Giving Compass' Take:

• The Times of Israel reports on a Califonia-based Jewish entrepreneur named Eric Benhamou who co-founded Israel Venture Network, a group that wants to support Israeli startups for the social good.

• IVN has a portfolio of 40 companies, including businesses that address youth unemployment and special needs communities. How can other venture philanthropists learn from the network's growth?

• Here's how another organization is funding change in Israel, specifically in the area of gender equity.


Eric Benhamou, a Califonia-based Jewish entrepreneur who has headed the digital electronics manufacturer 3Com Corporation and Palm Pilot, the most successful handheld computer in the late 1990s, has turned his sights to Israel, seeking to transform Startup Nation into Social Startup Nation.

Together with Israeli entrepreneurs Benny Levin and Itsik Danziger and other veterans of the Israeli and international tech scene, Benhamou has set up the Israel Venture Network (IVN), a nonprofit that fosters startups that not only make money but also benefit society.

IVN brings together “successful mentors of the US and Israeli tech community with the common goal of using their talent of professional careers to help Israeli society,” Benhamou said in an interview with The Times of Israel last month,  during a brief visit to Israel from California, where he resides.

Benhamou, who has served on the US Presidential Information Technology Advisory Council, appointed by president Bill Clinton, and has also taught entrepreneurship at INSEAD, the graduate business school, set up IVN in 2001.

Read the full article about the Israel Venture Network by Shoshanna Solomon at The Times of Israel.