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Upstarter NetworkUpStart2026-02-06T12:38:26-06:00

Upstarter
Network

Meet the bold leaders creating the Jewish community of the future—one venture at a time.

The UpStarter Network is composed of some of the most cutting-edge organizations and visionary leaders in the Jewish world today. From coast to coast—and everywhere in between—these ventures are launching programs that create vibrant pathways to connect with Jewish life.

UPLift Cohort 2026 & UpLift LA 2026

BOLD JEWISH IDEA
We fuse together the tools of Jewish texts and values, criminology, and sociology in our work with Jewish leaders, survivors, and community members to repair harm and foster accountability in a holistic and human-centered way.
http://www.ampersandsrj.org

Ampersands Restorative Justice
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Redefining communal responsibility by training Jewish leaders and communities to approach Jewish divorce with a commitment to inclusive support, ensuring every family navigates their transition with dignity and care.
http://www.areivut.com

Areivut
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Supporting contemporary Jewish artists in the Pacific Northwest to explore and shape the intersection of their Jewish identity with their creative practice through education, community building, and public dialogue.
http://www.artlabpdx.org

Art/Lab: Innovating Jewish Arts and Culture
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Ensuring all LGBT individuals from Orthodox communities have access to the mental health support they need.
http://bikirbecha.org

Bikirbecha
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Empowering Jewish and other minority individuals with the agency to serve together as integral community leaders, transforming them from passive residents into proactive architects who shape and contribute to the community's overall wellbeing.
http://www.communitylp.org

Community Language Program (CLP)
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Jewish civilization in a room.
https://dernister.org/

Der Nister Downtown Jewish Center
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Creating a path to certify Jews across all divides to hold empowering spaces for communal Grief Tending.
http://www.fromsoil2soul.com

FromSoil2Soul
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Building a welcoming community where Gen Z Jews of all backgrounds can study Jewish texts and build meaningful community.
https://www.instagram.com/house.of.sages

House of Sages
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Building collective resilience by equipping Jewish mental-health professionals to lead with identity, resilience, and ethical clarity amid rising antisemitism and ongoing collective trauma.
http://www.icfcr.ca

International Centre for Collective Resilience
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Isma/Shema advances the bold idea that confronting antisemitism and Islamophobia together—through historical grounding, principled disagreement, and shared humanity—strengthens Jewish life and makes moral courage possible in polarized times.
http://ismashema.com

Isma/Shema Consulting
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Empowering Jewish survivors of abuse to tell their stories and heal in community.
http://www.jewishsurvivorsunited.org/

Jewish Survivors United
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
To rebuild Jewish community for a generation that feels disconnected. We create a shared welcoming hub that unites nearly 3,000 young Jewish professionals across Los Angeles — and beyond — regardless of background, denomination, or level of observance.

LA Jewish Events
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
To provide a sacred space for all Jews to connect with themselves, Jewish customs, and ritual while marking life's moments
http://www.maalehhayim.org

Maaleh Hayim
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Supporting individuals and families in crisis who are falling through the cracks through immediate care, community, and Jewish values.
https://www.mamannonprofit.com/

Maman Nonprofit
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Building vibrant Jewish belonging and resilience through grassroots community, culture, Jewish learning, and our connection to Israel.
https://instagram.com/mishmish.la/

Mish Mish, LA
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Builds Jewish community through music education that connects children, families, and educators through shared creativity, cultural expression, and joyful Jewish life.
https://youtube.com/@musicbyheart

Music by Heart
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
NechamaComfort centers on changing how the Jewish community responds to pregnancy and infant loss. NechamaComfort challenges the long-standing silence surrounding these experiences and replaces it with compassion, acknowledgement, and communal responsibility.
http://nechamacomfort.org

NechamaComfort
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Nosei LA is a mental health center that supports emotional wellness for LA's diverse Jewish community.
http://www.noseila.org

Nosei LA
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Olam Market approaches Jewish community-building from a cultural angle, creating an inclusive gathering place anchored in the diversity of global Jewish cuisines. There are as many ways to be Jewish as there are Jewish foods – and Olam creates space for all of them.
https://olamglobalmarket.square.site/

