Where Most Needed

A successful start-up charity is rare, and the first of this century could be Taglit Birthright Israel (Birthright Israel Foundation, EIN 13-4092050 Form 990).  It was co-founded in 2000 by Charles Bronfman, one of the richest men in Canada, and Michael Steinhardt, a one-time hedge fund investor who now devotes himself primarily to Jewish causes. 

This year about 21,000 trips are sponsored (about 36,000 apply).  The organization works through various tour operators (23 listed on the web site) that provide different flavors of trips, with a few common elements like the "Mega-Event" show and a visit to the Western Wall.  The Jerusalem Post offers coverage of the event here.  The Form 990 shows that about $43 million was raised in the US last year to fund the program.  The goal is achieve about double the current participation. 

And this interview with founder Mr. Steinhardt shows the passion and vision that seems to be just as necessary as huge sums of cash in starting up a successful charity.  Mr. Steinhardt is an atheist and he sees Taglit Birthright Israel not only as a way to connect Jewish youth of the Diapora to the state of Israel, but also as a beginning of a different vision of Judaism.  (Even the interviewer describes his views as "worryingly, a touch messianic.") 

Naturally the success of the venture has prompted some differing views, and Salon online magazine offers an article that profiles some of the (very small) alternative programs that take participants into the Occupied Territories.  There is also a story from the Jerusalem Post about a would-be Taglit Birthright participant who was booted from the trip when it was learned that she inteded also to participate in the alternative.   This follows the typical pattern that a large, successful charity will generate numerous tiny "me-too" ventures.   Innovation in charity tends to move from the top down, rather than from the bottom up as is sometimes claimed.