TL;DR: Many Jewish nonprofits hesitate to cooperate, fearing competition over resources. But cooperation doesn’t mean compromise, it means expanding impact. This message from Global Jewry shares three success stories – examples of GJ partners coming together to strengthen the Jewish world.

Among the many lessons I have learned over my years in Jewish life is that many nonprofit organizations often struggle to cooperate effectively because of a scarcity mindset—the belief that resources, donors, and attention are limited. This thinking creates unnecessary competition, even among groups working toward the same goals. That is why one of the main goals of Global Jewry is to help all of our partners understand that cooperation doesn’t require self-sacrifice. With the right mindset and tools, it means broadening their reach and amplifying their impact.

Here are just a few examples of ways we have facilitated cooperation within our network, lessons from which we can all learn and adapt to our own circumstances in order to build a greater sense of connectivity and solidarity in the Jewish world.

1. Familiarity Breeds Connection

When organizations take the time to learn about one another and work together, they unlock powerful opportunities for growth, visibility, and collective impact. We recently highlighted the work of Jewish Life Television (www.jltv.tv), North America’s largest 24/7 English-language Jewish-themed television channel. It is always looking for great programming ideas, and invited the partners of Global Jewry to contact it about potential collaboration opportunities. Four days later, JLTV reported that they had already held productive Zoom calls with six other partners. This kind of engagement shows how simple introductions can spark meaningful partnerships, amplify missions, and create a stronger, more connected community. By supporting and learning from one another, organizations can achieve far more than they could alone.

2. One Plus One Equals 3: Combining Complementary Initiatives 

When two initiatives come together with complementary strengths and shared purpose, the result is far greater than the sum of its parts. We recently introduced and facilitated the merger of two emerging efforts to find antisemitism – Emissary and Minds and Hearts. By combining Emissary’s visionary, free mobile app and technology platform designed to activate individual voices and extend impact through social amplification with Minds and Hearts’ focus on coordinated, collaborative group activities, the new partnership is already empowering individuals and communities to connect more deeply and take meaningful action together. This merger combines complementary strengths – technology, creativity, education, behavioral science and emotional resonance – to amplify the partners’ shared mission of fighting antisemitism. Check it out at www.emissary4all.org and share the link with your network.

3. Eating Our Own Cooking

As soon as we heard about Amitim (www.amitim.org) – a program founded by Michael Weil that enables former North American Jewish federation CEOs to provide mentorship and strategic support to nonprofits in Israel and beyond – we reached out to explore ways we could work together. It quickly became clear that we shared a powerful alignment of mission and values. Our initial conversations revealed overlapping goals: building resilience, enhancing leadership, and making connections across the Jewish world. We decided we could each be more effective by working together to support communities in crisis, foster innovation in Jewish organizational life, and scale best practices across the globe by working together. Our collaboration creates a multiplier effect—mobilizing resources, talent, and ideas far more efficiently than either of us could individually. This union reflects how strategic alliances can fortify resilience and solidarity within the global Jewish community.

These stories show what happens when we move beyond fear and choose to cooperate. Letting go of scarcity doesn’t mean letting go of your mission—it means achieving more, together.

The Jewish world has immense potential for deeper cooperation. Let’s unlock it.

If you have your own stories of successful collaboration or partnership, we’d love to hear them. Reach out to us—Global Jewry is always looking to spotlight examples of shared impact from across our community.

Shabbat shalom and may this be the week the hostages return home,

Sandy Cardin

Founder, Global Jewry