Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024 Application

Media Industry in the Western Negev - 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot Mr Idan Itzhak 1 Kikar Hanasee st' Sderot, Israel 8712801

[email protected] O: 0506205906

Mr Ran Benyamin

17 Turei Zahav St' Tel Aviv, Israel 6617780

[email protected] B 0506205906

Project Information Project Name*

Name of Project (Indicate if this is year 2 or year 3) Media Industry in the Western Negev - 'The Leap'

Amount Requested* Amount Requested $300,000.00

Project Budget*

Total project budget that includes other funders. $216,000.00

Area of Negev*

What geographic area will your project serve? Western Negev

Areas of Impact*

Check all that apply to this project Economic Development

Other*

If other, please specify.

Target Population of Project*

What is the target population(s) for this project (check all that apply)? Young Adults University Students Families Women

Project Description*

Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

1

Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

Describe your proposed project and the targeted community, and the problem/issues/opportunities that your organization seeks to address. Indicate your vision for success for the project, during the grant period. Be sure to specify how your project will strengthen the economy of the Negev region. Our strategic vision is to create a social and economic space in the media discipline by initiating productive business projects through the ‘Western Negev Media Administration and the Ness Fund's budget (at the heart of this application). After several years of establishing the Administration's work, we plan to leap upward and initiate projects that will be executed by the Administration, thus increasing income. The Media Administration has the distinct advantage of functioning with the government and the private sector, thus having the ability to recognize business opportunities and raise additional funds for operation. We believe that the Ness Fund's continued support of the Administration will further establish the existing activity and strengthen the space, on the one hand, while creating new economic activities on the other hand. That can happen without necessarily relying on the private sector. We view this project as groundbreaking and innovative because the continued support will provide maximized income; create additional economic projects; and connect authorities, businesses, academia, entrepreneurs, government, and philanthropy. As the number of initiatives around media-related fields grows and supportive infrastructure is advanced, there will be an increase in employment opportunities for southern local creators, Sapir college alumni, young students, and more media professionals who will move to the region because of those opportunities. This employment will lead to demographic development and create further opportunities in the creative industry. Hence, that is more than ongoing support for an existing project since it is pushing the Administration, helping it become economically self-sufficient, either through current initiatives or through initiating new ones. Therefore, it will be able to continue work in the following years and execute the strategic plan, as written with the assistance of the Ness Fund.

Goals*

List and describe the 3-4 goals that you aim to achieve in the next 6-12 months. Goals: 1. Establishing current initiatives 2. Kick-starting new initiatives 3. Create more initiatives with the philanthropic budget 4. Developing the film industry, creating new employment opportunities and strengthening the business ecosystem in the Western Negev We see great importance in your continued support of the Media Administration to establish current initiatives and start new ones. However, we lay a more significant emphasis on the additional budgets that allow the Administration to create more projects. The Administration intends to draw foreign and local productions to the Western Negev region. For that purpose, we aim to build a website that will become the "face" of the Western’s Negev Media. It will include descriptions, pictures, locations, professional personnel, equipment, and service providers. We follow an existing model which is currently active, among other places, in California and allows productions to get a comprehensive solution, assisting them in filming at various locations across the state. With such a website in place, the Administration will be able to market the Western Negev for production, subsidize its work for the services provided for productions and channel large portions of the production budgets to hundreds of residents who work in the media field and to dozens of local businesses such as caterers, transportation providers, equipment providers, translators, legal service providers and more.

Impact Measurement* The Ness Fund encourages you to describe how you will measure the progress and impacts of this project. We believe this will lead to greater short-term achievements, strengthen the applicant organization, and it may lead to systemic, sustainable changes. For each goal described in the previous question, list and describe key success measures that will monitor during the grant period, that will indicate whether you are making progress(both quantitative and qualitative).

Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

2

Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

1.Establishing the existing projects: As part of applying the business plans, after signing the contracts and setting up the offices at Sderot, we intend to make the ventures profitable with respect to the business plan. 2. Lunching a new project: We are currently working on a new ongoing project, which has received funding from the Israeli ministry of interior program 'Haamraa'. 3. Creating more projects from the philanthropy budget: The vision at the heart of this request is to turn the Media Administration into a proactive organization. Such as an administration that can identify projects, budget them, and raise funds. 4.Developing an industry and creating new employment opportunities: Each of the projects mentioned predicts profitability. That is because the administration's investments will be returned as profit to the administration. On the other hand, The ongoing economic activity will affect the region; Acquisitions of local food and catering services, transportation services, housing, and more. Moreover, the projects will require and hence enlarge the number and offerings of positions in the field of media; graphics, editing, animation, production, directing, and likewise. The media industry will allow a broader Impact for employment and opportunities for local economic development. This way, the industry will constitute a point of attraction for artists and media creators to settle at the western Negev region.

