For more information please email
info@mtzedek.org.il
Capacity Building
Imagine a Jewish state worth its name.
In 2004, four young social entrepreneurs looked at
Israel and saw individuals with disabilities in need of
accessible buildings, workers in need of their legally-
mandated wages, and poor school children in need
of education, healthcare, and welfare services.
Together they imagined a more just Israeli society
and founded Bema’aglei Tzedek to turn this imagination
into reality. Bema’aglei Tzedek’s core beliefs are
expressed in our very name, Circles of Justice.
Bema’aglei Tzedek: Psalm 23 gives us our name,
emphasizing the relevance of Jewish tradition as a
springboard from which modern-day Israelis can
impact social change.
Bema’aglei Tzedek: Our focus is always on
addressing the root causes of Israel’s socioeconom-
ic problems, providing sweeping systemic change
rather than temporary relief. This is the difference
between Tzedek, social justice, and Tzedekah, charity.
Bema’aglei Tzedek: We set circles of justice in
motion by empowering thousands of young religious
and secular Israelis to impact change, giving them the
training and opportunities to solve society’s problems.
As a start-up social entrepreneurial venture,
Bema’aglei Tzedek imagined a Jewish state worth its
name. Now, six years later, we have grown into a mid-
stage venture that needs to increase its capacity in
order to continue shaping Israeli society.
www.mtzedek.org.il
In 2009, we leveraged every dollar of our $375,000
budget to create as many circles of justice as
possible. With extremely limited resources, we
have accomplished much:
The Tav Chevrati or “Social Seal,” a certifi-
cate granted to restaurants and cafés that
respect the rights of their employees and
are accessible to people with disabilities, graces over
350 businesses in Israel, including 150 in Jerusalem
and 100 in Tel Aviv. The initiative is powered by volun-
teers who spread information about the Tav, supervise
certified restaurants, and choose to eat only at Tav-
certified restaurants.
Our educational programs reach over 15,000
Israelis each year, among them high school students,
university students, soldiers, tourists, adults, and
teachers. Rooted in Jewish texts and related to
current socioeconomic issues in Israeli society, our
educational programs focus on practical social
action, thus spreading tools and knowledge for par-
ticipants to make a difference in their communities.
Through the Employment Watchdogs program, we
train high school students to advocate for the security
guards and custodians who work in their schools, many
of whom do not receive their legally mandated rights
because of poor governmental enforcement. As a result
of this training and subsequent lobbying from the
students, the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv municipalities have
added close to NIS 12 million to ensure that they honor
the rights of their custodial staff.
Our Growth
Our limited budget has spawned and maintained
a cost-cutting, collaborative, and start-up ethos in
the organization. We have created an incredible
network of volunteers that helps plan Bema’aglei
Tzedek fundraisers, conducts regular inspections
of Tav Chevrati certified restaurants, and lobbies
the government for contract workers’ rights. This
network cuts the costs of paid staff members
while increasing the circles of engagement.
In June 2010, Bema’aglei Tzedek decided for the
first time to partner with two similarly minded
organizations in planning its bi-annual educa-
tional conference; the result was a better confer-
ence, lower cost per organization, and three new
relationships between leading Israeli non-profit
organizations. This ethos has helped us grow
from a small start-up to a mid-stage venture.
But what worked for a start-up venture is rapidly
limiting a mid-stage organization that has the
experience to expand beyond its current capacity.
In order to continue to impact Israel, we must com-
bine our start-up spirit with new resources that are
appropriate for our size and influence.
Our Entrepreneurial Spirit
Six years after its inception, Bema’aglei Tzedek
is still operating with the resources of a start-up
venture: Thirty volunteers and nine professional
staff members all vying over a single telephone
line and activists regularly scrambling across the
city trying to find a meeting place each week
because the only conference room is in the organi-
zation’s backyard.
