticed the subplot. The audience gets acquainted with David’s student profile, a kid who blows off school and finds himself pretty bored in general. At first, he pings the computer system, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Fellowship and RFP Opportunities, Using Technology Wisely Tagged: ,

Innovation Isn’t Dead, It’s Working

Posted on February 5, 2013 Written by

by Lisa Lepson and Will Schneider Toward the end of 2012 the central organization in the Jewish environmental movement, Hazon, merged with the more than 100-year old Jewish project, Isabella Freedman. The linking of an organization that has been identified in the Slingshot guide as a "Standard Bearer of Jewish innovation" with a century old project set off a round of casual conversations predicting the possible end of the era of innovation and the beginning of the next phase - with communal leaders focusing on potential “integration” and “mash-up” of the innovation and established organizations. As the innovations of the past decade find new models to move forward, our collective attention has begun to shift with them. Funders, too, are concerned with funding models for “2nd stage” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged: ,

Ashoka Receives $250,000 Challenge Grant to Advance Social Entrepreneurship in Israel

Posted on November 13, 2012 Written by

Ashoka has received a $250,000 challenge grant to customize its trademarked Changemakers® platform to support and connect growing numbers of social entrepreneurs in Israel and around the Jewish world. Kikar Ashoka, the customized platform, aims to help these social entrepreneurs develop, maintain and scale initiatives, collaborate on shared ideas and connect with potential supporters. The three-year challenge grant is from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. As part of the broader Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network (CLSPN), the Schusterman Foundation is focused on empowering young people with the skills and tools they need to create substantive change in their local communities, in Israel and across the Jewish world. With the goal of encouraging more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Media Tagged: , , , ,