Tmura – The Israeli Public Service Fund –announced it had received its first equity grants from three early-stage hi-tech companies – KiloLambda, Sight Code, and USG Technologies.

“It’s wonderful to see promising start-ups begin using the bridge Tmura has built between the hi-tech sector and worthy charitable activities,” said Yadin Kaufmann, a founding partner of Veritas Venture Partners and founder/chairman of Tmura.

Several other companies – including Allot Communications, Cyota, Rafael Medical, and Unicorn Solutions – have also agreed to contribute options to the fund, which intends to convert the options to shares, sell them, and use the profit to fund educational and youth-related projects.

Tmura, founded in February, hopes to increase the hi-tech community’s involvement in non-profit activity through a model successfully implemented by the Enterpreneurs Foundation in the US.

Companies are asked to donate options of between 0.5 percent – 1%, which Tmura will liquidate during successful exits, such as an IPO, a merger, or an acquisition.

In addition to the early-stage companies that have contributed to and shown interest in the fund, Tmura is currently in discussions with a number of public companies and hopes to release a few names soon, said executive director Baruch Lipner.

“The response has been very positive for a couple of reasons,” he said, noting that the economic doldrums may even be working in the fund’s favor.

“Especially today, with the way the market is, many companies are realizing there are other things that are important besides what the share price is worth and going home each night to calculate it. In these times, more companies are willing to get involved.”

On the more technical side, the fund is able to get options at lower prices, which will hopefully lead to greater benefits when the market turns. “Our chance today of ending up with real processes is better than it was when shares were high,” said Lipkin.

For the early-stage companies, Tmura’s model is especially attractive because it allows involvement in philanthropy without hurting cash flow during a time when financing is getting harder and harder to find.

Tmura is currently discussing some kind of affiliation with Entrepreneurs Foundation so that local companies with operations in the US can give to both the American and Israeli societies.

Tmura’s operating expenses are funded by leading venture capital funds including Veritas, Jerusalem Global, Giza, Gemini, Columbine, Walden, and Tamir Fishman.

“As important as the financial support provided by these member firms is their commitment to try and include Tmura in all their new investment deals,” said Lipner. “Our goal is to leverage our relationships with venture capital firms and to make an allocation to charity through Tmura a standard clause in every new hi-tech investment in Israel.”

Professional service firms, including the law firm Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg, and Co. and the accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers/Kessleman, provide the fund with pro bono services.
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