See also:
IsraCorps Action Center

SOCIAL ENTREPRENURING ENTERS THE MAINSTREAM IVN SELECTS ISRAEL’S NEW LEADERS FOR 2008 Seven outstanding candidates were chosen as the new IVN SE Fellows for the 2008-2010 fellowship period. Read more

Social Entrepreneur Fellowship Program

The Social Entrepreneur Fellowship Program, in partnership with The New Israel Fund supports and incubates Social Entrepreneurs (“S.E.s”). S.E.s are individuals dedicated to developing and implementing sustainable and innovative solutions in Israel, empowering people and communities to create positive, social sustained change.

Click here to see our Social Entrepreneur Fellowship Program Brochure.

Social Entrepreneurs represent a powerful force for systemic social change and deserve the epithet "Israel's New Leaders".

Click here to FIND OUT MORE TODAY ABOUT HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Be a New Fellow, a New Funder, a New Mentor

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR FELLOWSHIP TEAM:

Isabel Maxwell - Chair, S.E. Fellowship Program; Principal Maxwell-Communications, President Emeritus, Commtouch Software (CTCH)

Vincent Worms - Founder, S.E. Fellowship Program; Co-President, Managing and Founding Partner of Partech International Capital Management

Hedva Fensterheim – Manager, S.E. Fellowship Program

Atara Dzikowski -Director of Development, IVN

Click here to download detailed descriptions of the fellows, their initiatives and their mentors.

SE Fellowship Program Partners:

New Israel Fund – Susan Sawicki, Associate Director in Israel

Partnering of IVN SE Program with Ashoka in Israel – Ashoka, the pre-eminent social entrepreneur organization, has selected the SE Program as its partner in expanding its activities in the Middle East to include Israel. To read more about Ashoka and to join its competitions, visit www.ashoka.org, www.changemakers.net/en-us/competitions and www.changemakers.net/en-us/competition/endcorruption

About the S.E. FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Social Entrepreneur Fellowships given by IVN, our strategic partner, the New Israel Fund and by individual donors, enable S.E.s to dedicate their time to their projects during the 2-year period of the Fellowship, growing and expanding the projects and bringing them to a sustainable level.

Fellowship Offerings for successful applicants:
Monthly Stipend: The Fellowship offers a monthly stipend for a 2-year period (up to $20,000 per year) in order to allow the Fellow to dedicate his/her time to the development of the project.

Oversight and Mentoring: Every Fellow works with at least one dedicated Executive mentor on the ground in Israel, with appropriate assistance from the permanent staff of IVN; and additional assistance/contacts from IVN members abroad who have a direct interest in assisting Social Entrepreneurs to make a difference. The mentors are members of the IVN Network, who are some of the leading technology entrepreneurs in Israel and the US with many years of business, strategic, technical and financial expertise to share.

Education Opportunities: Our organizational partners are also used to bolster the skills training available to the Fellows. For example, each fellow is entitled to participate in workshops of SHATIL, the New Israel Fund's empowerment and training center. SHATIL offers a wide range of learning opportunities, such as: strategic planning, networking, fundraising, marketing, Web/Internet support, accounting, board development and evaluation.

The Social Entrepreneur Fellows: The first 2 fellowships, awarded in August 2004 have graduated the program. Four more Fellowships were awarded from a talent pool of 259 applicants in 2005. These Fellows are currently in the second year of their Fellowship. Two new Fellowships were recently awarded from a talent pool of 302 applicants for the 2007-2009 fellowship period.

S.E. Fellow Chaim Fox-Emmett, 2004-2006,  ISRAEMPLOY www.israemploy.net is a one-stop resource for job seekers and employers, providing job offers, information, support, and advice through a national network.

S.E. Fellow Amiad Lapidot - COMPOST HAKEREM 2004-2006 is turning organic garbage into high quality compost, focusing on the preservation of natural resources, and waste management.

S.E. Fellows Irit Solzi and Dror Gershon, 2005-2007- The Movement for Israeli Urbanism  Urbanism www.miu.org.il is pioneering the introduction of modern urbanism and city planning in Israel. It strives to improve the quality of life for the current and future generations by humane and sustainable development of Israeli towns and cities and by advancing democratic values in the Israeli planning process.

S.E. Fellow Tal Cohen, 2006-2008 - “Teach for Israel’s Tomorrow,” based on the highly successful Teach for America, sets out to minimize the existing educational inequities in Israel by expanding higher education opportunities for students in the periphery. The program proposes to integrate young leaders, men and women, outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who have outstanding leadership abilities and a deep social commitment, as teachers for two years in the educational system in low-income, rural and urban communities.

S.E. Fellow Laithi Gnaim, 2006-2008 - “Social-Economic, Agricultural-Environmental Cooperative” in the Beit Netufa Valley region. This initiative aims to bind, organize and empower the farmers, landowners and animal growers in the area in order to take advantage of the hidden potential of the land and to introduce new crops and new technologies in accordance with principles of sustainable development.

S.E. Fellows Bezalel Cohen and Yechezkel Rosenblum, 2006-2008 - “Work from Within” - A Haredi employment initiative to enable a strong and financially reinforced Haredi community and effect a fundamental social improvement by eradicating the current widespread distress. Training, resources and guidance will be provided to those within the community who desire and recognize their need to enter the Israeli workforce.

S.E. Fellow Asher Elias, 2007-2009 - “Tech Careers” - Provides technology training for Ethiopian immigrants and places graduates in mainstream high tech jobs earning competitive salaries.

S.E. Fellow Dana Weinberg, 2007-2009 – “Women and Their Bodies” - - a unique, multicultural, multi-professional, non-profit organization of Israeli women, Jewish and Palestinian, who have made it their mission to work towards empowering women to become self-health advocates who can protect and promote their own health. It is based on “Our Bodies Ourselves” founded in Boston, which went on to inspire a world-wide movement of women's health.

For more information on ways to become involved with the Social Entrepreneur Program, whether from the US or Israel, please contact IVN S.E. Fellowship Director Hedva Fensterheim at hedva@ivn.org.il.

Contact information for IVN SE Fellows:

Chaim Fox-Emmett: realife@012.net.il
Amiad Lapidot: carmelra@netvision.net.il
Irit Solzi: irit@miu.org.il
Dror Gershon: dror@miu.org.il
Tal Cohen: taltfit@yahoo.com
Laithi Gnaim: laithig@yahoo.com
Bezalel Cohen: cohen-bezalel@013.net
Yechezkel Rosenblum: yvr@012.net.il
Asher Elias: asher@tech-career.org
Dana Weinberg: aiweinberg@netmedia.net.il

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