About

The Story

Reuven was really happy about what he had achieved. He had started a special Yeshiva for young boys in his neighborhood, away from the main Batai Medrashim, about six years ago. It had been a big success. The boys had become true Talmidei Chachomim, and the neighborhood was becoming more holy because of the good things he was doing.

But there was a problem. The money they had wasn’t enough for all the good things they were doing. The Yeshiva couldn’t charge a lot of money for tuition, and the help from the government was too little. There were Rabbaim and other workers who helped, and they needed money to keep helping. The Yeshiva was like a Neis, but Reuven realized he couldn’t just count on Nissim to help so many people.

Reuven was a very good person who spent his life following the Torah and doing Chesed. He didn’t know much about the world outside of his Daled Amos. He had never met people from other countries or with different ideas, except for stories from a long time ago. But now he had to get a special Visa for traveling, pack his bags, and go to America to raise money. He knew he would have to work really hard, talking to many people and explaining his cause. He believed that the kind hearts of Jewish people in America would understand and help his Yeshiva. He just needed to start talking, and after the first few words, he thought people would want to help, just like he did.

He decided to go to America after Chanukah. He wanted to celebrate Chanukah with his family and Talmidim before he left. On the night after the last day of Chanukah, his family came to visit. When they heard that he was going to America for his Yeshiva, they started giving him advice.

“Make sure you talk about the price with the driver before the ride starts, or they might charge you too much,” said his friend Yosef, who taught Torah in Bnei Brak and had heard stories from other Yeshiva leaders.

“What about taxes?” asked his brother-in-law Binyomin, from Ramot.

“Taxes? What do you mean? I’m not doing business, I’m asking for donations,” Reuven said, feeling a little worried about all the things he didn’t know.

“Oh no, you don’t know. People in America need receipts to get a tax deduction for the money that they donate. Your Yeshiva needs to be approved by the American government as a non-profit organization,” Binyamin explained to Reuven.

“I didn’t know that. And Yosef, what did you say about the driver?”

Reuven’s plans to get help suddenly seemed difficult. He hadn’t thought much about how to raise the money he needed. He had a plane ticket and a place to stay, but now he had more questions and his family wasn’t making it easier. But they weren’t experts, so they might have forgotten things as well.

Reuven needed help.

The Need

When someone who runs a Yeshiva or a Tzedaka wants to raise more money, they might decide to go to America. But this idea can be really hard. There are many things they need to think about that experienced fundraisers already know.

“Where should we start?”

“How can we succeed?”

“How can we receive the funds?”

“What name should people write on checks?”

“What if someone wants to use a credit card?”

“How can I take the money back to Israel?”

“How can we make sure people get the tax-deductible receipts they need?”

People who go to America to fundraise have all these questions and more. Even people who have done it before might not know everything, and they could make mistakes that cost them money and make people not want to help.

People in America really want to help. They want to give money to help people in Israel who need it. They know that Yeshivos and Tzedakos in Israel are important, and many of them have given money to help before. The fundraiser just needs to find a way to talk to these people and explain why they need help. Sometimes, the person asking for help is scared when they leave Israel, but they still want to help.

Enter Olam Shel Chesed

Our organization started a few years ago after we saw that many people were scared and didn’t know how to raise money in America. Before, only big Yeshivos and Tzedakos could go to America to ask for money. They had people to help them and could do everything right. But small organizations didn’t have these opportunities. They could only fundraise from their families and friends, or maybe from a Gvir visiting Israel.

We realized this was a problem, so we created Olam Shel Chesed. We have solutions for all the problems people have when they want to fundraise in America. Lawyers, accountants, and business experts helped us make these solutions.

Olam Shel Chesed helps small organizations do what big ones can do. We have a website where people can donate, using any method that they choose. We even have credit card machines for fundraisers to use when they’re talking to donors, and a special hotline for those donor that don’t have internet.

Olam Shel Chesed is approved by the American government as a non-profit organization, so organizations that use us can give donors receipts they need for tax deduction purposes. We send emails to donors as soon as they give a donation as proof that they gave.

We even give organizations their own pages on our website, where they can show what makes them special. They can put up videos, pictures, and letters of support.

Now, anyone with a good cause in Israel can ask Americans to help them. They can use their time to show why their cause is important and get people to want to help.