In Israel, there are approximately 18,000 registered non-profit organizations and public benefit societies that report annually to the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations.
The new database that goes live today on the new Guidestar website will, for the first time, centralize all computerized information about them, including information that will be synchronized with the databases of the Corporate Authority, the Tax Authority, the Government Freedom of Information Unit, and the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance.
The 'Guidestar Israel' website first went live in 2010, as a joint venture between the Ministry of Justice, Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild Foundation), and Joint Israel.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
In its early days, the site allowed anyone who requested or was asked to donate to a particular organization, volunteer for it, or provide a service to it, to locate basic information about it immediately and without paying a fee - information such as the existence of a proper management certificate, verbal and financial reports, the five highest-paid employees in the organization, and so on.
In recent years, the project's steering committee, headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Justice, Amy Palmor, has led staff work aimed at "reinventing the Guidestar project" and adapting it to the needs of users on the one hand and to updated government concepts regarding public access to information on the other.
The new Guidestar website (http://www.guidestar.org.il), which went live today, is a cloud-based government application, where you can find an advanced search and filtering mechanism, which allows cross-referencing of information and examining trends.
In addition to the basic information drawn from the association's file, the new platform includes a wealth of financial information that has not previously been centralized at one address, such as information on donations - including donations from a foreign political entity, details of amounts of government support received by the association, details of agreements between the association and the state, the scope of the financial turnover, the existence of a tax credit approval for donations, and more.
The new website is of course optimized for use on mobile devices.
The new website was developed as part of the Guidestar Israel project, which is led by the Corporate Affairs Authority of the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with Joint Israel. The website in its current configuration is based on an up-to-date analysis of user needs. The innovative platform on which the website is based enables the provision of extensive information to the public and the intelligent use of information for research and analysis of third sector activity in Israel.
It should also be noted that the development of the website was carried out by the Information Systems Division of the Ministry of Justice, which assumed technological responsibility for the project about a year ago, after the steering committee headed by Palmor decided to transfer the technological aspects of the project, which had been carried out until now by an external company, to the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.
The management of the Guidestar Israel project is also accompanied by a public advisory committee, under the authority of Attorney Eyal Globus, Head of the Corporations Authority, and Attorney Doron Avni, Director of Policy and Government Relations at Google. The committee includes senior representatives from the government, local government, the business sector, and the third sector.
Director General of the Ministry of Justice and Chairwoman of the project's steering committee, Amy Palmor: "As Director General of the Ministry of Justice, I have a responsibility to implement the principle of transparency and freedom of information in all areas of the ministry's activity. We are acting in the spirit of government decisions until every database held by the Ministry of Justice is accessible and open to the public on innovative platforms that enable research and free use of the data. Transparency in the field of non-profit organizations is of particular importance, considering the scope of activity in the third sector. I am sure that the public, the media, and many business and academic bodies will find interest in the information that is now available to them.""
Head of the Corporations Authority, Eyal Globus: "A great deal of thought was invested in the new Guidestar website's user experience design. The advanced and friendly search interface is optimized for mobile use and meets accessibility requirements in accordance with current design trends. The establishment of the website is the result of multi-sectoral cooperation between the government, led by the Ministry of Justice, and civil society in Israel, led by Joint Israel, which brings to light an innovative concept of transparency based on the presentation of information from government sources alongside information provided and updated by the organizations themselves.""
