Partnership with iVolunteer
Project Profile
The National Council for Voluntarism in Israel (iVolunteer) is an umbrella organization advancing voluntarism as a professional field among the three major sectors in Israel– private, public and non-profit. iVolunteer was founded in 1972 as an external body of the government responsible for encouraging volunteering to reduce social gaps. iVolunteer began operating independently in 2001 and is currently Israel’s central body 
whose mission is to advance and professional voluntarism in Israel, recognizing voluntarism and civil society’s potential to positively impact social change and build communities in Israeli society. iVolunteer’s unique approach maintains the following goals:
- Develop and implement a national doctrine of voluntarism as a high priority and value in Israel
- Recruitment, placement and retention of volunteers on a national basis
- Initiate and operate national and international voluntary projects
- Serve as an informational resource center on voluntarism-related subjects
- Representation, recognition and awarding of volunteers and volunteer organizations in Israel
- Establish and advance cross-organizational and cross-sector coalitions
- Expand and strengthen voluntarism among diverse and new sectors in Israel
Learn more at http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/eng/>>
Partnership History
iVolunteer has been an Omprakash partner since March, 2009. By profiling this organization on our website, we hope to help more potential donors and volunteers contribute to iVolunteer’s impressive work in Israel and beyond.
Major Programs
Online Resource Center for Voluntarism
The “Volunteering in Israel” portal (www.ivolunteer.org.il) is an essential tool that allows volunteers to access information about different volunteer organizations in Israel and abroad, the need/opportunities for volunteers, different types of volunteering, the volunteer code of ethics, forums, volunteer news, events, and volunteer honors and acknowledgements. The online Volunteer Match-Up program helps volunteers find placements in fields of their choice, matching their personal details with volunteer options they fit best. The portal also acts as a liaison between volunteer organizations where they can learn from their common experiences, coordinate their activities, discuss volunteering issues in forums, learn about different events, conferences, and courses available to them, and publicize their volunteer opportunities. The portal is updated on continuously in order to provide its readers with the most recent and relevant information available. The portal includes Hebrew, English, and Arabic pages, targeting different sectors in Israel and internationally.
Holocaust Survivors Assistance Program: Lending a Hand to Those in Need
After the Holocaust, all survivors were guaranteed certain rights and benefits by the Israeli government. Unfortunately, Israeli bureaucracy hinders the efficient, correct assignment of these benefits. iVolunteer initiated a project where it sent volunteers to meet with Holocaust survivors and help them fill out surveys on whether or not they received their full benefits. This project raised awareness of the issue and prompted decision-makers to enact measures ensuring Holocaust survivors receive the benefits and rights they are legally entitled to.
Public Defenders – Legal Aid for Underserved Sectors
iVolunteer trains volunteers as public defenders who file cases on behalf of people who are unable to afford legal counsel. Volunteer public defenders work in small claims courts to secure the democratic rights of weaker sectors in Israeli society. They are also placed in community centers, social service organizations, municipal welfare departments, municipal courts, and the Israel Consumer Council to provide information services to members of the general public.
Professionalizing Voluntarism through Capacity-Building and Support Services
- Capacity-building: iVolunteer operates training programs and workshops for volunteer organizations to increase professional, efficient operations. Courses led by experts in the field focus on non-profit management, media relations, financial management, fundraising, building effective websites, and using innovative technological tools to communicate messages to target groups, among many other subjects.
- Coalition-building: iVolunteer’s inter-organizational forum enables the organization to act as a coalition-builder, establish connections and build forums between organizations with similar goals, and encourage them to pool resources and carry out joint initiatives. Forums focus on specific issues such as environmentalism, welfare, and collaboration between different branches of government.
- Conferences, study days and trainings: iVolunteer collaborates with academic, municipal, and national institutions to carry out annual seminars and conferences targeting volunteers, directors of volunteers, and representatives of volunteer organizations to bring several hundred participants to each event. The events focus on different subjects and developments in the field of volunteering in Israel.
International Volunteer Ambassadors Promoting Voluntarism in Israel
iVolunteer sends youth volunteer representatives abroad to publicize volunteering in Israel, bring people to volunteer in Israel, and strengthen connections with international communities and voluntarism organizations. 15 volunteers have already been sent abroad. They represent Israel overseas and highlight non-profit activism and voluntarism in Israel, stimulating collaborative efforts and cooperative relationships between iVolunteer and international volunteer organizations.
Need for Material Resources
iVolunteer needs financial resources to support its programs.
Online Resource Center for Voluntarism
The total cost for this project for one year covers the online portal, programming, English and Arabic portals, technological maintenance, regular content updates, and staff, with a total of 105,000 USD.
Holocaust Survivors Assistance Program: Lending a Hand to Those in Need
The costs of one year of this project is 140,000 USD, which covers training courses for volunteers who meet with Holocaust survivors, identification and communication with Holocaust survivors, survey composition, evaluation of survey results, and printing and dissemination of outreach materials raising public awareness.
Public Defenders – Legal Aid for Underserved Sectors
The Legal Aid Training Course with 120 intensive hours of training for 35 participants costs 20,000 USD. In addition, volunteers complete two enrichment courses each year with 70 hours of study that cost 12,000 USD.
Professionalizing Voluntarism through Capacity-Building and Support Services
The cost of one year of enrichment training and activities, guidance for volunteer directors, forums and conferences, and volunteer services is 127,000 USD.
International Volunteer Ambassadors Promoting Voluntarism in Israel
The cost of one year of this project which sends 17 Israeli volunteers abroad is 7,000 USD. This covers communications with international organizations and volunteer centers, identification of potential partners, training and enrichment courses for Israeli volunteers before they travel overseas, program coordination with partner organizations, evaluation after volunteers return to Israel, and recruitment of overseas volunteers to come to Israel.
Need for Volunteers
Through its English volunteer portal and international outreach, iVolunteer actively encourages volunteers from other countries to volunteer in Israel with its own projects and those of other civil society organizations. The qualifications of volunteers needed would be determined by project needs on a case-by-case basis and iVolunteer welcomes all applications.
Other Information
News and updates about iVolunteer’s work can be viewed here:
English link
http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/Eng/Index.asp?CategoryID=95
Hebrew link
http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/Index.asp?CategoryID=702
Highlights of iVolunteer’s Programs: Sri Lanka Aid Initiative
After the tsunami of winter 2005 hit Southeast Asia, the region’s young people faced the task of rebuilding entire communities. Israel was one of the first nations to come to their aid and iVolunteer was among the many organizations that sent volunteers to the region as part of the IsraAid campaign, providing tools and enrichment strengthening youth efforts to redevelop their communities. iVolunteer’s volunteers helped establish reading clubs for children, study groups teaching reading and writing in regional languages as well as English, libraries providing students with secure places to study, mobile libraries reaching youth living in temporary camps, and reading groups for adults. This initiative was designed to promote reading, education, and academic study as tools for progress, especially important in rebuilding societies not built on literary tradition and ensuring their success in the modern world. Information about the initiative as well as photos are featured on iVolunteer’s website: http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/Index.asp?CategoryID=324
