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. 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.
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.
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:
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
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
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"
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
