UpLift 2026 and LA | Eligibility Screen

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Thank you for your interest in applying to UpLift. Applications are now open for UpLift Cohort 2026 and UpLift Cohort Los Angeles.

Access program dates, fees, and an overview of the program on our website.

UpStart aspires to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that embodies and drives toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Our commitment to diversity in programming can be found here.

Eligibility Screen Information:

Eligibility Screen Close: Monday, December 8 at 11:59 PM PT
Information Session: Wednesday, November 19 at 12:00PM PT / 3:00PM ET | Register here

To Prepare for this Eligibility Screen:

Time: Set aside approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete this screen.
Preview Materials: Review the eligibility screen questions and the venture eligibility criteria to better understand how your submission will be reviewed.
Documentation Preparation: Our intention is for you to use existing documents wherever possible. We do not expect you to create new documents for this process.
Video submissions are allowed in place of any long-form written response. To submit a video:

Record your video (e.g., Vimeo, Zoom, Google Meet).
Save it in a way that an external reviewer can access via URL.
Paste the video link directly into the text box for your answer.
For technical support, contact programs@upstartlab.org.

UpStart is committed to being fully inclusive in our process. If you need further accommodations, please email accessibility@upstartlab.org.

Contact Information

Salutation

Fill in:

First name

Last name

Email address

Phone number

Venture name

Job title

Program Participation

1. Which cohort are you applying for (program dates and times are listed here: www.upstartlab.org/uplift):

2026 Cohort (all virtual)Los Angeles 2026 Cohort (includes LA-based in-person elements)

2. Does your venture have a co-leadership model?

YesNo

Will your co-leader be participating in the UpLift program?

YesNo

Co-leader's first name

Co-leader's last name

Co-leader's email address

3. Please select any of the below topic areas that align with your venture (select all that apply):

Advancing a Safe and Vibrant Jewish CommunityInterfaith Families/CouplesIsrael Education/EngagementSocial Services for Under-Resourced CommunitiesYoung Adult EngagementOther

Foundational Criteria

These questions confirm your venture meets the basic requirements for UpLift before moving on to the early-stage readiness review.

1. Have you run, or are you currently running, any version of your programming/offering?

YesNo

Your venture is not currently eligible for UpLift. At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

The venture has run at least one cycle of programming/offering
The venture is taking plans for future offerings one cycle at a time

2. Does your venture serve a North American Jewish population?

YesNo

Your venture is not currently eligible for UpLift.

3. Are you applying on behalf of the full organization, rather than a single program or project within it?

YesNo

Your venture is not currently eligible for UpLift. UpLift is designed for venture leaders to examine how their entire venture, not an offering within, is meeting the needs of their community.

By clicking here and applying for UpLift, I confirm that I have read and understand UpStart's Code of Conduct and acknowledge that all participants will be required to sign these policies upon admission to the program.

Question #1: Venture Background

To help UpStart better understand your work, please share any of the following that your venture has articulated.

Note: These statements are not being evaluated. They merely provide background on the work that you do and how you contribute to the Jewish community. If you do not have one of these statements prepared, do not feel the need to draft one.

a. Your venture’s mission statement (optional)

b. Your venture’s vision statement (optional)

c. Any alternate external statement(s) that provide a framework for your organization’s work (optional)

Question #2 and #3: UpStarter Network Alignment

UpStart has hypothesized that a “thriving Jewish community” exhibits the characteristics outlined in this framework. When it comes to investing in ideas that support our goal of working towards a Thriving Jewish Community, we seek those who attempt to fill gaps in their communities related to this framework. No venture is expected to work towards all nine practices listed in the framework, however, UpStart values work that attempts to fill community gaps in ways that others do not. The practices are meant to be expansive enough that any organization can see itself and articulate how its work lives on this list Since acceptance into this program also grants access to the UpStarter Network, the questions below help UpStart assess a venture's contribution to its community and, more specifically, whether the venture is viable for ongoing support from the UpStarter Network. NOTE: If your venture is an existing UpStarter Network member you will skip this section. If you're unsure whether your venture is a Network member, contact programs@upstartlab.org.

Is your venture an existing UpStarter Network member?

YesNo

Question #2

In reviewing the nine practices listed in the framework, identify the two (2) that your work most strategically seeks to support in your community. In 200-250 words, or through a video of 1.5-2 minutes, please describe: a. The gap that exists in that area of practice, specifically for your community. b. The distinct role your venture plays, or the distinct way that your venture aims to fill that gap.

