Action Without Borders

Action Without Borders is a nonprofit service organization based in New York City and best known through its Idealist platform. The organization was founded in 1995 by Ami Dar, who had become interested in social and environmental problem-solving well before establishing the group. Its underlying purpose was to make it easier for people concerned about public-interest issues to find one another, exchange information, and participate in practical action. The concept developed from Dar's experiences after completing mandatory military service in Israel and traveling through South America in the mid-1980s. At the time, he imagined using emerging communications technologies—including telephones, personal computers, and fax machines—to create networks linking people around shared concerns. The idea was not initially a conventional commercial product; it was conceived as civic infrastructure for connecting individuals and community groups working on social and environmental issues. By 1995, Dar had created an early version of the organization under the name The Contact Center Network. This initiative supported meeting spaces in several communities where local residents could connect with others who shared their interests and develop opportunities for action. In 1996, the organization launched idealist.org, which became its principal public-facing service and eventually led to the widespread use of Idealist as an alternate name for Action Without Borders. Idealist functions as a digital intermediary for the nonprofit and social-impact sector. Its service has provided a place where nonprofit and charitable organizations can present themselves and where people can discover organizations, employment or service opportunities, and other ways to participate in civic life. The platform's identity is therefore closely tied to access, discoverability, volunteering, nonprofit employment, and connections across the social sector rather than to a conventional consumer product line. The organization has maintained operations in the United States and Argentina. Its physical footprint has changed over time; in 2016, Idealist closed its Portland, Oregon, office and laid off approximately two dozen employees. Despite that contraction, the online service remained the central expression of the organization. According to figures cited for 2023, approximately 45,000 nonprofit and charitable organizations worldwide were registered on the site, which received about 35,000 visitors per day. Action Without Borders remains associated with Ami Dar, who is identified as its founder and executive director. A significant strategic development was announced on January 14, 2025, when Idealist and VolunteerMatch announced plans to merge. The announcement represents an effort to bring together two established services serving volunteering and civic participation, although the available reference material does not establish the final legal structure, completion date, or post-merger operating arrangements. The organization's current public identity continues to center on Idealist and on facilitating connections between people seeking to contribute and organizations addressing social needs.

Action Without Borders emerged from Ami Dar's long-standing interest in social justice and in practical ways to address social and environmental problems. Dar was born in Jerusalem, grew up partly in Peru and Mexico, and later returned to Israel with his family. His experience of visible economic inequality in Mexico City helped shape his concern with social justice. After completing mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, he traveled through South America in 1985. During that period, at age 24, he began considering how communications technologies could help people find others who shared their concerns and coordinate local action. Dar's early concept relied on the communications tools available before the widespread adoption of the modern web. He envisioned a network using telephones, personal computers, and fax machines to lower the barriers between people and community initiatives. The goal was to support connections around issues rather than to build a conventional media or retail brand. This emphasis on linking people to action became the foundation of the organization that followed. In 1995, Dar founded an early form of the organization known as The Contact Center Network. The initiative sponsored meeting spaces in several communities, giving neighbors places to meet people with similar interests and develop ideas for local action. The project subsequently moved into online services. In 1996, Action Without Borders launched idealist.org, which became its best-known platform and the source of the organization's common alternate name, Idealist. Idealist developed into a service for the nonprofit and charitable sector. It provided an online presence for organizations and helped people discover groups and opportunities connected with social and environmental work. Over time, the platform became a broad directory and opportunity-discovery service rather than simply a network of physical meeting spaces. Its value proposition rested on aggregation: bringing organizations and people into a shared environment where public-interest opportunities could be found more easily. The organization operated from the United States and Argentina and retained its New York City base. Its structure and physical presence changed as the digital service matured. In 2016, Idealist closed its Portland office, resulting in the loss of approximately two dozen positions. The closure illustrated the operational adjustments facing a nonprofit platform whose work was increasingly delivered online. By 2023, figures cited in reference material indicated that roughly 45,000 nonprofit and charitable organizations worldwide were registered on Idealist and that the site received approximately 35,000 visitors each day. These figures demonstrate the scale of the platform within the nonprofit and civic-engagement ecosystem, although they do not constitute revenue or financial-performance data. Ami Dar has remained the central leadership figure identified with Action Without Borders. Before founding the organization, he worked at Aladdin Knowledge Systems in Israel, first in international marketing and later as president, relocating to New York to establish the company's North American branch. His subsequent work with Action Without Borders continued the technology-and-networking approach that had informed his earlier idea. On January 14, 2025, Idealist and VolunteerMatch announced that they would merge. The proposed combination is strategically relevant because both services help people find ways to participate in community and nonprofit work. The supplied reference does not provide enough information to determine the merger's completion, legal form, leadership structure, or effects on the Idealist brand. Accordingly, Action Without Borders is best described as an active nonprofit service organization whose public identity remains centered on Idealist, with its longer-term structure subject to the outcome of that announced transaction.

• 2025

  Idealist and VolunteerMatch announce merger

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Idealist and VolunteerMatch announced plans to merge their services serving volunteering and civic participation.

• 2023

  Reported platform scale

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reported approximately 45,000 nonprofit and charitable organizations registered on Idealist worldwide and about 35,000 daily visitors.

• 2016

  Portland office closes

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Idealist closed its Portland, Oregon, office and laid off approximately two dozen employees.

• 1996

  Idealist.org launches

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  The organization launched idealist.org, which became its principal digital service and its widely used alternate name.

• 1995

  Action Without Borders is founded

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Ami Dar founded the early organization, initially called The Contact Center Network, with a focus on helping communities connect around shared interests and local action.

• 1985

  Dar develops the network concept

  [1]Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  While traveling in South America after completing mandatory military service, Ami Dar began developing the idea of using communications technologies to connect people working on social and environmental concerns.

A nonprofit digital intermediary for social and environmental action, positioned around connecting people with organizations and opportunities that support civic participation and public-interest work.

• Nonprofit and social-impact platform · 1996

  Idealist.org

  Idealist.org is Action Without Borders' principal online service. It brings together nonprofit and charitable organizations and helps people discover groups and opportunities connected with social, environmental, and civic action. The platform extends the organization's original mission of making it easier for people with shared concerns to find one another and move from interest toward participation. Reference material describes substantial international registration and traffic, but does not provide a complete breakdown of all current features or services.

• 2025

  Announce the proposed Idealist–VolunteerMatch mergerM&A

  Background

  Idealist and VolunteerMatch both operate in the civic-engagement and volunteering space, creating a strategic rationale for combining their services.

  Action taken

  The two organizations announced plans to merge on January 14, 2025.

  Aftermath

  The available reference material does not establish whether the transaction was completed, its legal structure, or its effect on the Idealist and Action Without Borders brands.

  Source

• 2016

  Close the Portland officeStrategy

  Background

  Idealist maintained a primarily digital service while operating from multiple locations. The reference material reports a decision to close its Portland, Oregon, office.

  Action taken

  The Portland office was closed and approximately two dozen employees were laid off.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued operating its Idealist service, but the supplied sources do not describe the longer-term financial or organizational consequences.

  Source

1. 1Action Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Idealistidealist.org