UpStart, which cultivates the most promising ideas of Jewish social entrepreneurs, recently accepted two new UpStarters to its cohort of Jewish innovators – Ketuv.com, which provides couples with a fine art option in ketubahs, and creates an opportunity for artists, with dynamic careers outside of the commercial and Judaica spheres, to create fresh, quality ketubah art, and Edah, an after-school program with spring and summer-camp options that offers experiential, cutting-edge Jewish learning opportunities for children. They join current UpStarters Amir, A Wider Bridge, Fair Trade Judaica, G-dCast, Kevah, Moishe House, The Kitchen, Urban Adamah, and Wilderness Torah. UpStart helps these new organizations develop and implement their vision, business focus, content, and capacity to innovate so that they can make a lasting and profound impact on Jewish life.

Ketuv and Edah were chosen from a pool of 10 Bay-Area-based organizations, and were singled out for the entrepreneurial leadership qualities of their founders, the innovative nature of their work, and the important unmet needs they are meeting in the Jewish community. Edah is in the second year of its pilot phase, and has already been contacted by various groups across the country eager to replicate their model. They are recipients of the Covenant Signature Grant, and are offering unique experiential Jewish educational opportunities outside of day schools and synagogues. Ketuv transforms the act of purchasing a ketubah into integral part of the process of building a Jewish home, and provides new couples with the opportunity to infuse their values and aesthetics into the process.

Through individual attention and a peer network, the UpStarter program helps these entrepreneurs develop and implement their vision, build their infrastructure, attain fiscal sustainability, scale impact, adapt to shifting needs and environments, and gain access to networks and resources needed to achieve maximum impact.