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However, it is the rare Israeli nonprofit that develops a model of partnership in which the donor participates in making the decisions that have an impact on the planning and implementation of the supported programs. It is more comfortable for organizations to keep their donors and funders at arm’s length.Yet there have been a number of attempts by Israeli nonprofits to develop boards and committees that include representation from communities outside of Israel. Some even invite individual foundations, funders or donors to participate in ongoing committee processes, while others recruit supporters to join a planning process or participate in the governance decisions that oversee their finances or programs.There have also been efforts to re-engineer how Israel-Diaspora philanthropic ventures bring leadership together, changing the way Israelis and their institutions relate to people outside of Israel. We have witnessed a number of creative and innovative efforts to develop partnerships between Jewish communities around the world and Israelis, such as, Project Renewal, Partnership 2000 and Partnership- 2Gether. One Israeli organization serving children at risk developed a similar model with the aim of replicating its premier program throughout Israel and in Jewish communities around the world.These initiatives have struggled and continue to struggle with how to enable their participants to overcome both the language barrier and cultural differences in verbal exchanges and written materials.In my many years of experience there has always been a gap in each side’s understanding of the other.It did not matter whether there was simultaneous translation during meetings or whether the written materials were prepared so that each member of a committee was able to read background papers or minutes of previous meetings in his or her native language. The words’ cultural nuances were interpreted differently by the person reading the translation.I have vivid memories of video-conference meetings of boards made up of both Israelis and New Yorkers. Given the involvement of Israeli government officials, as well as the professional staff of the Israeli organization initiating the video conferences, the dominant language was Hebrew, while the New Yorkers heard a translation of the conversation.Often discussions were cut short when there was a real cultural difference in a policy or program, and they ended with this simple line: “We do not do it this way in Israel.” At the end of the day, the challenges of communication eventually gave way to serious levels of frustration: the overseas partner in New York cut back its funding, even though it was one of the founding partners along with representatives of five ministries from the government of Israel.If these are the frustrations that leaders experience who are involved with large organizations that have the resources to provide translated materials and simultaneous translation at meetings, it is not difficult to imagine how funders and donors experience their attempts to be involved in the decision-making processes in small Israeli nonprofit organizations.For example, Israeli nonprofits have to submit a certified audit to the Office of the Registrar of Nonprofits, and of course, it is in Hebrew. This important document is rarely translated and so is not available to overseas donors and supporters. This means that a committed donor who would like to be involved in a finance committee of a nonprofit in Israel cannot even study the audit if he or she cannot understand Hebrew.The challenge we face in Israel-Diaspora philanthropic ventures that are authentic partnerships is making possible real communication between the Israeli professionals and volunteer leaders and those in Jewish communities around the world. It is a matter of the leaders not only speaking with each other but also ensuring they develop a common language, including the cultural nuances. In addition, there needs to be a way to provide materials in Hebrew and English that truly communicate not only the content of the documents but also the subtle messages that are embedded in the language of those who prepared the material. These are the beginning steps necessary to create the possibility of building an authentic philanthropic partnership between Israelis and Jews around the world.The author is a lecturer at Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School’s MA Program in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.