J

enna Beltser has always been inspired 
by the idea of innovation.
As the director for the Orthodox 
Union’s Impact Accelerator, a program that 
identifies and helps grow new Jewish non-
profit organizations, Beltser, 31, 
of Southfield, seeks out startups 
that address critical issues in the 
Jewish community through inno-
vative ways.
“What I really love about the 
program is that it inspires inno-
vation,
” says Beltser, who helped 
launch OU Impact Accelerator 
in 2018 after a year of developing it alongside 
leadership and coworkers. “It allows people 
who are passionate about different causes to 
step up to the plate.
”

FINDING A NATIONAL REACH
Through the accelerator, OU receives some 
50-80 applications a year from nonprofits 
nationwide interested in joining the program. 
This year, they received 72 applications that 
spanned numerous industries and causes 
related to the Jewish community. 
 Out of the dozens of applications, four to six 
are selected each year to participate in a cohort 
experience that includes a nonprofit curricu-
lum, coaching mentorship and an initial grant 
to help grow the business.
“We’ve received applications from all across 
the country and from different issue areas,
” 
says Beltser, who recently moved back to 
Michigan with her husband, Lev, and their 
two children, “like Holocaust education, 
seniors and technologies that address certain 
issues.
”

So, what does OU look for in the perfect 
applicant? Beltser says it’s all about scale. 
 “We look for organizations that have either 
a national reach or potential for national 
reach,
” she explains. “Things that could be 
replicated in different communities.
”
The startups themselves, of course, must 
be innovative as well, offering something 
new that hasn’t been done before — a key 
contingent of the OU Impact Accelerator. 
In the future, Beltser hopes to expand the 
program’s reach to also help Jewish nonprofit 
startups with more local angles succeed, such 
as through facilitating connections to the right 
parties.
“They are still in our fight pool, so to speak,
” 
Beltser says of localized nonprofit startups.

‘START WHERE YOU ARE’
Working with Jewish nonprofits, Beltser says, 
has always been an interest for her. She began 
her career working at two financial technol-
ogy startups, Visible Alpha and Novus. She 
graduated from the University of Pennsylvania 
with a bachelor’s in international relations and 
economics. 
“
At first, I was just volunteering with a 
project at the OU,
” she recalls of first connect-
ing with Orthodox Union, one of the largest 
Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United 
States. “Then, OU wanted to do something 
working with Jewish startups, new Jewish 
organizations.
”
The need prompted Beltser to officially 
join OU, shifting from working in financial 
technology to working on building an accel-
erator that could help Jewish nonprofit start-
ups succeed. At OU, she was able to use her 

knowledge of the startup world to develop a 
successful program that numerous businesses 
have now benefitted from.
“It was a collaboration of everyone at OU at 
the time,
” she says of bringing the accelerator 
program to life. “We have a poster hanging 
on our wall that says ‘start where you are, use 
what you have, do what you can.
’ It was really 
thinking through what models exist right now 
and what do we have available?”

FILLING A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY
Launched during a time in which startup accel-
erators were booming in popularity, OU Impact 
Accelerator quickly filled a need for business 
support in the larger Jewish community. As the 
program’s founding director, Beltser designed 
the cohort experience, along with the curricu-
lum and format of the program. She also works 
with each startup one-on-one.
Throughout OU Impact Accelerator’s non-
profit curriculum, Jewish startups learn about 
fundraising, marketing, operations, leadership 
and anything else necessary to run a successful 
nonprofit organization. In return, OU gets a 
unique view into the larger needs of the Jewish 
community nationwide, one that Beltser 
doesn’t take for granted.
“Every year, we learn about what’s going on,
” 
says Beltser, who is also involved in her local 
synagogue and Jewish community. “We have 
so much data about what people are doing in 
the community and also where we need help.
”
For example, she continues, “Can we con-
nect all five organizations that are working all 
over the country that deal with mental health? 
Through our program, we’ve developed a 
bird’s eye view.
” 

Jenna Beltser is the 
founding director 
of a Jewish startup 
accelerator. 

Innovation 
Expert

Jenna 
Beltser

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

26 | APRIL 7 • 2022 

NEXT DOR
VOICE OF THE NEW 
JEWISH GENERATION

Beltser works with members of the 2018 OU Impact Accelerator cohort.

