The Need For a Funding Roadmap

Adene Sacks, program director at the Jim Joseph Foundation, writing in the JTA:

What social entrepreneurs really need

… As a foundation program director, I learn a great deal from observing the fate of entrepreneurs in the private sector. In that world, it is standard practice that a venture investor commits to the development of the entire enterprise and its entrepreneur rather than a distinct product line. Before investment, a venture investor, in addition to determining the potential in a given market, looks carefully at the growth stage of the venture and abilities of the lead entrepreneur.

… The Jewish philanthropic world needs the kind of role articulation and active management that characterizes the world of private investment. The lack of these guideposts has serious consequences for emerging Jewish social entrepreneurs. The struggle to move from the early stage funding (provided by the likes of Joshua Venture, UpStart and Bikkurim) to growth capital that builds both the entity and the leadership team remains a true struggle for emerging entrepreneurs and, frankly, across the nonprofit sector as a whole. What would give me pause in initiating something new is not the paucity of early stage support, but a lack of clarity in the funding space.