November 25, 2013

23 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

BY ILANA BELFERFOR THE ZELIKOVITZ CENTRE

The Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies has taken an innovative new micro-giving approach to fundraising for an up-coming travel course in the hopes it will help

bring Carleton University students to Israel this coming May.

Micro-giving, also known as crowdfunding, works by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically through an online dona-tions system.

In this case, the funds will go directly toward lowering costs for Israel travel course participants. Eighteen dollars, for example, pays for a falafel lunch after touring the tunnels under the Temple Mount; $180 allows three students to share Shabbat dinner with an Israeli family in their home.

“Both in Canada, in general, and in the Jewish community, in particular, we understand education as a public good,” said Deidre Butler, director of the Zelikovitz Centre and assistant professor of religion at Carleton. Butler and Zelikovitz Centre assistant director Shawna Dolansky will be leading the course.

“Micro-giving is ideal because it is in line with that sense that we are all invested in education together. Many people come together and show their united support for such a project,” Butler said.

Twenty students of various academic majors and ethnic backgrounds have been accepted into the course. However, Butler said, some simply cannot afford to go, unless enough money is raised to reduce their fees.

“I don’t want anyone not to go because they can’t afford it,” said John Osborne, dean of Carleton’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), in which the religion department is housed. He has pledged $15,000 from the FASS endowment.

“Students who take [travel] courses tell me afterwards that it was one of the best experiences of their lives, and many say that their lives have been changed as a result,” Osborne said.

While the micro-giving model is a fairly new trend, Osborne said, “If it gets results, then why not? So many of the special experiences we want to offer to our students and faculty depend on obtaining additional funding, beyond the university’s base budget … so we try to be entrepreneurial.”

The university is certainly encouraging it. Carleton created its very own micro-giving platform called Future Funder.

Unlike other websites, Future Funder doesn’t charge

for submissions and 100 per cent of the funds goes directly to the campaign. And, since Carleton is a registered charity, tax receipts can be issued to all donors.

The goal listed on the course’s Future Funder page is $18,000, but the ideal goal is $500,000 for a vision that goes far beyond this year’s course offering: a comprehensive fi ve-year program with strong ties with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, internships, teaching assistantships, travel support and the dev-elopment of Israel Studies resources at Carleton, said Butler.

Visit http://futurefunder.carleton.ca/projects/studyisrael/ for more information or to make a donation.

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Jewish studies program at Carleton launches micro-giving campaign to subsidize travel course to Israel next May

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