Funding Environmental Stewardship in Israel

Investing in the environment is no longer about nature conservation alone, but more broadly about investing in social justice, equality, education, and societal-environmental health.

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Over the past two decades, philanthropic foundations—in partnership with civil society—have been instrumental in forging a vision of social environmental change in Israel, and in dramatically raising public awareness of environmental concerns. Looking at the emerging social environmental field today, it is clear that investing in the environment is no longer about nature conservation alone, but more broadly about investing in social justice, equality, education, and societal-environmental health. This shift has opened up wide channels in philanthropic potential. 

The key to harnessing the powerful philanthropic potential in this field is to plan your investment wisely, to be creative and knowledgeable, and to develop a holistic approach to your funding. We at JFN are here to help you with precisely that. To that end, this Greenbook aims to serve as a guide to help you:

• Learn from the failures and successes of the past two decades of funding initiatives
• Collaborate effectively
• Take calculated risks
• Pose the right sorts of questions to the right people
• Reach out to experienced professionals in the field, both in Israel and elsewhere
• Use Israel as a testing ground for global projects in this field
• Import best practices from other countries to Israel

Although philanthropy in this field is relatively young, it has already made significant change in building a field and creating a movement. In that sense, this Greenbook couldn’t be more timely. Now is the time to support environmental change in Israel. Never has the Israeli public been as primed to act. As calls for social justice, sustainable planning, and a higher quality of living grow ever louder, philanthropists are uniquely positioned to shape Israel's today and tomorrow.  So as you consider your involvement in this unique field at this unique time, we hope you will find our resources and expertise helpful.

Guidebooks are topical research reports for funders, published by Jewish Funders Network. Each volume highlights a challenge facing the Jewish community, maps out the history and background, and details a wide range of approaches to solving the problem.