About - Amplifier

We envision a world where everyone has the opportunity to create positive, powerful change through collaborative giving.

Amplifier’s mission is to grow the movement of intentional, collaborative giving by building and sustaining giving circles inspired by Jewish values.

Giving circles are a powerful model of collective giving: people pool their resources and decide together where to allocate their funds. Being part of a giving circle amplifies the impact that an individual can have through their giving, empowering people to become more proactive, intentional givers who invest in change together.

Amplifier is the first concerted effort to network and create a field of giving circles inspired by Jewish values.

We create backbone infrastructure for the field by helping individuals and institutions to start and sustain giving circles, educating circle leaders and members about philanthropic best practices, linking circles to nonprofit organizations, and building values-driven communities rooted in Jewish wisdom. Amplifier enables thousands of people of all ages and giving levels to participate in an ever-growing number of giving circles around the world.

See the impact we have made to date, and join us in this global movement by starting or adding an existing circle or registering a grant-seeking organization.

Amplifier's Advisory Board

David Cygielman

David is the founder and CEO of Moishe House. He has been a nonprofit innovator since high school when he started Feed the Need, a nationally recognized homeless feeding organization. While attending the University of California at Santa Barbara, David served as the Hillel Student President and later the Executive Director of the Forest Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping college and high school students develop leadership qualities while following their passions. Through his work in the Jewish community, David has garnered many honors including the Avi Chai Fellowship, the JCSA Young Leadership Award, and the Bernard Reisman Award for Professional Excellence. In 2013, David was the recipient of UCSB Hillel's inaugural Alumni Achievement Award. David graduated with honors from UCSB with a BA in Business Economics.

Jon Gruber

Jon leads the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust’s (EFCT) Campus and Community portfolios, supporting a diverse set of partner grantees and exploring opportunities to expand EFCT's work in these areas. Before joining EFCT, Jon was a Principal at the management consulting firm Booz & Company, advising clients across sectors on strategy and organizational performance. Jon also worked as a consultant at Katzenbach Partners and as a philanthropic advisor at Impact for Education. He started his career teaching politics and history at the Stowe School in England and serving as Director of Education at The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. Jon earned an undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Jon and his wife Lara live in Brooklyn with their son Ethan.

Felicia Herman

David Rittberg

David serves as a Senior Program Officer for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. Based in the Washington, D.C. office, David advises Co-Chairs Lynn and Stacy Schusterman on how to best leverage their investments in existing organizations and take new initiatives to scale. David’s calling card is his hands on approach to his philanthropic portfolio: David spends much of his time working directly with organization staff and board members. Previously, David served as Executive Director at the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU, Hillel at New York University, and, in 2011, received NYU’s Hallmark Award for outstanding university administrators. David received his BS in Marketing from the Smeal College of Business Administration at Penn State University, and an Executive MPA from NYU Wagner. He now lives in Potomac, Maryland with his wife and two kids.

Julie Sissman

Ora Weinberg

Ora has over a decade of professional experience in strategic planning, specializing in philanthropic advising, grants management and organizational development. Ora has worked as a consultant to early and mid-stage non-profits helping them lift the standard of excellence surrounding their organizational practices. She has guided organizations through a variety of internal planning processes, including program development, fundraising strategy, evaluation design, staff management, and board development. She is dedicated to helping her clients build confidence in their mission and become more pragmatic in how they operate their organizations as well as how they impact the community around them. Ora has also held volunteer leadership roles in a number of organizations whose primary focus is creating inclusive school environments for children of all backgrounds, abilities and disabilities. Ora currently serves on the board of Luria Academy of Brooklyn where her three children are learning and thriving.

The Amplifier Team

Elizabeth Fisher

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Elizabeth Fisher

Elizabeth Fisher is Amplifier's CEO. Liz comes to Amplifier from Repair the World, where she led the organization’s expansion, fundraising, communications, and operations. During her time at Repair the World, the organization grew from 5 to 8 cities and launched several major national digital campaigns. Liz began her career in grassroots community development with University of Missouri Extension and has worked at NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, UJA-Federation of New York, and The Jewish Education Project. While at UJA-Federation of New York, Liz served as the professional staff for two giving circles, including one that she launched. Liz lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Jeremy Brown, and two children.

Zoë Barth-Werb

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Arielle Brender

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Arielle Brender

Arielle Brender is Amplifier’s program and communications associate. Arielle graduated from Fordham University in 2018, where she earned a BA in Philosophy & Environmental Studies. She attributes her passion for earth-based justice to her many summers at URJ Eisner Camp, through which she received training from the Amir Project, where young environmental leaders are trained to educate children about social and environmental literacy through farming and Jewish values. Arielle completed an internship in sustainable community development and agroforestry in the jungles of Panama, interned at the New York Botanical Garden’s Edible Academy, and led the charge for environmental justice at her alma mater as a Director within the Gabelli School of Business Social Innovation Collaboratory.