This fall, at our second Israeli Philanthropy Conference in Tel Aviv (which we convened in partnership with in partnership with Tel Aviv University's Institute for Law and Philanthropy, the Forum of Foundations in Israel, and Committed to Give) , we shared some of the headlines from Spotlight on Israeli Philanthropy, a first-of-its kind study we commissioned about charitable giving in Israel.

Many of you have asked to see the full report, which is now available here. 

 Among the key findings from this study, based on a combination of government data, surveys and interviews:

• Only 15 percent of Israel’s nonprofit sector is funded with philanthropic gifts, whereas government allocations, followed by fees for service represent the field’s largest sources of revenue – so there’s a lot of room for more philanthropy!
• More than half of major gifts in Israel go to education, and most of that represents gifts to leading research universities.
• After education, the areas receiving the largest percentage of major gifts are culture (15 percent), social services (8 percent) and advocacy/politics (6 percent).
• Medium donors tend to collaborate more with other philanthropists than do larger donors.

While the study was more comprehensive than previous ones, there is a lot we still don’t know – in large part because many Israeli funders remain reluctant to share information or to publicize their giving. At JFN Israel, we are committed to transforming the culture to encourage more collaboration and information sharing throughout the field.

For those of you who speak Hebrew, be sure to check out the four videos at the bottom of the study, which provide further commentary and analysis.

I encourage you to check out the Spotlight on Israeli Philanthropy and learn more about our work in Israel here.

If you have any questions, please contact the JFN Israel team at [email protected]