When the Prowak family, including eight-year-old Emmett, went to “Latkes and Lights” at the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center last December, they were expecting some games, live music, and an abundance of latkes.
What they were not expecting was that the evening would transform Emmett into a budding philanthropist with a personal connection to Israel.
But that’s exactly what happened, thanks to Cindy Coons, JEWISHcolorado’s Director of Family Engagement & Jewish Explorers, who was offering a JEWISHcolorado drawing with a special opportunity—the chance to receive a SparkIL digital gift card that could change the trajectory of a small business in Israel.
“Emmett is an empathic kid who looks out for others,” says his mother Sarah Prowak. “It has really been fun to see his excitement in receiving the chance to help someone in Israel.”
“SparkIL allows our students and their families to learn more about the people of Israel and their communities and the diversity of the country’s geographical regions and industries, all while being able to help small businesses,” adds Cindy Coons. “This learning goes beyond the traditional approach to teaching and aligns with our Jewish Explorers experiential educational framework and culture of learning through doing.”
When Emmett’s name was selected in the drawing, he and his mother found themselves scanning the SparkIL website to find the perfect business to receive his digital gift, a fulfillment of a dream that started in Israel a decade ago.
What is SparkIL?
The origins of SparkIL date back ten years to an initiative started by a former CEO of The Jewish Agency of Israel. The innovative idea came to fruition more than three years ago, as a digital platform that enables Jews throughout the Diaspora to make microloans to small Israeli businesses. One hundred percent of the loans go to the businesses. Na’ama Ore, CEO of SparkIL, says that when she was approached to lead the organization, “I fell in love immediately.”
Na’ama Ore
“This is an amazing and innovative way that people—especially young people—can make personal and authentic connections to someone in Israel,” says Ore. “I have always had a heart for the vulnerable, and this enables people around the world to invest in their dreams in a direct way.”
Visit the SparkIL website, and you can see the many applicants for loans—Edward, the woodworker from Be’er Sheva who wants to upgrade his studio; Matan, the digital marketer who is rebuilding his business after months of reserve duty; Liat, who is building a food business in Northern Israel. Each profile on the website shows how much they would like to borrow and how close they are to their goal.
“We’re helping very small businesses when banks are not prepared to help them or will charge very high interest,” says Ore. “We offer loans at zero percent interest to vulnerable communities like single parents, Israeli Arabs, Druze, and new immigrants. The loans are risky, and we are taking the risk.”
The risk has paid off. Since its inception, SparkIL—the name means literally a spark that lights a fire and “IL” signals Israel—has made 680 loans for $12.5 million funded by 9,000 microlenders from around the globe. No one—not one applicant—has failed to pay back their loan.
“When we go back and ask the people who run these businesses, ‘Why did you pay back the entire loan?’ they give us two reasons,” Ore says. “They are thankful that we saw them at a time when they needed help. Also, they understand that people from around the world are supporting them with microloans—it could even be a kid’s bar mitzvah money. They feel a responsibility to pay it back.”
Ask Na’ama Ore about one of her favorite success stories, and she will tell you about a Russian immigrant who had been a lawyer before she made aliyah. She started a Kindergarten near Tel Aviv and needed $12,000 to purchase equipment. With no credit history, she turned to SparkIL. She is now opening her fourth Kindergarten, supported by donations from around the world.
“Any amount, no matter how small, counts,” says Ore. “You don’t have to be a big philanthropist to make a difference. You are part of something much bigger than yourself.”
And that is exactly what Emmett learned from his experience with SparkIL.
Emmett and the chocolate makers
When Emmett arrived at Latkes and Lights, he and his family made a beeline for the Jewish Explorers and PJ Library booth. While his mother and grandmother chatted with Cindy Coons, Emmett started peppering Cindy’s daughter Carly with questions about the drawing to receive a SparkIL digital gift card. Before his mother knew it, he had filled out the form to enter the family.
The gift cards were made possible by a generous JEWISHcolorado donor who, instead of making one single loan directly to SparkIL, decided to create a learning opportunity for young people from Jewish Explorers and the Joyce Zeff Israel Study Tour through multiple gift cards.
After Emmett’s name was picked at random, he and his mother sat at the computer studying dozens of small Israeli businesses applying for loans. In the end, Emmett made the decision to give the family’s $180 loan to “Nofar and Liel Make Looly Chocolate,” a business getting back on its feet after Nofar spent 200 days serving in the IDF Reserves.
“Emmett said, ‘I love chocolate and chocolate makes people happy,’” his mother said. “He also liked seeing that they had already achieved 97 percent of their goal. This has been one of the first times he has understood how business really works—sometimes you need money to make money.”
People who make loans through SparkIL receive updates on how the business is doing. Once the money is repaid, the lender can relend it to another business, meeting an even more diverse group of people in Israel.
Na’ama Ore envisions a future when SparkIL moves beyond JEWISHcolorado and becomes a tool for engagement with Israel for other Jewish organizations in Denver, including synagogues and schools.
For now, JEWISHcolorado will continue to embed the opportunity in Jewish Explorers classrooms and at JEWISHcolorado’s March 8 Community-Wide Havdalah event at the Butterfly Pavilion, where another curious child just like Emmett might have a chance to save an Israeli business.
“How wonderful that a generous donor has given our students and their families this opportunity to live by our Jewish values,” says Coons. “Through this gift, young people are learning tzedakah—although often referred to as charity, it’s literal and deeper meaning in Hebrew is creating fairness and justice for others, tikkun olam—repairing the world, and arvut hadadit—mutual responsibility.”
SparkIL is a subsidiary of the Jewish Agency and Ogen, and is supported by philanthropic partners, including the Jewish Federations of North America.