Jchoice.Org

Learn about our mission, vision, and our main features to promote tzedakah, Jewish identity and Jewish values

About JChoice

OUR VISION

To expand the commitment to giving and strengthen the Jewish identity of the next generation of Jewish philanthropists..

OUR MISSION

To empower the next generation of contributors to learn and experience the Mitzvah of Tzedakah and become more thoughtful in their relationship to society.

OUR IDENTITY

JChoice.org is the Internet site of Jewish causes of Choice, Inc, a US 501(c)(3).

OUR INTENTION AND GOALS

To answer the needs of today’s youth, we incorporate web technology that:

• Attracts Jewish youth to give consistent Tzedakah donations

• Impacts Jewish causes through increased Tzedakah contributions

• Develops important lifelong connections to the Jewish community by affirming the belief that an individual can make a difference in this world

• Offers a safe and relevant forum for teen and young adult voices to be heard by connecting peers with common Jewish values, interests, Mitzvah Projects and Divrei Torah

OUR HISTORY

• Founded Jewish Causes of Choice, Inc. in 2008 by David Rosenberg with Joshua Troderman
• Received 501(c)(3) status on March 2009
• Launched JChoice.org publicly on November 2009
• Incorporated thebarmitzvahregistry.org into business plan in January 2010
• Vetted and featured 90 charitable organizations on site May 2010
• Added its 10th board member in June of 2010

HOW IT WORKS

JChoice.org EMPOWERS YOUNG JEWISH GIVING by helping new donors find, evaluate, and support meaningful causes.

JChoice.org PROMOTES ACTS OF TZEDAKAH by today’s Jewish youth. We believe that once learned in their early teens, this behavior of giving will be carried forward for the rest of their lives.

JChoice.org ENGAGES A COMMUNITY OF DONORS to interact with each other and their chosen causes on our social network.

The four main features of JChoice.org are:
Explore
Visitors are able to search causes by one of 18 different categories such as education, environment, or hunger; by a Jewish value such as justice, saving a life, or visiting the sick; or by location.

Give
Donors are empowered to give Tzedakah to causes of their choice, to give to a friend or family account, or to purchase gift cards.

Network
JChoice is free to join. Members can connect with one another based on shared values or community, as well as communicate directly with the organizations of their choice. Harness- ing the latest social networking technology, users can blog about their favorite causes, email and invite friends, upload photos and videos, and share their Divrei Torah and Mitzvah Projects.

JMIX
Beyond giving, Donors can earn Tzedakah money by participating in contests; watch, listen to, and submit videos and music; share Mitzvah project ideas; and use resources for planning their Bar/Bat Mitzvah such as the Jewish value and D’var Torah guides.

HOW GUESTS CAN PARTICIPATE

If a JChoice member asks you to donate to JChoice, go to the member’s JChoice profile. There, you’ll see a profile which includes the member’s favorite Causes. Click the Donate Now button on the member’s page for a contribution to the account. You do NOT have to sign in or be a JChoice member to donate to an account.

The JChoice member will be notified of your contribution, and will then allocate your gift to a favorite Cause.

Nearly half of Jews between 55 and 64 gave to Jewish causes, while fewer than one-third of those between 18 and 34 did.

2001 American Jewish Identity Survey North american Jewish Databank

Younger Jews who give to Jewish causes prefer to select the cause that interests them, rather than giving to umbrella organizations. They want to be directly involved in the projects that they support.

Jehuda Reinharz Brandeis university

Only 6 % of Jewish philanthropic gifts go to (traditional) Jewish causes.

Gary Tobin author of the “Mega-Gifts in American Philanthropy” study from 1995–2000.