Ronit Vlodinger has enjoyed working for the last four years as a community director at WeWork Israel. But recently she found herself ready to do more in the local community.
“I really wanted to do something extra and do something in the social aspect,” Vlodinger said.
Vlodinger will soon join the board of Nevet, a local nonprofit organization that provides nutritious sandwiches for schoolchildren from disadvantaged families.
Joining the board of a nonprofit is unusual for someone like her, a 29-year-old with no previous experience. But a new program launched by WeWork and the Israeli nonprofit Nachshonim aims to match young professionals with the boards of nonprofit organizations. The Board of Directors Program provides three months of weekly training at two Tel Aviv WeWork locations.
The goal is twofold: Give young professionals valuable experience in a boardroom setting, and allow nonprofits to benefit from outside-the-box thinking. If both sides agree the placement is a success, the nonprofit can offer the young professional a permanent place on the board.
“It’s a very good way to make a huge change in society, just by making the right connections between young professionals and nonprofits,” says WeWork member Sagi Shahar, who cofounded Nachshonim six years ago as a way to encourage startup employees to volunteer with local nonprofits. “Both sides get extra value.”
Joining forces with Nachshonim is just one of the ways the U.S.-based WeWork engages with the local community in Israel.
“We don’t just show up in a city and stay in a bubble,” says Frayda Laufer Leibtag, director of public affairs at WeWork Israel. “We very much believe in engaging and partnering with communities and becoming active and contributing members of the local ecosystem.”
The Board of Directors Program received more than 300 applications for only 12 openings, says Shahar.
“Helping your community while acquiring new skills and new capabilities is something that young people really want to be involved in,” he says. “They are hungry to learn new things, and they want to explore new areas of interest in addition to their day-to-day jobs.”
Often people join nonprofit boards after they have donated large sums of money or after they have retired from a career, says Shahar. This Board of Directors Program provides a unique way for entrepreneurs to get involved.
“It meets a need of a new generation, a generation that doesn’t want to do just one thing anymore,” Shahar says. “And you don’t need to give up on anything in order to do it. We call it building a ‘social career’ alongside your business career.”
This is what attracted Gideon Shaw, cofounder of a digital platform for securing business loans and financing called Invocap, to the program. Shaw is a member at Tel Aviv’s WeWork 7 Dubnov St.
“I’m not in a position to volunteer full-time,” says Shaw, who has been placed on the board of a national nonprofit called the Israel Homeless Soccer Team. “But this way I can still keep my job and find a way to give back to the community.”
Participating nonprofits say they are excited about the program, which they hope will help them set up new income streams, increase visibility, and streamline their operations. Naama Goldberg, cofounder of the nonprofit organization Not Standing By, which works with current and former sex workers, is eager to get help.
“We are working without any money now,” Goldberg, who is completing a doctorate degree and currently has a teaching job, says. She comes from the world of activism and education, and believes that that bringing an entrepreneur onto the small board of her year-old organization will help it move forward.
“I need help from business people who can help me understand this world of funding,” says Goldberg, whose network of thousands of volunteers provides everything from food to clothing to counseling for hundreds of women. “I have no experience with this whatsoever.”