Ami Dar

Ami Dar
Born January 7th
Jerusalem, Israel
Occupation Executive Director, Idealist.org
Website www.idealist.org

Ami Dar is the founder and executive director of Idealist.org. Built in 1996 with $3,500, Idealist.org has become one of the most popular nonprofit resources on the web, with information provided by 100,000 organizations around the world and millions of visitors every month. Ami was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Peru and in Mexico, and lives in New York.[1]

Early life

Dar was born in Jerusalem. He spent his adolescent years in Peru and Mexico City where from an early age he became acutely aware that we, as humans, can be doing much more to make the world better. In 1977, Dar and his family returned to Jerusalem. From 1979-1983, Ami served as a paratrooper during his mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).[2]

The misery and destruction Dar saw in Lebanon and Syria, combined with the extreme poverty he witnessed growing up in Latin America, influenced his vision that eventually led to the creation of Idealist.org.

Career

Early years

After his mandatory army service, Dar lived in Europe and worked as a freelance English translator. In 1985, Dar was traveling in South America, trying to decide what to do with his life, when one bright day the answer become totally clear to him: using modern technology (phones, PCs, and fax machines back then) there had to be a way to build a network that would make it easier for people everywhere to connect and act on any issue that concerned them, large or small, local or global. That was the initial flash of the conception of Idealist.org. Dar was 24 at the time.

Dar returned to Israel. He worked as a waiter, translator, and as a marketing manager for a software company, Aladdin Knowledge Systems (AKS), based in Tel Aviv. All the while, Dar continued to think about his vision for a network of people connecting to do good.

In 1992, Dar relocated to NYC to establish the North American branch of AKS. Finally, in 1993, Dar saw the Web for the first time. He thought, “Oh my God, this is what I’ve been waiting for all these years!”. Idealist flowed directly from that.[3]

During his eight years, 1992–2000, as President of AKS in NYC, Ami founded the Contact Center Network in 1995. The Contact Center Network, located on the Upper West Side, served as a community point to connect opportunity seekers to non-profit organizations and vice versa. This was the first iteration of the Idealist.org that exists today.

Idealist.org

In 2000, The Stern Family Fund awarded us a $100,000 Public Interest Pioneer grant, which doubled Idealist’s annual budget overnight. Since then, Idealist has grown into a multilingual website, serving over 2 million users each month from all over the world.

Honors and awards

Stern Grant

In 2000, The Stern Family Fund awarded Idealist a $100,000 Public Interest Pioneer grant.

2004 Ashoka Fellowship

Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs whom are recognized to have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. Fellows demonstrate unrivaled commitment to bold new ideas and prove that compassion, creativity, and collaboration are tremendous forces for change. Ashoka Fellows work in over 60 countries around the globe in every area of human need.[4]

NTEN (Non-Profit Technology Enterprise Network)

Dar is a Board Member Emeritus of NTEN, the largest community of nonprofit professionals transforming technology into social change [5]

Non-profit Finance Fund

Dar was a contributor to the Non-profit Finance Fund’s 2011 publishing, Non-Profit Management 101. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "About: Our Team". idealist.org. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Idealist.org Founder Ami Dar's Career Path - Businessweek". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Inside Look: The Story Behind Idealist.org". Forbes. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ami Dar - Ashoka - USA". ashoka.org. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Board of Directors". NTEN. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Fifty Experts Weigh In: Nonprofit Management 101". nonprofitfinancefund.org. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
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