DESCRIPTION

Created in 2002, The Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund of Los Angeles is a group of committed community leaders who have pooled their money and expertise to create a vehicle for high-impact philanthropic work in the Jewish Community. The Fund seeks to support the Jewish community by searching out and supporting those unique ideas that are backed with a passion and leadership with a plan to strengthen and positively impact our Jewish community. The Fund works in coordination with, and is staffed by, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

GOALS

Unlike many philanthropic organizations that focus their investments by “interest” (like the elderly, or education, or the arts, etc.), the Fund focuses on different dimensions: impact, scalability and sustainability. In a geographically dispersed area like LA, let alone in Israel and the broader world, impact requires scale. Small ideas are not overlooked, but they need the capacity to mature into big endeavors with a potentially large reach. The Fund prides itself on taking calculated risks on new ideas with the capacity to change the Jewish world. We look for organizations in which our investment can leverage significant growth.

OPERATIONAL DETAILS

Each Fund member contributes $10,000 annually to the fund. All Fund members have real world business experience and all invest both their money and their respective expertise in projects that have the capacity to make a difference in our Jewish Community. The Fund receives over 100 requests for funding every cycle, which the fund members carefully consider for funding. Each cycle a few finalists work with Fund teams through an intensive due diligence process in which Fund members assist non-profit leaders in shaping their ideas and business plans. In the Fund’s first 7 cycles of operation, over $1.5 million has been distributed to 22 organizations. Once funding is given, Fund members continue to provide strategic advice and sometimes serve on the Boards of the funded organizations.