Despite its tremendous achievements, Bema’aglei
Tzedek still has the entrepreneurial spirit that made
it so successful when it first started: The collabora-
tion of an office that must always jockey around
one phone line; the creativity of a group that must
always be thinking up a new place to hold a meeting;
the efficiency of the educators who coordinate lo-
gistics while still moving full-force ahead with their
educational agenda.
Investment Opportunities
With its new mid-stage capacity and its proven
start-up entrepreneurial spirit, we will continue
to change the way Israelis think about the Jewish
state.
Invest in Bema’aglei Tzedek by helping to build the
infrastructure that will give the organization the
capacity to expand to even larger projects. With a
start-up budget, Bema’aglei Tzedek made a seri-
ous impact. With improved infrastructure and
resources, it will continue to leverage every dollar
to widen the circles of justice as much as possible.
To build this capacity, Bema’aglei
Tzedek is looking for $150,000.
To build its mid-stage capacity, we must invest in an infrastructure that will enable
Bema’aglei Tzedek to continue its work efficiently while also expanding to new services.
Specifically, in order to leverage Bema’aglei Tzedek ’s current momentum, we need to
invest in:
A grant writer. Having a full-time professional
who will secure grants for Bema’aglei Tzedek to
start new initiatives, expand existing programs,
and strategically plan for the future will enable
us to create the infrastructure, capacity, and
resources to continue growing.
$25,000
A full-time administrative assistant. As
we find new ways to increase Bema’aglei Tzedek’s
fees per service and become financially indepen-
dent of philanthropy, we need a full-time profes-
sional staff member to administer the finances,
logistics, and distribution of those services. Right
now, these duties are shared among a half-time
administrative assistant and other professional
staff, but centralizing the responsibilities in one
person would enable more efficient management
of the services and the ability for professional
staff members to pursue their primary projects.
$25,000
A new website. Our current website was
designed six years ago, and because of outdated
technology, is static in its design. A new web-
site and ongoing maintenance would allow the
organization to provide updated information to
both a Hebrew and English speaking audience
and could provide a space for online blogging
and other user-generated content, thus allowing
Bema’aglei Tzedek’s spirit of volunteer empow-
erment and participation to permeate the web.
$10,000
A technological platform. Currently,
Bema’aglei Tzedek owns one telephone line,
one printer, two computers, and no copy ma-
chine. A new technological platform, including a
Customer Service Management database that
will keep track of volunteers, donors, and people
interested in the organization, will enable us to
work more efficiently.
$15,000
A spokesperson. In a country with an
obsession for the news, Bema’aglei Tzedek
believes in using the media as a powerful tool
for social change, and not just for the purposes
of organizational self-promotion. In the past, we
employed a spokesperson on a retainer. In the
midst of the worldwide economic recession of
2009, we made the difficult decision of ending
the retainer. A full-time spokesperson would
enable Bema’aglei Tzedek to leverage every
activity by using the press as a network of aware-
ness, accountability, and call-to-action.
$15,000
A new office space. The office space
Bema’aglei Tzedek currently rents is nearing
100 years old and has no heat in the winter, air
conditioning in the summer, or any space for
group meetings, volunteer training, or
educational programming. An up-to-date,
usable office space would enable us to actually
work in the same space, thus increasing profes-
sional collaboration and a sense of unity.
$22,000
Resources for staff. Bema’aglei Tzedek
attracts extremely talented, educated, driven
staff members who are passionate about the
organization’s work and eager to share in the
vision of a better Israel. However, because of a
lack of resources, many positions are either half-
time or have uncompetitive salaries, and thus
there is significant turnover in the organization,
leading to difficulties in continuity and organi-
zational memory. More resources for the staff
would enable the organization to hold on to the
talent it hires.
$38,000
Imagine what Bema’aglei Tzedek could do with the same spirit AND increased resources.
Instead of maximizing a shoe-string budget, the staff would leverage each dollar of a new,
larger capacity in programs and initiatives that continue to impact Israeli society. The organi-
zation would finally have the resources and experience to continue striving for a Jewish state
worth its name.

Invest in Bema’aglei Tzedek, and turn this dream into a reality.