Coalition

The coalition of organizations for social sport in Israel convened for a concluding gathering marking the end of its third year of joint activity. The meeting took place in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, hosted by the “Five Fingers” pre-military academy in Zikhron Ya’akov.

The day began with an inspiring lecture by Dor Brener, Deputy Director of the core organization “Five Fingers,” who shared the story of the movement’s founding, its vision, and activities over the past decade — with a special focus on training coaches to become impactful educational and social leaders.

Later, Omer Benitzioni, Head of Sports Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Israel, spoke to coalition members about the Embassy’s collaborations in the field of sports and the opportunities that arise from international partnerships.

In line with the coalition’s values of perseverance, focus, and teamwork — participants took part in an archery activity organized by the Israel Archery Association.

The meeting concluded with a reflection on the past year, a review of achievements, and a shared discussion on upcoming year. The coalition continues to grow and work together to strengthen the role of sport as a powerful tool for education, equality, and social resilience.

At the end of June 2024, members of the Coalition for Sports for Social Impact gathered for their final meeting of the activity year. The event was generously hosted by the ILAN Spivak Sports Center for the Disabled in Ramat Gan, where Boaz Kramer, the association’s CEO, shared with coalition members about the organization’s activities and its immense significance for people with physical disabilities.

Danny Hakim, the program’s founder, opened the meeting by sharing with participants his vision for promoting social sports in Israel. Galit Gal, CEO of Philanthropy at the Azrieli Foundation Israel, informed participants about the foundation’s activities since its establishment by the late David Azrieli and its efforts to advance the State of Israel and Israeli society.

Sefi Shalam, the program’s professional manager, presented results from the “Mapping of the Social Sports Field in Israel,” an initiative undertaken by the program to map the organizations operating in this field in Israel, their methods, and scope of activities. The mapping identified 281 organizations in Israel using sports as a tool for social advancement. A booklet with the full results will be published soon. Following the mapping, several new organizations joined the coalition, including Maccabi Haifa Carmel, Shalva, and Ilai, who participated in a coalition meeting for the first time.

The meeting continued with activities aimed at deepening familiarity between coalition members and various organizations, fostering connections and collaborations. Participants then split into several roundtable discussions for guided consultation regarding the formulation of a strategy for the coalition’s future activities and the promotion of social sports in general. Topics discussed at the roundtables included the benefits member associations received from coalition membership over the past year, and additional ways the coalition could support its member associations and advance the field of social sports in Israel.

To conclude the day, Hila Gabai, the program manager, presented a summary of the program’s activity year, reviewing the special events held as part of the program to promote social sports in Israel, coalition meetings, financial support for associations following the war, support for team peak days in associations, support for professional training for coaches, and more.

Despite the challenging year, the activity year of the Sports for Social Impact (SSI) program in Israel was full of meaningful activities that contributed to the advancement of society in Israel, even in emergency situations.

We look forward to seeing you in the next activity year!

On May 7, 2024, Members of The Coalition for Sports for Social Impact gathered for a fascinating meeting on recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers. The meeting was held at the pre-military academy of the “5 Fingers” organization in Zikhron Ya’akov and began with an introduction to the activities of the organization and their plans to establish an Education and Knowledge Center, which will operate alongside the academy. 

The focus of the meeting was an engaging lecture by Michal Magen, who holds a master’s degree in business administration and has extensive experience in recruiting and managing employees and volunteers. Michal presented the coalition members with practical tools that can be immediately applied in organizations to recruit and retain staff. 

Topics discussed in the lecture included:  

• Characteristics and expectations of Generation Z from the workplace: Generation Z is a technological and impatient generation that values work-life balance, deep meaning in work, and a positive organizational culture. 
• Employee satisfaction survey: A survey conducted in May 2023 by The Marker in collaboration with 300,000 employees in 150 large companies found that workplace relationships (organizational culture and work environment) are the most important factors for employees in recent years, followed by satisfaction with the direct manager. Salary was ranked low. 
• The employee/volunteer lifecycle in the organization: It is important to create a clear and personalized path for each employee/volunteer, including training, development, and advancement. 
• Focused recruitment questions: When recruiting employees or volunteers, it is important to ask focused questions such as “What is my story?”, “Why would they come to me?” and “Who would be interested?”. 
• Choosing the right candidate: The right candidate should be selected based on their skills, experience, and fit with the organizational culture. Do not recruit an unsuitable candidate for a specific role just because they are generally impressive. 
• Recruitment and candidate experience: Creating an efficient and enjoyable recruitment process for candidates is important, highlighting the organization’s values and work experience. 
• Onboarding process: A structured and warm onboarding process will help new employees integrate smoothly and quickly into the organization. 
• Employee retention: Employee retention is an ongoing process that requires professional management, including evaluation, professional development, fostering a sense of belonging, and connection to a larger purpose. 
• Volunteering: There are many and varied areas of volunteering, and the motivations for volunteering can be diverse. It is important to offer appropriate rewards to volunteers and ensure their satisfaction. 
• Challenges in recruiting and managing volunteers: Common challenges include lack of commitment, high volunteer turnover, and difficulty in recruiting skilled volunteers.
• Keys to success in managing and retaining volunteers: It is important to create a personal connection with volunteers, provide them with proper training, give them a sense of appreciation and partnership, and ensure a pleasant and supportive work environment. 
• Summary and tools for success: Michal concluded the lecture by summarizing the main points and providing practical tools for successful recruitment and retention of employees and volunteers.

After the lecture, coalition members gathered in small work circles, exchanging common challenges related to recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers and proposing possible solutions. The discussion was lively and interesting, addressing the challenges and their roots and underlying causes. 

At the end of the meeting, all groups reconvened for a summary plenary, where each group presented the challenges raised and formulated possible solutions. The solutions included potential collaborations between coalition members and strengthening mutual connections, such as cooperation between organizations to create a weekly schedule for a coach and establishing an employee/volunteer forum. 

The meeting was successful and enjoyable, and it significantly contributed to understanding the challenges and opportunities in recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers in nonprofits. 

The Coalition for the Promotion of Social Sports held its first meeting of 2024, hosted by the Israeli Association of Community Centers and Value Sports. The meeting was attended by 40 of Israel’s leading figures in the field of Sports for Social Impact.

The meeting focused on partnerships and collaborations. The workshop on “Key Issues in Partnership Management” led by Dr. Tami Rubel-Lipschitz, a psychologist, researcher, and organizational consultant from the Hebrew University, who has been involved in research, consulting, and organizational development for the past 15 years. In the workshop, Dr. Rubel-Lipschitz presented the existence of partnerships between organizations not as a dichotomy but as a continuum with different possibilities:

• At the most basic level of this continuum is the sharing of basic resources and consultation.
• Next is limited participation in joint events.
• Next are limited joint programs.
• Finally, there is strategic collaboration between organizations.

Dr. Rubel-Lipschitz also emphasized a number of important issues for the successful existence of a partnership, such as aligning expectations, building trust gradually, and matching organizational cultures, among others.

Following the workshop, which provided theoretical and practical tools for participants, members of the coalition divided into four working circles to apply the tools and begin building partnerships. The four circles touched on the main areas of focus of the coalition’s organizations:

1. Empowerment of girls and women
2. Youth at risk and work in the social-geographic periphery
3. Shared society
4. Work with special populations

The coalition will continue to build on these working circles throughout the year, in the hope of promoting meaningful partnerships of various types between member organizations.

For more information on the theory behind the workshop, please refer to the article by Dr. Tami Rubel Lipschitz and Milena Yairi (In Hebrew).