Strategies*

For each goal identified above,, describe your strategies: who you intend to reach, what you intend to do, the rationale behind your approach. Indicate the role of key partners in achieving each goal. The Administrations work method relies on three major factors: a. The Budgeters: Governmental offices and philanthropical funds. b. The Enablers: local organizations and the Western Negev authority, Sapir Collage and Negev Film Fund. c. The Executers: private sector entrepreneurs, business investors and creators. In each of the stages of applying our goals, as mentioned above, we intend to combine the work of all three sectors to promise the use of most funds and required tools to accomplish the goals of developing an economic of media professions. The rationale to this method relies upon the experience we acquired during the previous years combined with our ability to connect associates and other partners throughout the process: local organizations, Sapir collage, Negev film fund, Negev film festival and different philanthropical funds and partners.

Leadership*

Tell us about the key leadership team and 1-2 lead individuals that will be responsible for the project. Project Leader Ziva Sasson Buksbaum, responsible for operations and supervising the Administration's work; Ronit Ifargan, Director of the creators' community and local development, responsible for connecting productions with professionals; and Ran Benyamin, Business Director responsible for planning budgets, the business side of things and executing the initiatives.

Uniqueness and Timeliness*

How is this project unique? Why is it important now? Why should it be funded now? This project had arrived at a stage where its ready to ripen and impact the local economy in a significant manner; After almost three years in which we were busy developing the Administration, and promoting advocacy activities for the necessity of this move and raising initial funds to lunch it. We feel as if we are found at a significant period for activity so the administrations work had become significant to the region and the continuance of this work is critical for the continuance of the financial projects. And the region's readiness to create further financial projects to enlarge its economic engagement and to enlarge the expected revenue while expanding the number of employees. The investment of Ness fund will be significant for us and it will aid greatly to make this dream come true together, to establish an economic organization for media professions in the Western Negev region and to promise the proactive impact among the business district in Sderot and the entire region.

Project Start Date* 01/01/2023

Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

3

Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

Project End Date* 12/31/2025

Prior fund for other projects*

Please list any prior projects funded by the Ness Fund, by year and amount funded. Ness Fund Cluster Management Organization of the media industry: 350,000 NIS, 2020 160,000 NIS, 2021 120,000 NIS, 2022

Outreach and Promotion*

How do you plan to attract and recruit participants/target audience to your project? How will you select participants? How will you publicize your successes? Until this day, we succeeded in promoting and advertising our achievements on numerous platforms, including articles posted in local journalism, posts, and essay that we published on social media, and attending seminars, festivals, conventions, and tours of crucial media and productions industry organizations in the western Negev. Amongst them, the government's official advertising agency's management had arrived for an impression visit for a collaboration.

Readiness*

Describe the readiness of your organization to implement this project, upon hearing of approval, in terms of these and other relevant aspects: • Personnel are hired; if not, plans for hiring key people • Physical facilities are ready or space is arranged • Need to raise other needed funding • Need for government approvals • Outreach to identify participants • Key partnerships to collaborate As the administration getting to its third year of activity, we can see how our impact already makes big changes; we recruited three professionals and made a collaboration with the Sderot business district. Moreover, the administration had managed to create business, governmental and academic collaborations, which led to a significant success. Our activity located in the western Negev at our offices in Sderot and Netivot. We receive great support from governmental ministries, and we have managed to raise multiple budgets to promise the fulfillment of our projects. Since we are at the climax of our activity, we believe that structures we built, combining the relations we made, will promise that the budgets will immediately make the impact and will help to find new companies, develop business plans, and jumpstart the economic activity in the region.

Risks*

List any risks or challenges you anticipate with this project. In every evaluation of potential risk factors, we consider the possibility that the national security in the western Negev region might change drastically. This situation can slow down growth and delay the process of attracting entrepreneurs. However, since we rely on local forces, we believe that if any deceleration is to happen, our activity will continue as usual. Another possible threat is that we won't have enough resources for the administration, which leads to all this broad activity described above.

Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

4

Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

Scalability*

How do you anticipate this project can be scaled larger if successful? The enlargement of the projects can happen with respect to the success of the first projects. Therefore, we put in many resources of time to ensure the project's complete implementation. Also, we accompany the entrepreneurs at the beginning of their way, assisting in finding appropriate offices, recruiting employees, support during professional training, connections to the academy, funds, and more partners. Hence, we are sure that any success will allow the continuance and growth of this project, thanks to the recruitment of additional companies and employees while increasing the financial cluster of the region.

