What ROI Community does

ROI Community was a global philanthropic network founded in 2006 by Lynn Schusterman under Schusterman Family Philanthropies, operated through the legal entity Schusterman Interests, LLC and headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel. Over 20 years it connected and mobilized 1,700+ Jewish and Israeli changemakers across 60+ countries, including activists, educators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, community builders, and innovators addressing challenges in Jewish communities, Israeli society and the broader world. The core program was the annual ROI Summit in Jerusalem, a five-day gathering of approximately 150 leaders built on an "un-conference" model using Open Space technology where attendees set the agenda and ran workshops based on their own real-world challenges. Complementary programs included participant-led gatherings, peer learning, microgrants, and professional development initiatives that supported thousands of collaborations, grassroots projects and long-term partnerships.

The organization was not a technology product company and had no disclosed technology stack, platform, or AI components; it functioned as a traditional community and convening organization. There were no commercial products, paid memberships, or disclosed revenue streams. All activities were funded as a philanthropic initiative of the Schusterman family, with participation provided at no cost to members. Effective July 1, 2026, ROI Community formally concluded its activities; alumni subsequently created an independent member directory at roiconnect.org to maintain the network's connections outside the formal Schusterman structure, while Schusterman Interests, LLC retained the registered "ROI Community" trademark with usage guidelines for alumni activities.

Name

ROI Community

Legal name

Schusterman Interests, LLC

Website

https://roicommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ROI Community was a philanthropic network founded in 2006 by Lynn Schusterman that connected 1,700+ Jewish and Israeli changemakers across 60+ countries through an annual unconference summit, microgrants, and peer learning, concluding formal operations effective July 1, 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Leadership Networks

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD), Interest-Based Communities & Forums (BPAMABAC)

Keywords

• Community network
• Leadership development
• Peer learning programs
• Philanthropic initiatives
• Changemaker network

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

ROI Community operated a curated global network of 1,700+ Jewish and Israeli changemakers across 60+ countries, anchored by an annual five-day ROI Summit in Jerusalem built on an "un-conference" Open Space model where ~150 members set the agenda and co-create workshops. The network was supplemented by participant-led gatherings, peer learning, microgrants, and professional development programs designed to support leadership and collaborative initiatives addressing challenges in Jewish communities, Israel, and the broader world.

Product overview

ROI Community was a single unified program—a global network for Jewish and Israeli changemakers—rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering was the network itself, supported by flagship programs including the annual ROI Summit in Jerusalem (a five-day unconference gathering of ~150 leaders), a microgrants program enabling member-led initiatives, and participant-led gatherings with peer learning. After the program's sunset on July 1, 2026, alumni created the ROI Connect Member Directory as an independent continuation tool. The network invested directly in members' potential, ideas, and leadership development through professional development opportunities and collaborative experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ROI Community Global network connecting and mobilizing Jewish and Israeli changemakers across cultures, professions and perspectives; provided leadership development, peer learning, microgrants, and professional development support; operated free of charge to participants; concluded formal activities effective July 1, 2026.
• ROI Summit Annual five-day gathering of approximately 150 leaders in Jerusalem using an "un-conference" model with Open Space technology; attendees set the agenda and run workshops based on their own real-world challenges; enables peer learning, strategy sharing, and co-creation of new initiatives; notably used in 2024 to address community trauma after October 7.
• ROI Connect Member Directory Independent alumni-managed member directory launched at roiconnect.org after the formal sunset of ROI Community, allowing members to continue connecting, organizing gatherings, and collaborating.
• Microgrants Program Microgrant funding provided to ROI Community members to enable experimentation and collaboration on creative initiatives, grassroots projects, and professional opportunities within the network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,700+ members from 60+ countries connected over 20 years
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• New Israel Fund: Leading funder of Israeli civil-society organisations and democratic changemakers. Overlaps with ROI's mission of mobilising Israeli and Jewish social-change leaders and its use of grants and convening.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC): Long-established global Jewish welfare and leadership nonprofit active in 70+ countries. Comparable to ROI's global Jewish changemaker thesis, broader scope, and programmatic investment in Jewish communal capacity-building.
• The Jewish Federations of North America: Continental network of Jewish communal philanthropies investing in leadership, identity and Israel engagement. Comparable to ROI in serving as a connective tissue across Jewish communities and supporting local leadership initiatives.
• Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies: Direct parent and primary funder of ROI Community, operating a broader portfolio across Jewish community, Israeli society, U.S. democracy, education and criminal-justice. Broader incumbent in the same philanthropic space and the entity that owns the ROI Community trademark.

Direct peers

• Birthright Israel Foundation: Major philanthropic Jewish-identity and leadership program focused on young adult engagement globally. Closely comparable to ROI in mission (cultivating a connected next generation of Jewish leaders), funder-supported nonprofit model, and global cohort/retreat format.
• Matan: Israeli leadership development organisation investing in Jewish women's changemakers. Directly comparable to ROI's investment in leadership potential and its use of cohort-based convenings, peer learning and Israel-based programming.
• Aspen Institute: Nonpartisan leadership and convening organisation running cohort-based fellowship programmes (e.g., Aspen Fellows) using peer-driven dialogue. Closely comparable to ROI's Summit-based, 'un-conference' model and its investment in cross-sector leaders.
• Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life: Largest Jewish student leadership network worldwide. Highly comparable to ROI's changemaker-development mission, its cohort-based programming model, and its positioning as a pipeline for future Jewish professional and communal leadership.

Emerging players

• Echoing Green: Fellowship and network for emerging social-enterprise leaders. Comparable as a leadership-development community of practice with alumni-driven network effects, though narrower in cohort size than ROI.
• ROI Connect (alumni-managed directory): The alumni-stewarded, member-built directory that spun out of ROI Community after the 2026 sunset. Most directly comparable as the surviving embodiment of the network, even if run informally rather than as a full program.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roi-community

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ROI Community