2019 Nonprofit Professional of the Year: Ami Dar

Ami Dar
Founder and Executive Director
Action Without Borders/Idealist.org

Ami Dar was conscripted into the Israel Army. At the age of 19, he was stationed at the Syrian border, and it was then he had a revelation: The people on the other side of the border are not his enemy. Though divided by a border, there were probably people on the other side willing to share socks with him. It was because of this he imagined a world that was not divided by manufactured borders and boundaries, but a world where “sock-sharers” would be on the same side, working together to build a better tomorrow.

In 1995, Ami created Action Without Borders and began calling the online network Idealist.org. In 2000, he received a $100,000 grant, which doubled the organization’s budget and allowed it to grow into the largest nonprofit online community and resource that it is today. From its founding, Idealist.org began connecting people to employment resources, jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities within the nonprofit sector.

Idealist.org currently supports over 120,000 organizations and more than 1 million registered users, with 1.4 million monthly visitors through Idealist.org, Idealistas.org and Idealiste.org. The organization also hosts graduate degree fairs and online resources on local and global volunteering, nonprofit careers, nonprofit management and graduate programs in the social good sector. Ami has utilized emerging technology in groundbreaking ways to connect people with opportunities for social action.

In January 2018, Ami launched Idealists of the World, which now has over 23,000 members worldwide. Sarah M. Raven, who nominated Ami, said, “There is no one in the world more qualified or deserving to be the Nonprofit Professional of the Year.”

To see the winners in the remaining categories, click here.