In the weeks and months following the Oct. 7 terror attacks and Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip, a wave of philanthropic funding focused on urgent needs like evacuees, hostages and devastated communities in the south and north of the country. And as the war grinds on, now nearing the two-year mark, Israelis’ growing mental health needs — and their resilience — have captured headlines.

But one demographic group — single mothers, who were already struggling economically on the margins of Israeli society — “continues to be pushed aside,” said Keren Morag, head of performance management at SFI Group, a social finance organization that develops and implements innovative social change models. In many cases, single mothers were hit harder by the war and largely left out of the early aid. “The problem is only growing,” she said.

SFI Group and the nonprofit Yedidut Toronto, which have partnered with Israel’s Ministry of Labor, recently launched a new initiative — On Your Way — to help improve the economic plight of single mothers. Given that their situation has only deteriorated in the war’s wake, the On Your Way project, added Hilit Sagie, investor relations, philanthropy and marketing manager at SFI Group, has a fresh urgency.

The groups’ recent survey of 371 single mothers paints a distressing picture. Nearly half (46%) reported a deterioration in their financial situation, while 44% said they see no clear path to recovery and are unable to estimate how long it might take to rebound from the war-induced financial crisis. More than one-third reported forgoing medical treatments for their children, and 61% said they had cut out extracurricular activities due to financial constraints.

“What really struck us was… that many [of the mothers] couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Morag told eJewishPhilanthropy. “These stories aren’t making headlines. The public conversation is focused on resilience and mental health… That’s why this project is so critical, especially now.”

In addition, she said, the data revealed that while a large majority of single mothers — 81% — are employed, only half of them, 41%, have full-time positions, indicating that most are relying on part-time or temporary jobs to juggle work and childcare, particularly without a stable support network. The survey further highlighted that the war has disproportionately affected those in part-time or temporary roles, with 27% of part-time workers and 67% of temporary workers reporting significant employment challenges due to the conflict.

SFI Group developed the On Your Way initiative under its “pay-for-results” investment model, with social investors providing the initial funding, and the government repaying the investment only if the project meets its goals. If the project goals aren’t achieved, the risk is on SFI Group and investors, said Morag. For the state, it’s a zero-risk, success-based model, and a best-practice model is delivered for implementation. Investors receive their money back with a 5% return, funded by government savings. This venture philanthropy approach allows investors to reinvest their returns into future projects, ensuring ongoing social impact, added Sagie.

The project’s partners sought out Yedidut Toronto to manage the program because of its experience in identifying and developing solutions for social needs and collaboration with the government and other partners, said Morag.

The total budget is NIS 6.6 million ($1.7 million): NIS 6.1 million ($1.6 million) in social investment and NIS 500,000 ($130,000) in philanthropic donations and they’ve raised two-thirds of the total investment so far, Morag said. They raised funds from investors to pay Yedidut Toronto for the intervention, and the reimbursement from the government depends on the project’s success. The state will cover up to NIS 7 million ($1.8 million), she said.

SFI and Yedidut Toronto are also working to raise the additional philanthropic support for elements not funded by the government, particularly the soft-skills programming.

“At the end of the project, we provide the ministry with a set of best practices — what worked, what didn’t, what was most effective, for whom, and how. They can choose to scale it up — possibly with Yedidut Toronto, or another partner — but the goal is for the state to adopt it more widely for families who need this,” said Morag.

According to SIF Group analysts, for every shekel invested by impact investors, the total economic impact is four shekels. Half of this benefit goes directly to the single mother and her family, while the other half is saved by the state through reduced benefits, increased taxes and economic growth. Overall, the project’s net annual economic impact is estimated at NIS 17 million ($4.7 million).

The program specifically targets single parents living in poverty who are motivated to improve their financial situation, with the goal of increasing their earned income through employment, said Naomi Shmulevitz, head of employment programs at Yedidut Toronto. According to the data they collected, 12% of families in Israel are single-parent households, and in 86% of those cases the mother is the head of the household, she said.

“Though most single mothers do work, they still earn less per hour than others in equivalent roles in the labor market. This is due to barriers and challenges that are very specific and unique to this population,” said Shmulevitz. “These percentages really highlight that this population faces unique challenges. One of the challenges we’re very familiar with is the emotional exhaustion many of them experience — the lack of self-confidence, and their difficulty balancing the needs at home with the demands of work.”

Many single mothers lack a support system, limiting their ability to balance work and childcare, and often have little formal education or training, she said. This results in low-wage, unstable jobs with no higher career prospects. While employers are sometimes willing to hire them, they are seen as high-risk, leading to frequent job loss and short-term employment. Childcare responsibilities, especially for those with young children, force them into inconsistent jobs, further contributing to their employment instability, she added.

The 18-month-long initiative will operate through two main tracks: the “Oz” Track, aimed at single mothers currently outside the workforce, offering professional training, and the “Ofek” Track, designed for low-wage earners, providing career advancement support. Participants will benefit from a comprehensive support package that includes training, skill development, rights advocacy, comprehensive personal mentoring, job retention assistance, and collaboration with employers to remove barriers and set diversity targets.

Most of the women they are working with are already employed — just earning very low wages in jobs that don’t match their skills or potential, said Morag.

“That’s where we want to make the leap — because that’s where real, transformative change can happen,” said Morag. “Our overall goal is for a woman currently earning NIS 7,000 to move up to NIS 10,000 — that kind of significant jump in salary is what drives social mobility.”

For women without formal education they either connect them to existing vocational courses or create new group-based training programs, said Shmulevitz. They will soon begin a training course in insurance underwriting, which is an in-demand field and can fit the schedule of a working single mother, she said. Other courses in planning are in HR and high-level digital office management. If the budget allows, they would be happy to offer tech courses as well, she said.

“Before we open any training program, we always check the labor market needs and whether the course is a good fit for single mothers and their specific realities,” she said. “In addition to the vocational training and employment components, we also provide a wraparound support system that includes rights realization, soft skills and adaptation to the modern technological world — things that will enhance a woman’s capabilities in the workforce. So we’re looking at both professional and personal development.”

An important component of the program is that it is tracked throughout its entire duration, said Morag.

“Everything is based on data. The program is managed and monitored in real time,” she said. “That means we don’t get to the end of a project and say, ‘Oh, we missed the target.’ We know, at every stage, exactly what’s happening with each participant and where we stand compared to our goals. Unlike traditional government tenders, which are measured by inputs and outputs — how much money was spent and what deliverables were produced — we’re measured strictly by outcomes. If we succeed, we get paid.”