Tel Aviv, Israel – September 9, 2013 – Tmura – the Israeli Public Service Venture Fund today announced it is allocating NIS 5,000,000 in funding to the following five NGOs:

• Chinuch L’Psagot – empowers over 2,000 children with the potential for excellence, in over 33 centers around Israel;
• Israeli Rett Syndrome Foundation – funds research for treatments and a cure for Rett syndrome, while enhancing the overall quality of life for those living with Rett syndrome by providing information, programs, and services;
• Knafayim Shel Krembo (“Krembo Wings”) – the only youth movement in Israel for children with special needs, operates 22 branches serving over 550 special needs children, and staffed by over 1,200 youth volunteers;
• Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center – the largest of such centers in Israel; offers a range of services including educational outreach programs for junior and senior high schools, boarding schools and other institutions; and
• Tzeva – operates a network of educational enrichment centers serving over 600 children from grades 3 – 6, and staffed by over 700 volunteers.

Waze contributed options to Tmura in 2011, and following Google’s acquisition of the company in June of this year, generated Tmura’s biggest exit to date. “We are excited by this opportunity to make a real difference in the community,” said Noam Bardin, Chief Wazer. “Tmura’s model enabled us to involve Waze employees in the allocation process and this has truly been an inspiring experience for the entire company.”

Tmura, in consultation with Waze management and employees, focused on a short list of organizations, thereby providing them each with sizeable grants. “Nonprofits are continually faced with fundraising challenges, making it difficult to plan from year to year,” explained Amos Gaver, Chairman of Tmura’s Grants Committee. “With these grants, we hope to alleviate at least some of this burden and help these organizations with their planning for the coming years.”

Tmura has experienced a surge in new donor companies, with 38 new companies joining in 2013 so far, bringing to 303 the total number of companies that have donated options to the community through Tmura. The new donors include Somoto (TASE: SMTO), StoreYa, Pi-Cardia, MCS (TASE: MDCL), Taboola, Nipendo, VibeSec, Zula, Slide.ly, Hello Doctor, CardSpark, Triapodi, KitLocate, and CyberArk.

Founded in 2002 by Yadin Kaufmann, Tmura offers companies a unique way to contribute. Rather than soliciting cash donations, Tmura receives grants of stock from companies and uses the proceeds from successful “exits” – a public offering, acquisition or sale of shares on the market – to fund education and youth-related charities in Israel.