G-dcast.com is a poster child of the Jewish startup sector, the grassroots movement that aims to reach the disinterested and unaffiliated by offering new ways — such as record labels, bike rides and online Shabbat services — to connect with Judaism. More than 3,000 educators around the world use G-dcast’s funky parashah-of-the-week videos, which have been viewed more than 1 million times on the web, the group says.

Why, then, is G-dcast in danger of finding itself out on the street?

“It’s not just my problem,” said Sarah Lefton, founder and director of the S.F.-based G-dcast, which has doubled its budget and hired three part-time staff in the past year. But Lefton said her agency soon will struggle to make rent. “All of the young Jewish organizations in San Francisco have the same problem.”

Sarah Lefton

In fact, most young Jewish organizations, wherever they are based, are having a hard time growing. Two weeks ago, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation became the first major Jewish philanthropy to tackle this problem in a systematic way, announcing a “Second Stage Fund” to support young organizations with small budgets that are at least starting to plan their next stage of development.

The full story is available from the New York Jewish Week