UpStart Bay Area, the S.F.-based Jewish social innovation incubator and consulting firm, is in search of a new home.
The organization’s lease on its downtown San Francisco office expired May 31, and with rent on the space increasing by more than 65 percent, the office has become unaffordable for the small nonprofit, UpStart CEO and founder Toby Rubin said. The rent is increasing from $24 per square foot to $40, she noted.
Rubin said UpStart received a one-month lease extension, but will need to be out of the building by July 1. She and other staff expressed the importance of finding space near a BART station, to accommodate UpStarters who live in the East Bay or bike to work.
UpStart’s current space at 332 Pine St. does double duty. It serves as a central gathering spot for the developing Jewish nonprofits receiving coaching from UpStart staff, and it also provides permanent office space to several agencies — from organizations such as Hazon, Keshet and Bend the Arc to new nonprofits just getting started.
“We’ve been much more than just an office,” Rubin said, noting that UpStart — both in concept and physical space — was designed to encourage resource-sharing among its agencies, and that it offers workspace that different organizations can reserve.
Nonprofits currently receiving coaching from UpStart’s seven-person staff (plus additional experts who are brought in) include Urban Adamah, Fair Trade Judaica and A Wider Bridge.
This week, three new nonprofits joined the fold as UpStart announced its latest cohort: JLens (an investing network that focuses on Jewish values and Israel); Rosh Pinah (a special-needs inclusiveness organization); and Come and Listen (a Jewish podcast and radio show).
Rubin said UpStart is hoping to find a new space of 2,300 to 3,000 square feet to house all of its current tenants. The agency is also open to sharing space with an already established office, as long as there is room for UpStart’s seven employees, ideally with additional meeting space.
Deborah Newbrun, the Bay Area director of Hazon, said she was open to her organization finding its own space if need be, and also said she would share space, hopefully with another Jewish nonprofit.
“When you’re in the innovation field, you’re happy to share space — it has to do with the speed of thinking,” she said. “That’s how collaboration works.”
Erik Ludwig, COO at UpStart, has been leading the real estate search. Those who have information about a vacancy or a shared office space should email him at [email protected].