Joshua Venture Group
Joshua Venture Group is a non-profit organization whose primary activity is the Dual Investment Program, a United States national initiative that provides social entrepreneurs working in the Jewish community with training, tools, and resources to help them start up or scale their ventures. A cohort of eight Fellows is selected bi-annually through a competitive application process, and the Program itself lasts two years.[1] Fellows are involved with projects that span a variety of fields - from the arts and social justice to spirituality and the environment - and all strive to positively impact the American Jewish community.
Mission
Joshua Venture Group seeks to reinvigorate and expand the Jewish community by cultivating the leadership and management capability of talented, passionate young Jewish social entrepreneurs and by investing in their visions and in the growth of healthy, sustainable organizations.[2]
Dual Investment Program
The Dual Investment Program emphasizes the importance of investing both in the entrepreneur and in the venture. Spanning two years, the Program provides Fellows with the following resources:[3][4]
- Early-stage capital, including $40,000/year for two years and an additional stipend for health benefits
- A social entrepreneur toolkit, including individual coaching and semi-annual retreats, in addition to a $7,000/year stipend allocated toward professional and organizational development
- Access to professional and communal networks in the social entrepreneurial and Jewish worlds
- Increased exposure of their ventures
- Jewish learning and reflection
Current fellows
2010-2012 cohort
- Zelig Golden - Wilderness Torah
- Alison Laichter - Jewish Meditation Center
- Sarah Lefton - G-dcast
- Rachel Nussbaum - Kavana Cooperative
- Nati Passow - Jewish Farm School
- Zhenya Plechkina - Jewish Children's Art Initiative
- Ari Weiss - Uri L'Tzedek
- Eli Winkelman - Challah for Hunger
Alumni
2001-2003 cohort
- Sam Ball - The New Jewish Filmmaking Project
- Tobin Belzer
- Jennifer Bleyer
- Rabbi Daniel Greyber - Lishma
- Meredith Englander Polsky - Matan
- Rabbi Rochelle Robins - Bat Kol
- Amy Tobin - The Hub
- Rabbi Manny Vinas - El Centro de Estudios Judios "Torat Emet"
2003-2005 cohort
- Ronit Avni - Just Vision
- Aaron Bisman - JDub Records
- Mitch Braff - Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
- Daron Joffe - Gan Chaim
- Idit Klein - Keshet
- Amichai Lau-Lavie - Storahtelling
- Yavilah McCoy - Ayecha
- Rochelle Lee Shoretz - Sharsheret