Insights: In the Media

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Disruptive Collaboration

Posted 11/08/2017

November 8, 2017 | eJewish Philanthropy By Maya Bernstein In 2008, Sarah Lefton realized that the majority of the hip, young, Bay Area Jews she knew sorely lacked a basic knowledge of Jewish stories, characters, and practices. She also realized that they turned to their devices, rather than to books or classes, to get information. So, […]

Co-Designing Our Interfaith Wedding

Posted 10/02/2017

How my atheist husband and I used design thinking to plan our big day By Lisette Zaid | Oy!Chicago Photo Credit: Benjamin J. Gonzales On July 22, 2017, I did the one thing I never imagined possible. I married someone who is not Jewish. This revelation may seem a bit ho-hum — I am certainly […]

Rabbi Lori Shapiro’s Open Temple is Redefining Faith Community in Venice

Posted 09/20/2017

September 20, 2017 | The Argonaut By Jessica Koslow Disco dancing down Abbot Kinney Boulevard with headphones for Simchat Torah. Reading text from rabbis about human sexuality as essential herbal essences waft in the air at Scent-ual Havdalah. Biking through 100 Years of Jewish Venice on an Electric Light Bike Shabbat. This is Open Temple. “I […]

Jonathan Mirvis, It’s Our Challenge: A Social Entrepreneurship Approach to Jewish Education

Posted 09/15/2017

By Aliza Mazor, UpStart’s Chief Field-Building Officer | Journal Of Jewish Education To survive we must adapt and change. We must disrupt, iterate, and take risks. This is the bold challenge posed by Dr. Jonathan Mirvis in his new book, It’s Our Challenge: A Social Entrepreneurship Approach to Jewish Education. As someone who has worked side […]

$2 million in grants awarded to 8 L.A. groups

Posted 08/25/2017

August 24, 2017 | Jewish Journal Dr. Lawrence D. Platt knows how hard it is to have a child in the military halfway around the world. Just ask him about his son Ari’s experience as a lone soldier, a member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) serving without the nearby support of immediate families. “My […]

Tikkun Ha-Ir accepted into Accelerator program

Posted 08/03/2017

August 2, 2017 | Jewish Chronicle MILWAUKEE – Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee has been selected for support from UpStart, a San Francisco-based organization that seeks to advance innovative ideas that contribute to the growth and vitality of Jewish life. Tikkun Ha-Ir will participate in the UpStart “accelerator” program, which is supporting nine other Jewish organizations around the […]

Makom Accelerating to Higher Ground in Center City

Posted 07/06/2017

July 5, 2017 | Jewish Exponent Beverly Socher-Lerner trusts the process. No, not “the Process” Joel Embiid and the Sixers swear to that involves sinking to the bottom before building your way back up. The director of Makom Community, a Center City after-school program educating children ages 4 to 10 and their parents about how to […]