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History and Staff
IsraelGives was founded in 2009 and has quickly grown into
the world's main website for supporting Israel, and our country's national
charity portal. Here's a little background on how it happened, and who was
behind it.
Our Mission
IsraelGives was launched to the Israeli non-profit community in July 2009 and
to the general public in November 2009. It is today the main website of Israel's
non-profit sector, used daily by over 750 organizations, and thousands of
visitors. The goal behind IsraelGives.org is two: T
o bridge the gap
between Israel and the world and help connect you
to the people and organizations creating a better
Israel, and two, to help Israeli non-profit organizations to use the internet as
a tool to raise support for their activities.
"There is a
huge gap between Israel and the world - and not just geographic", says Yonatan.
"For too many people, Israel is a foreign country that you can't connect
to or be a part of. This is tragic, because Israel was always a partnership
between the people on the ground, and their financial and spiritual
supporters from around the world. Recent years have reminded us of how this gap
is not just affecting Israel: it's clear that Israel is a central part of the
Jewish identity of young people, and if young people can't create that
connection, then their own Jewish identity - and relationship to their own local
Jewish communities - will be affected.
"The
internet presents us with an amazing opportunity to reach out to people around
the world and connect them to Israel. Some people believe that the best way to
create this connection is to help young people reach out to Israel - through
pro-Israel activities, trips, and outreach programs. I personally think that it
shouldn't just be you who reaches out to Israel; Israel should
also reach out to you. With IsraelGives, we're trying to help Israel reach
out to the world by empowering Israel's 27,000 non-profit organizations
to promote their activities and build online support. We think that 27,000
Israeli hands reaching out to the world can create a lot of connections, and
will strengthen both Israel and the Jewish identity of people around the
world".
Our
History
IsraelGives
was founded by Yonatan Ben-Dor, a Canadian immigrant
to Israel, with the support of Joseph Gitler. an American-born
philanthropist and social entrepreneur. Yonatan and Joseph previously worked
together to develop Leket
Israel (formerly Table to
Table), now one of Israel’s leading non-profit
organizations, and for which Joseph serves as Chairman of the Board.
With Table to Table, Yonatan was Israel's
first online fundraiser, and helped the organization to create the country's
most successful online fundraising operation. Based on the knowledge and
experience gained at Table to Table, Yonatan and Joseph decided that other
organizations could - and should - benefit as well, for online fundraising was
at its core not just a way to raise new funds for important social activities,
but a way to involve the public - both Israeli and international - in the life
of Israel's civil society and non-profit sector.
IsraelGives.org launched in Beta in July 2009 to
the non-profit public. Its public launch followed in November 2009 with a
full-page article in Israel's Haaretz newspaper, profiling the
organization. Within 3 months, IsraelGives.org had become Israel's leading
charity portal. To June 2011, over $2.5 million had been donated through
IsraelGives.org, with a growth of 30% every month.
The original
financial supporters of IsraelGives were the Gitler Family Philanthopies, the
Koschitzky famuly Philanthopies, the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies,
and Natan.
American
Support for Israel joined as IsraelGives.org's US partner in July 2009 to enable
tax-deductible donating from the U.S. In June 2011, UK Toremet joined as our UK
partner to enable tax-deductible donating from the U.K.
Our Structure
IsraelGives.org and its
sister Hebrew website IsraelToremet.org are free to use for both the public and
for Israel's non-profit organizations. We have an open-model because
we believe that every organization in Israel deserves a chance to be heard, and
that you deserve the opportunity to hear about the amazing people and stories
coming out of Israel's non-profit sector.
IsraelGives.org is owned and operated by
IsraelToremet Ltd., an Israeli social enterprise founded by social
philanthropists and investors. It uses its revenue - from consulting
services, premium technology, and a small fee taken on donations
made through the website - to operate the IsraelGives.org
website.
IsraelGives.org has a number of strategic
partners: The IsraelGives Foundation, an Israeli non-profit
organization committed to furthering Israeli philanthropy, helps to provide some
of IsraelGives.org's free services. American
Support for Israel, Inc., an American 501(c)(3) public charity, is
our US partner, and UK
Toremet is our British partner.
Head Staff
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Yonatan Ben-Dor, Founder
and Director
Yonatan is a
graduate of Political Science from Montreal's McGill University, and
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law School. He immigrated
to Israel in 2003 and joined Joseph Gitler at Table to
Table in early 2004 after completing his army service. He has worked in
the non-profit world for over a decade, and also worked as a community
lawyer. Yonatan founded the IsraelGives Foundation in 2007 and
IsraelToremet Ltd. in 2008. He currently lives in Tel
Aviv. |
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Ronen Mendel,Chief Technical Officer
(C.T.O.)
Ronen, 33, has over
15 years of experience with computer systems, having begun at age 18 as a
computer specialist in the Israeli Army. He lives in Kfar Saba with his
wife Tal and two children. |
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Florence Broder, Chief Operations Officer
(C.O.O.)
Florence previously
worked for UJA Federation of New York, and managed the social media
department of the Jewish Agency. She immigrated to Israel in
2011. |
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Maxime
Hamiache, Chief Programmer
Maxime, 29, worked
in R&D for software firms in France before making Aliyah to Israel in
2008. He currently resides in Herzliah. |
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International
Board of Advisors
The International
Board of Advisors serves as a strategic consulting body for the IsraelGives
initiative.
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Joseph Gitler, the co-founder of
IsraelGives; is a graduate of Yeshiva University and Fordham University
Law School. After making Aliyah in 2000, he worked for three years as
director of international sales and development for a family software
business. He founded Table to Table in 2003 after witnessing significant
food wastage in Israel at a time of rising poverty. Joseph's vision and
steady hand have led the organization from a simple, one-man operation to
Israel's largest food rescue organization. He is married to Leelah, has
four children and enjoys biking, traveling and spending time with his
family. |
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Perry Wildes is a partner at the leading
Israeli law firm Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co.
He practices corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on U.S. and
international corporate securities matters and cross border transactions.
Born in New York, he moved to Israel in 2000 and now lives in
Raanana. |
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Aaron Pereira is the founder of
CanadaHelps.org, Canada's leading charity portal. |
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