NIF Crisis Action Plan

Maintaining a Strong and Vibrant Civil Society

A strong and vibrant civil society is essential for a healthy democracy. With the unprecedented disruption to everyday life and work that COVID-19 has wrought, Israeli organizations are facing major challenges in maintaining workable budgets and staff so that they can meet the new and urgent needs of those they serve.

Civil society needs new kinds of support in order to survive and thrive during and after this crisis. NIF and Shatil, NIF’s Initiative for Social Change, are working with organizations to help them adapt their work, budgets, and staffing needs to this crisis and to plan for the day after.

We are also mobilizing emergency resources for effective crisis response now, when the need is at an all-time high. Our role is to do everything that we can to make sure that civil society has what it needs to thrive during – and in the wake of – this emergency.

Shatil, NIF’s action arm in Israel, is providing vital support to organizations and activists fighting for civil liberties under highly restrictive conditions. Shatil has set up accessible online platforms to service a community of over 160 organizations, including online consultancy sessions, and peer learning groups for leadership during times of crisis.

Shatil has developed an emergency “Crisis Management Center” to provide critical support for civil society organizations so that they can survive during and after this crisis and to help them promote democratic and progressive socioeconomic policies and an equitable COVID-19 response. This includes a four-part, online training series on financial management in crisis to help organizations figure out what they need and plan appropriately for this moment of crisis.

NIF Crisis Action Plan

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NIF is protecting the most marginalized and vulnerable communities, defending civil liberties and democracy, and maintaining a vibrant and strong civil society.

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Protecting the Most Marginalized and Vulnerable Communities

Civil society organizations are looking out for those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring equal access to healthcare, essential services, and public health information and by advocating for just and equitable economic policies that leave no one behind.

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Defending Civil Liberties and Democracy

Amidst this public health crisis, NIF grantees are defending Israel’s democratic institutions and fighting to protect civil liberties from government overreach.

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Webinar Series: Equality and Democracy in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed inequalities and vulnerabilities in all of the societies it has affected, including in Israel. Learn about how Israeli civil society has adapted its work to defending equality and democracy in the time of COVID-19.

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