Program Evaluation*

What review process(es) are you planning to use for the program? Who is in charge of this? What are your tools and methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, follow-up questionnaires, communal feedback, interim discussions with staff, and use of the previously describe success measures in each phase or stage of the project? Please be specific and realistic. As for now, the media administration conducts meetings and internal discussions throughout the week. Amongst those, we fulfill a brief updates discussion once a week with each of our entrepreneurs to study their activity stages, achievements, and challenges. As part of our weekly discussions and updates, we also conduct regular meetings at different times with various members of multiple committees that include representatives of Sderot municipality, Shaar-Hanegev, Sapir college, film funds, Ness fund, and more. Nonetheless, we activate a local creator's forum, where the region's residents articulate their voices and needs. According to those, we create the appropriate responses such as exposure to business opportunities, connections to entrepreneurs, opening courses and professional training, and so on. In the upcoming year, the administration plans to conduct two surveys; the first is an impact survey to examine the current financial effect. The second survey will be a needs, satisfaction, and image survey- to check the administration's work amongst its peers’ considering employment, professional training, and more.

Organization Information and Partnerships Organization Budget*

What is your organizational budget on an annual basis? $16,700,000.00

Leverage and Partnerships*

Are you working with other organizations on this project to achieve your goals and achievements? yes

Attachments Partnerships*

If yes, list the partner organizations you are working with and in what capacities. For example, program collaboration, providing funding, outreach, shared fundraising or shared staff. Raising resources for the media industry program 2020-2024 - Ness.pdf Kikar Hatarbut NGO for the Business district of Sderot

Budget*

upload your budget format or you can use Ness format The Leap - Budget Plan.pdf

Organization Board of Directors and Organization Structure*

Please attach the list of board members and the organizational structure. 1_‫מבנה ארגוני‬.pdf Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

5

Media Industry in the Western Negev 'The Leap'

Kikar Hatarbut (The Culture Square) Sderot

Short Video- 2 minutes max

Optional video describing your project.

If you have created a youtube or mp4 video, please add your link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnoq-TUJnF8

File Attachment Summary Applicant File Uploads

• Raising resources for the media industry program 2020-2024 - Ness.pdf • The Leap - Budget Plan.pdf • 1_‫מבנה ארגוני‬.pdf

Supporting Documents

No files were uploaded

Printed On: 10 January 2023

Ness Fund Application 2023-2024

6

Raising resources for the media industry program 2020-2024 Budget status (requested ,received, fundraising (NIS ) approved, in potential +Years)

requested 2023 approved 2023 approved 2023 approved 2023

1,750,000

Media Industry in the Western Negev - 'The Leap'

1,000,000 100,000 500,000 150,000

Ness fund Western Negev Cluster Ministry of Interior Ministry of Agriculture

1,460,000 recieved 2022 recieved 2020 received 2021 received 2020-2021 received 2020-2021 approved 2022

Original/potential partners

250,000 350,000 160,000 130,000 450,000 120,000 1,270,000

approved approved approved

500,000 250,000 220,000

approved

300,000

Cluster Management Organization of The media industry Ministry of Interior Ness fund Ness fund Sapir College Western Negev Cluster Ness fund "Harasim"-Archives of Documentary movies Ministry of Interior R.G.B.Studio David shadi studio Makor Foundation for Cinema and Television films

2,020,000

Animation Production Center

approved

500,000

approved

550,000

approved 2022 recieved 2022 recieved 2022

approved for 5 years 2020-2024

700,000 70,000 200,000 1,300,000 500,000 300,000 300,000 200,000 7,500,000 7,500,000

Ministry of Interior Makor Foundation for Cinema and Television films+ The Hive studio Ness fund ICA Sderot Metaphor Southern Branch Ministry of Interior Metaphor Interactive Negev Film funds Film funds Regional Film Fund Ministry of Culture

Approved+recieved

13,550,000

approved approved approved approved

Media Industry in the Western Negev - 'The Leap' Uses

Budget

Partners

Business development and incentives Management Assessment and Evaluation Conventions Branding and Marketing Research and Business plans

1,000,000 400,000 70,000 30,000 100,000 150,000

Ness fund Ministry of Interior Ministry of Interior Ministry of Interior Western Negev Cluster Ministry of Agriculture

Total

1,750,000

‫מבנה ארגוני אשכול נגב מערבי‬