Practice Selection 1

Practice Selection 1:

Practice Selection 2

Practice Selection 2:

Evaluation Criteria: (For each selected practice)

Venture provides at least one (1) concrete example of what is missing within their community, related to the chosen practice
Venture provides concrete examples of their offerings and role within the community, related to that practice
Venture articulates how their contributions are additive and necessary in addressing a gap

Question #3

3. UpStart believes in a just, vibrant, and inclusive Jewish community. In order to realize this, we maintain that each organization must be thoughtful about its own practices towards greater inclusion and belonging as a pathway to enrich community life. (See below for definitions of ‘inclusion’ and ‘belonging’.) In 200-250 words, or through a video of 1.5-2 minutes, describe how your venture fosters a greater sense of inclusion and/or belonging within the context of your community. Note: If you selected practice 6 (focus on diversity and belonging as a pathway to enrich community life) in the previous question and you feel your answer here is the same, you can copy and paste your prior answer here as well.

Evaluation Criteria:

Venture provides at least two (2) concrete, meaningful examples of practices they take to ensure that they are creating an inclusive and welcoming environment.
Venture articulates the positive impact these practices have on their community members.

Definitions:

Belonging: More than just being seen or feeling included, belonging entails having a voice and the opportunity to use it to shape our work. Belonging is more than having access; it is about the power to co-create the structures that shape a community.

Inclusion: The intentional, ongoing effort to ensure that every individual from all backgrounds is able to fully participate in all aspects of a community or workplace.

Question #4: Value/Growth Strategy

Articulate and share evidence of your value proposition (ie: what’s unique about what you provide).

a. Complete the following sentence: [Name of venture] seeks to address [the challenge you have identified] by providing [the value you provide] to [your target audience].

b. In addition, please upload documentation that shows evidence of the questions above. (Examples of evidence may include: community mapping assessment, list of others in the field who do similar work, audience persona, focus group data, etc.)

You may upload up to 2 separate attachments in the form of PDFs. Add additional files by clicking "Add another response" below.

At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

Venture has at least 1 form of evidence indicating they have checked their understanding of value with their constituents
Venture has an awareness of others in the field with similar or related offerings

Question #5: Impact/Needs of the Audience

Share evidence indicating how you know that what you have been programming/offering is meeting a community need.

a. Your venture has asked your community members for input - in order to create your programming/offering

YesNo

b. After programming/offerings/events, your venture asks for participant feedback

YesNo

c. In addition, please upload documentation that shows evidence of the questions above. (Examples of evidence may include: Questions from surveys/focus groups, schedule of surveys/focus groups, lists/groupings of community members surveyed, etc.)

You may upload up to 2 separate attachments in the form of PDFs. Add additional files by clicking "Add another response" below.

At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

The venture is beginning to articulate the importance of regularly examining community needs for the sake of evaluating its impact
The venture is preparing to use basic surveys to understand the satisfaction of participants

Question #6: Revenue Model

Share evidence that your venture is at or nearing financial stability for early stage. a. Fill in the following:

i. Total budget for one year

Numerical amount only, no symbols

i. Total expenses for one cycle of programming/offerings

Numerical amount only, no symbols

ii. Total revenue

Numerical amount only, no symbols

iii. Cash-on-hand

Numerical amount only, no symbols

iv. List of grants/contracts signed or secured

b. Please upload documentation in the form of a budget, that shows evidence that you are at or near financial stability for early stage. You can use our budget template, or you can upload your own, as long as the following is included: i. Prior and current year budget vs actuals including the following categories:
1. Revenue (broken out into donations, grants, other) 2. Expenses (broken out into salary, program expenses, operational expenses) 3. Net total *Notes for using the budget template: Please be sure to fill in all relevant categories. At this stage, you might not require all the listed categories. Please update by including all necessary categories and adding any others that might be missing based on your finances.

You may upload up to 2 separate attachments in the form of PDFs. Add additional files by clicking "Add another response" below.

c. Optional: Upload any necessary, additional documentation if your most up-to-date budget does not show evidence that you are at or near financial stability for early stage. Examples of evidence may include: grant/contract agreements, bank statements, pledge letters, etc.

You may upload up to 2 separate attachments in the form of PDFs. Add additional files by clicking "Add another response" below.

At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

The venture has received its first grant/contract at an amount that can enable it to grow programs and/or plan for the future.
The venture can cover expenses for one full programming/offering cycle, or nearly one full programming/offering cycle, through a combination of the following:

Cash-on-hand
Revenue
List of grants/contracts signed or secured

Question #7: Team/Leadership (1/2)

Share evidence that your venture has sufficient people and leadership to support the work at this stage. a. Fill in the following:

i. Please indicate who within your team holds decision-making responsibilities for the venture, including their title(s):

ii. Does the person or people named above take on a significant portion of the work to move the venture forward?

YesNo

ii. List any other staff, including their titles:

b. In addition, please upload documentation that shows evidence of your staff. (Examples of evidence may include: Documentation referencing venture leader by name, staff list including responsibilities, Founder/ED/CEO job description, list of contracted support, etc., copy of “Who We Are”)

You may upload up to 2 separate attachments in the form of PDFs. Add additional files by clicking "Add another response" below.

