Committed to Give is a subsidiary initiative of two organizations: Sheatufim – The Israel Center for Civil Society Jewish Funders Network (JFN) A group of private Israeli donors, who joined together in order to achieve a significant increase in the scope of private philanthropy in Israel and to enhance its effectiveness

Members

The Need: Facts & Figures Donations to Israeli NGOs in 2011 included:  47% from overseas funding  53% from companies and households in Israel 4%  Of which only 4% gave $25K or more annually *Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics report 2011

The Need: Facts & Figures The overall scope of donations to NGOs in Israel is estimated at $4 billion annually, of which roughly: –$2 billion from overseas –$2 billion from Israel: $1 billion from corporate philanthropy $0.75 billion from the general public $0.25 billion from donors of $25k or more

Target Audience The estimation is that Israel has about 10,000 millionaire households*. Yet only 1,000 give $25,000 or more annually. * Merrill lynch wealth report 2011

Our Mission To change the culture of giving among wealthy Israelis Our Goals 1. To promote awareness of the importance of private philanthropy 2. To expand the circle of private philanthropists in Israel 3. To encourage effective and ongoing philanthropy

member orientations content development marketing materials Road Show meet journalists and opinion leaders CTG Community conveying support, exposure, discourse and invitation to engage Meet target audience conferences, gatherings, collaborations Roadmap connecting donors to private effective philanthropy How are we doing this? creating a new discourse via

What’s New About This? Changing Israeli perception: philanthropic giving as a value in itself Paradigm shift among wealthy Israelis Let’s talk about it: philanthropists “coming out of the closet” Recognizing barriers preventing Israelis from giving Cultivating positive climate towards private philanthropy Creating a new discourse

Who are we approaching? Peer networking groups:  Shared background Army, business sector, fields of interest, women  Source of Capital Inherited, sudden, acquired or emerging wealth  Organizations “Friends of” orgs., boards of trustees  Geographical based Wealth management professionals:  Private banking, family offices, Adv.

Why don’t wealthy Israeli give? Cultural Constraints  The classic Zionist “division of labor”: overseas pay the bills–Israelis fight and live in Israel  New Israeli wealth in the making  “Survival” mindset  Collective identity out – individualism in  The “tycoon syndrome”  We give our share: army, reserve duty, taxes  Philanthropy has never been a defining trait of the elite Sources: Schmid, interviews

Why don’t wealthy Israelis give? Organizational Constraints  Negative public image of NGOs  Overlap and duplication of multiple NGOs  Limited professional fundraising  Difficulties in evaluating and measuring SROI  “It’s the government’s responsibility” – socialist economy  Absence of legislation and tax incentives  Heavy taxing Sources: Schmid, interviews

“I started out giving anonymously – but now believe wholeheartedly in speaking publicly about giving; my giving and giving in general. If I don’t talk about how and why I give, how can I get anyone else involved? A society needs models, strong models to display personal vision and leadership.” Dame Stephanie Shirley, at the JFN Conference, March 2012