Skilled Volunteers for Israel is seeking a Volunteer Coordinator to assist the organization with volunteer placements.

Skilled Volunteers for Israel matches experienced professionals with meaningful skilled volunteer opportunities in Israel.  The organization will place its first 5-10 volunteers in 2011.  Most of the volunteers will be North American Jews aged 50 or above.

Successful placements and positive experiences are essential for the organization to expand and the individual hired will play a critical role in the organization’s first year of operation.

Click here to download the position description.  For consideration, an applicant must be registered as a freelance consultant, VAT Exempt in Israel.

To apply:

For consideration, send resume to info@skillvolunteerisrael.org and complete the on-line application form.

This position is funded through October 2011.  Extensions will be based upon performance and funding.

Interviews will be scheduled in late February/early March 2011 in Israel.

Questions?  email Director Marla Gamoran at mgamoran@skillvolunteerisrael.org.

What inspired you to embark on the path of an innovator?

What big question are you struggling with right now? 

What do you hope to see change / to help change in your field in the next ten years?

A couple of weeks ago, the 2010 Global Fellows sat down to interview one another and discuss these questions, and more, about their ventures, goals, struggles, and visions for the future. Meet the people behind the projects and learn more about what drives them as entrepreneurs and as members of the Jewish community: http://presentense.org/pti10-interviews

2010 Global Launch Night is coming up tomorrow night at 19:00 IDT/12:00pm EDT! After months of preparation, and 6 weeks of workshops, meetings with mentors and VIPs, deliverable, project plans, and worksheets, the 16 fellows are excited to share their ventures with the PT community.

Join us online! 

• Watch Launch Night live at 19:00 IDT/12:00pm EDT on Thursday July 22nd.
• Submit a Social Capital Note and help connect our fellows with new ideas, contacts, and investors.
• See how our fellows are preparing for launch night (crunch time starts July 19!)
• Watch videos from PT community members from around the world - and submit your own!

PresenTense's Community Entrepreneur Partnership is coming to several cities this year, including Boston, Cleveland, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. Email us to find out how you can join a steering committee, sign up to mentor or coach a fellow, or apply for a fellowship. 

Wish your community had a CEP? Contact us to find out how you can bring Jewish entrepreneurship and innovation to your community. 

“To me, Israel is home.” Volunteer Karen Koven comes to Israel twice a year and the more she’s here, the more this Phoenix native “wants to be involved in the community.” Karen has had many experiences in her years of visiting Israel, including attending family simchas, volunteering on an army base and attending a study program at a Jerusa-lem yeshiva.

From June 15 to September 1, 2010, Karen is in Jerusalem putting her CPA skills to good use with the PresenTense Group. Working closely with staffer Naomi Fein, Karen is assisting PresenTense with setting up and transitioning the organization’s accounting system from a home grown spreadsheet based system to QuickBooks, an accounting soft-ware program specifically designed for small businesses and organizations.

Accounting may not be the sexiest work in an organization, but it’s essential for a business like PresenTense that’s transitioning from start-up to a sophisticated financial platform that must account for multiple funding streams.

Karen modestly shared that she doesn’t think her volunteer work was that big of a deal. Naomi Fein disagrees, “Karen has simply been a lifesaver for us, she has allowed us to get so much more work done in such a short period of time.” In less than a month, working approximately 10 hours a week, Karen has helped PresenTense set up and transfer a year of financial data to a new software system that will enable the staff to confidently report and track the organization’s revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities.

When asked about differences between the Israeli financial and tax systems and those Karen knows from the States, there was no hesitation when she said, “I know what I don’t know.”

South African Turns Political Statement Into Trendy Fashion Statement 

PresenTense Fellow David Kramer increases awareness of Israeli causes and charitable organizations through his new clothing brand. 

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – July 7, 2010 – David Kramer is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Kramer, a Fellow at the PresenTense 2010 Global Summer Institute, is making political statements fashionable with the NU Campaign, an Israeli clothing brand dedicated to raising social awareness and funding for important Israeli causes and charitable organizations.

As a Summer Fellow at the prestigious six-week Institute, Kramer joins fifteen other budding Jewish social entrepreneurs from America, Israel, Australia, and the UK to gain the skills and connections necessary to launch their ventures to benefit the Jewish world at large.

"The 2010 Fellows represent some of the most innovative Jewish minds today.  They are embarking on projects that have the potential to transform Jewish life here in Jerusalem and around the world," commented Flo Low, Chair of the Institute Steering Committee.

Watch Noah, Jenny, and Madeline, PresenTense Institute's three Cleveland Fellows, pitch their big ideas to reJEWvenate the Cleveland Jewish community.

Now this is an awesome picture:  

 I caught our Fellows Nic (left, in blue) and Zach (in the baseball hat) testing Zach's prototype for his PresenTense project - a gaming platform to engage people in micro-philanthropy.  The picture is not exactly an award winner since I snapped it with my blackberry, but I was captured by the idea-sharing that was taking place.  

How would Nic, an elementary Jewish Day School art teacher from London and Zach, a sophomore at Stanford University studying symbolic systems ever know that the other one existed?  Would Zach have thought to ask an art educator's opinion about the logic of the game process?  How would Zach have known that Nic's husband has experience creating online games and has connections with some amazingly talented coders and UI experts?

Most likely, they wouldn't have.

In my opinion - this is one of the beauties of PresenTense.  PresenTense brings people together from all over the Globe who are united around a single passion - bettering the world through their ventures.  And each has unique experiences, visions and skills to share with the others.

We're looking forward to the development of Nic's project LooktoLearn and Zach's project (name TBD) over the course of the next 3 weeks.  In the meantime - we'll be cultivating these collective experiences and hope that you'll be able to provide our Fellows with some of your own.  Check out their projects and join their quests by clicking on the link at the end of each project description.  

On June 10th, 2010, 17 Fellows will take up the flag of Pioneering to develop entre- and intrapreneurial ventures to impact Israel and the Jewish community. Check out their ideas, and sign up to join their quests as they go forth to change the world and bring our people's values to life.

Click below to meet the 2010 PresenTense Fellows and lend your energy and support to their missions.

The Jerusalem Post recently had a great article on coaching:

Asked on Wednesday to explain the differences between coaching Israelis and coaching British or Australian clients, Grant responded, “Israelis are renowned for their directness, and every Israeli has strong opinions. So there are obviously some cultural differences, but the notion that we can use behavioral sciences or theoretical programs to bring positive change is a cross-cultural idea. We can all find more satisfying lives, more satisfying ways to do things; these are universal concepts, not Australian, European or Israeli.”

In it, they discuss the negative perceptions that coaching has amongst the general public. Self-titled "life coaches" and other would-be mentor types market themselves to struggling professionals and often have murky background in the fields that they are supposedly expert.

JPost highlights the work of Dr. Anthony Grant, an international leader in coaching methodology, who has been speaking to various groups across Israel in a recent tour. One interesting stat that they provided: there are between 60-80 coaching schools in Israel, or 1 for every 100,000 people. Australia, where Dr. Grant is from, has only 14 coaching schools.