At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

The venture leader takes on a significant portion of the work to move the venture forward
The venture has more than one staff person doing the work of the organization

Staff do not have to be full-time

The venture staff hold responsibilities across multiple functions of the work

Question #8: Team/Leadership (2/2)

Select the response that best reflects the nature of your venture’s Governance/ Advisory structure.

Board of Directors Advisory BoardA group of advisors who support the leadership of the organizationNone of the above

At Early Stage, UpStart understands the following to be true:

The venture is considering developing an official board or advisory board
The venture has some grouping of people who are “advising” the work

Question #9

Please let us know how you heard about UpLift:

A friend/colleague shared it	UpStart Instagram
UpStart LinkedIn	UpStart Newsletter
Unsure	Other social media (specify)
Other (Specify)

Person's Name

Person's Organizational Affiliation

Please describe:

Venture Information

The following questions ask about your venture. This helps us to understand whether our programs and events are effective for our venture audience.

Venture website

Venture's legal status

501c3	Fiscally Sponsored	LLC	B Corps
501c4	For-profit	No legal status	Other

Fiscal Sponsor organization

Fiscal Sponsor contact name

Fiscal Sponsor contact email

Describe your venture's legal status:

Venture Headquarters

If your venture has multiple satellite locations, please select where your headquarters are located.

City

Country

State

Provinces

State/Province

Postal Code

Geographic area(s) served

InternationalNationalRegionalStatewideCitywide

Please specify country

Example: USA

Please specify region

Example: Midwest

Please specify state

Example: Illinois

Please specify city

Example: Chicago, Illinois

Area of Community Support (Please select all that apply)

Advocacy	Arts & Culture	Community Building
Disability Justice	Education	Environment
Financial Services	Gender Focus	Israel
Journalism/Media/Communications	LGBTQ+	Racial Justice
Social Change	Social Services	Spirituality
Other

Please describe:

Type of Organization (Please select all that apply)

Camp	Day School/Yeshiva
Informal Education	Supplemental Education (Hebrew School, Religious Schools)
Synagogue	Other

Please describe:

Who are the primary constituents you serve through your offerings? (Please select all that apply)

BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/ People of Color)	College Students	Early Childhood
Families	Grandparents	Interfaith
JOC (Jews of Color)	LGBTQ+	Parents/Caregivers
People with disabilities	Singles	Teens
Young Adults	Mizrahi	Sephardi
Women	Other

Please describe:

Approximately how many participants do you currently serve?

Approximately how many participants do you anticipate serving a year from now?

Individual Information

This section asks some questions about you personally. This helps us to understand whether our programs and events are effective for all participants.

Personal email address

Identity

Completion of this section is optional and does not impact our decision on your selection. We use this information to understand whether our programs and events are effective for all participants (and to understand and plan when our programming falls short). This information will be confidential and used for general reporting purposes without identifying individual responses.

What is your gender? Select all that apply. If you prefer not to say, skip this question.

Agender	Another gender or genders
Man	Nonbinary
Third Gender	Two Spirit
Woman	Prefer to self-describe:

Prefer to self-describe:

How do you racially identify? Choose all that apply. If you prefer not to say, skip this question.

African	Asian or Asian American
Black or African American	Hispanic or Latina/o/x
Middle Eastern	Native American, First Nation, or Indigenous American
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	North African
White or European American	Another race not listed

Another race not listed:

Do you identify as Jewish (culturally, religiously, racially or ethnically)?
If you prefer not to say, skip this question.

YesNo

Do you identify with any of the following Jewish heritages? Choose all that apply. If you

prefer not to say or this is not applicable to you, skip this question.

AshkenaziMizrachiSephardiPrefer to self-describe

Prefer to self describe:

Do you identify as a person with disability/ies? If you prefer not to say, skip this question.

YesNoPrefer to self-describe:

Prefer to self-describe:

Do you identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community? If you prefer not to say, skip this question.

YesNoPrefer to self-describe:

Prefer to self-describe:

Regarding your identity, is there anything else that you would like us to know?

Geography

UpStart would like to understand whether you are located in the same place as your venture headquarters. Please fill out the following based on your home location.

City

Country

State

Provinces

State/Province

Postal Code

Professional Information

How many years of professional work experience do you have?

Are you (one of) the founder(s) of this venture?

YesNo

Is this the first venture you have founded?

YesNo

What is your current role level?

Board memberExecutive / Leadership teamIndividual contributorManager of managersManager with at least one direct report

Which functional area in the venture do you work in? Choose all that apply.

Finance	Fundraising
Governance (e.g., Board member)	Human Resources & People
Marketing & Brand	Measurement & Evaluation
Prefer to self-describe	Programming / service delivery

Prefer to self-describe:

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