ByLIAD VAKNISH

JULY 15, 2026 16:40

Most university courses finish with an exam, essay, or presentation. The Impact Lab at Reichman University asked students to complete a far more demanding assignment: selecting the nonprofits and social programs that would share a NIS 500,000 grant.

Now in its second year, the program is run by the monday.com Foundation together with the Student Dean's Office at Reichman University. The Shashua Family Foundation and the Rashi Foundation joined this year. Ira Friedman, a strategic philanthropy specialist, guided the effort.

The course premise is that future business leaders must master not only company building and donation sizing but also the allocation of social resources, solution assessment, and impact tracking.

Participants studied philanthropy practices

Corporate social responsibility now forms a major part of operations for Israel's large firms, which direct substantial yearly sums toward donations, partnerships, and community work. Yet the wish to assist raises a difficult issue: confirming that funds produce measurable results and advance the recipient organization's aims.

Impact Lab turns giving from an intention-driven choice into a structured approach grounded in data, proven methods, and impact evaluation. Open to students from every discipline who want to engage socially, the course grants academic credit.

Over the semester, enrollees studied philanthropy and techniques for generating and assessing social outcomes. They met senior figures from philanthropy and social sectors, examined current field challenges, and gained skills for reviewing proposals and deciding on fund distribution.

This year's theme was social mobility. A monday.com Foundation call drew more than 120 proposals from nonprofits working in that area. Students assessed the submissions using course tools, interviewed organization representatives, and finalized the budget split.

Chosen organizations

Decisions were unveiled at the closing Demo Day held at monday.com offices. Representatives from partner foundations and leaders from Israeli philanthropy and tech attended. Several guests later explored further partnerships and gifts to the selected groups.

Supported programs include the Hadasim Darom 2026 initiative of the Atida Association, which prepares ultra-Orthodox women for tech roles in Negev IDF units. Course data showed graduate salaries rising from roughly NIS 8,200 to about NIS 29,500 monthly.

Ofanim also received backing to launch three mobile artificial intelligence labs serving peripheral communities. Technological matriculation eligibility among participants reached 25 percent, versus roughly 6 percent locally.

The Unicorn project of Machshava Tova was funded to introduce about 650 fifth- and sixth-graders to artificial intelligence and virtual reality tools, boosting confidence before middle school. Yacholot, which helps students finish a full matriculation certificate in one semester after earlier failures, earned support as well, with a reported 97 percent success rate.

"The responsibility felt substantial"

Noam Murdoch, a second-year honors student in business administration and psychology who previously volunteered at Krembo Wings, described her first inside look at philanthropy.

"Impact Lab stood out sharply from usual academic work," she noted. "The instructors led us from textbook theory straight into practical decisions."

Conversations with nonprofit staff proved especially valuable. "Written proposals matter, yet speaking directly with people on the ground and grasping their daily realities enabled clearer, more grounded choices," she said.

That personal contact also intensified the challenge. "Every organization performs vital work and merits support, so realizing that we controlled the budget direction carried real weight," she added. "We studied social impact and gained the chance to produce it ourselves."