Olam Market
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Building Jewish men's community rooted in care, vulnerability, and mutual support, welcoming those on the margins of Jewish life.
http://relationalcenter.org/groups/mensexperiencegroup

Open Door
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Opening up the richness of Hasidic thought to give the modern individual a more unified, transcendent, and life-affirming sense of meaning and direction.
https://hasidicthoughtprinceton.org

Princeton Institute for Hasidic Thought
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Shalom Social Club creates a welcoming, pluralistic Jewish community for adults in Greater Baltimore by designing intentional spaces where relationships come first and people of all backgrounds co-create connection, culture, and belonging.
http://shalomsocialclub.com

Shalom Social Club
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Building communities, supporting rabbinic and educational leadership, and sharing Torah to shift the narrative around Israel/Palestine toward peace and justice.
http://www.smolemunius.com

Smol Emuni US
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Creating new rhythms and rituals so congregations and community organizations become engines of leadership formation, community re-imagination, and a stronger civil society.
http://www.theamencenter.org

The Amen Center for Civic and Spiritual Leadership
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Use Jewish song as a bridge to transform pride, pain, and polarization into shared stories that deepen Jewish connection and strengthen communal resilience.
http://www.jewishsongshow.org

The Jewish Song Project
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Using art and personal narrative to illuminate Israel’s people, complexity, and moral depth—cultivating a more human, nuanced understanding for Jews and non-Jews alike.
http://whatiszionism.info/

The Kol Project
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Tikkun olam begins within—and that inner work is essential to repairing the world, so we offer spaces and experiences for Jewish and BIPOC women in impact to clarify their mission, cultivate resilience through creativity, and gain tools to build.
https://thewildherness.co/

The WildHERness Collective
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Old World Flavor, New World Brew

Yiddish Brewskis Brewery Co

alexa-corwin

“I learned so much as part of UpSpring, and I want to reiterate just how much we’ve been able to accomplish– and how it is in no small part due to the skills, relationships, and opportunities the program provided to both Ammud and me personally.”

— Alexandra Corwin, executive Director of Ammud

Alumni

BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Black Jewish Liberation Collective is a collective of Black Jews based in the United States who amplify voices and uplift cultural and political organizing. This is done by creating space for community building and strategizing to support Black people who are working towards liberat…
https://www.blackjewishliberation.org/

Black Mussar Va’ad
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Supporting non-circumcising Jews in Jewish life, and educating about the rich diversity of Jewish perspectives on circumcision and its alternatives.
https://www.bruchim.online

Bruchim
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
BuddyCheck welcomes and engages everyone in your camp staff community during the year so that no one arrives at camp feeling alone.
https://letsbuddycheck.com/

BuddyCheck
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Career Up Now uses the inherent spiritual value of a Jewish community and Judaism’s timeless wisdom to help empower young professionals to integrate and find relevance and meaning in their professional, personal and spiritual lives by helping emerging professionals find professional…
https://www.careerupnow.org/

Career Up Now
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
The mission of Centro de Estudios Judios: Torat Emet is to facilitate the return and reintegration of the Anusim, people of Jewish descent descended from those expelled from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1496. Although dispersed throughout the world, especially in Spain, Portug…
http://www.cejte.org/

Centro de Estudios Judios: Torat Emet
BOLD JEWISH IDEA

CharacTours is a non-profit that runs interactive theatrical walking tours where the past visits you. Each tour features one guide leading the group while an actor makes a handful of surprise appearances playing different historical characters.
http://www.CharacTours.org

CharacTours
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Chaya is a non-profit organization that strives for an empowered Jewish Iranian community by deepening one's sense of self and cultivating meaningful connection.
https://www.chayacommunity.com/

Chaya Community
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
ChiTribe was founded with the goal of making Chicago Jewish life more transparent and accessible to a modern Jewish community. ChiTribe functions as a resource to connect young Jewish people with communities, events and organizations that fit their interests. By aggregating and stre…
https://chitribe.org/

ChiTribe
BOLD JEWISH IDEA
Citizen Film is a not-for-profit production company dedicated to crafting documentaries with care and dignity. They collaborate with cultural institutions, communities, and civic organizations to create documentary media that fosters active engagement in cultural and civic life.
https://citizenfilm.org/

Citizen Film (New Jewish Filmmaking Project)