The Future of Jewish
Belonging on Campus
Hillel International Strategic Plan | 2025-2028
The Future of Jewish
This is a time like no other for Jewish life on campus — a moment when Jewish college students are facing an unprecedented crisis of belonging.
Since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Jewish students have encountered the greatest challenges to their well-being and inclusion on college and university campuses in recent memory. And at the same time, record numbers of Jewish students have flocked to Hillel seeking a warm and embracing campus community, and the deep connection to one another and to joyful, inclusive Jewish experiences that only Hillel can provide.
At Hillel International, we have tracked and responded to historically high levels of antisemitic incidents involving discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and even physical assault directed at Jewish and Israeli students. While unprecedented in their frequency and intensity, these incidents are the culmination of decades of campaigns to demonize and delegitimize Israel, and efforts to marginalize Jewish students because of their connections to Israel as an essential aspect of their Jewish identities.
As a result, since October 7th more than 40% of Jewish undergraduates report feeling the need to hide their Jewish identity. As a Jewish community, that is something we must change.
During this pivotal moment, Jewish college students need a safe and welcoming community on campus that provides them with unconditional support. They need a place where they know they belong, and are always included. A place filled with Jewish joy – not judgement. They need Hillel.
As the world’s largest Jewish campus organization, Hillel is uniquely prepared and positioned to address the challenges and unlock the opportunities for our students today, tomorrow, and into the future.
At its core, our strategic plan The Future of Jewish Belonging on Campus is not just a roadmap for impact—it is a blueprint for transformation.
This plan positions Hillel professionals as mentors inspiring and guiding students through a sacred and essential journey. It reflects our belief in the power of Jewish life not only to respond to a moment, but to shape the next generation of connected, confident, and courageous Jewish adults. And it ensures a future where every Jewish student knows that they belong on campus.
It’s a vision of the future that this strategic plan will transform from a vision into a reality—and we are grateful for your support at every step along the way.
With gratitude,
Adam Lehman
President and CEO
Lee Dranikoff
Chair, Board of Directors
Matthew Bronfman
Chair, Board of Governors
Listen to the letter from Hillel International leadership:
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The Change We’ll Make
Together, we will build vibrant and joyful Jewish student communities and overcome the current crisis of belonging that many Jewish students are experiencing on campus today — so that every Jewish student feels like they belong.
Strategic Framework
PILLAR 1
PILLAR 3
PILLAR 2
PILLAR 1
Growing
Jewish Joy and Connection
Expanding and Strengthening Jewish Communal Engagement
By increasing opportunities to engage in joyful, meaningful Jewish experiences together on campus and across the Hillel movement, students will feel a meaningful sense of belonging within a campus Jewish community.
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| Invest to Enhance Shabbat and Other Core Jewish Experiences | Expand Cross-Campus Student Experiences | Scale Learning and Interest-Based Student Micro-Communities | Create Joyful, Movement-Wide Moments in Time |
TALENT STRATEGY
Invest in the movement’s ability to take students from “coffee dates to community” through training, development, and additional capacity that centers communal engagement and belonging.
PILLAR 2
Ensuring Jewish Inclusion and Resilience
Addressing Antisemitism and Promoting Jewish Pride
We invest in holistic efforts to create campus environments where Jewish students feel confident, supported, and resilient in expressing their Jewish identities, and fully included across campus. This work goes beyond responding to threats—it’s about empowering students and professionals with the tools, partnerships, and strategies to both improve campus climates and grow Jewish student resilience.
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| Improve the Campus Climate for Jewish Students | Scale Student Bridge-Building and Dialogue Initiatives | Evolve Israel Education and Engagement to Address Post-October 7th Realities | Increase Student Advocacy Efforts |
TALENT STRATEGY
Increase dedicated campus professional capacity that focuses on improving campus climate through relational advocacy.
PILLAR 3
Inspiring Committed Jewish Leaders and Builders
Empowering More Students to Create, Build, and Lead
Across campuses and the Hillel movement, we’re cultivating connected networks of student leaders who see Jewish life as something they can shape—not just experience. By catalyzing this new wave of empowered Jewish community builders, we will ensure strong pipelines of future rabbis, educators, communal professionals, lay leaders, donors, and broader community leaders who will shape and secure the Jewish future.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Invest in New Signature Leadership Training Program, Hillel Leadership Institute | Develop and Launch New HillelU Center for Student Leadership | Foster New Connections between Hillel Student Leaders | Support Career Development for Jewish Students through Training, Mentor Connections, and Recruitment Support |
TALENT STRATEGY
Surging the Jewish sector’s talent pipeline by identifying, coaching, and empowering high-potential student leaders while on campus.
Participation in Hillel Programs, Events, and Services is Surging
For more than 100 years, Hillel has been the world’s largest and most future-forward Jewish campus organization, paving a pathway for college students to celebrate and participate in Jewish life on the more than 850 campuses that Hillel serves.
Over the past decade, Hillel has implemented a number of successful funder-supported strategies and initiatives that have significantly expanded the organization’s reach and impact, doubling the total number of students engaged by Hillel from 93,000 to 189,000 in just 10 years.
Even as the new strategic plan elevates our focus on the three pillars to support The Future of Jewish Belonging on Campus, we will continue to invest in these core strategies that have supported Hillel’s exponential growth and success during the past decade.
Core Continuing Strategies
Outstanding Talent
Recruiting, supporting, and developing outstanding professional talent
Excellent Hillels
Pursuing and supporting excellence for every Hillel, utilizing sector-leading data analysis and best practices
Compelling Jewish Life, learning, and Israel
Enabling meaningful, high impact Jewish life, learning, and Israel experiences
Student-Centered Design
Meeting the holistic needs of Jewish students on their Jewish and life journeys
Global Connections
Growing relationships between Jewish students around the world, fulfilling the promise of global Jewish peoplehood
Sustainable Resources
Scaling sustainable strategies to ensure long-term impact through best-in-class fundraising and efficiency in operations
Impact
Pillar 1
Grow from 79% to 90% the number of students engaging with Hillel who feel a sense of meaningful belonging within a campus Jewish community
We will define a new community health measure that captures the scope and vitality of Jewish community life at Hillel.
Pillar 2
Grow from 59% to 85% the number of students who feel comfortable publicly expressing their Jewish identity on campus
We will define a new measure to assess Jewish students’ ability to thrive overall on campus.
Pillar 3
Grow from 13,000 to 23,000, a 75% growth, in the number of student leaders developed and supported within the Hillel movement
We will define what it means to be a student leader in the Hillel movement through new leadership models and pathways, with the goal of 80% of Hillels offering student leadership programs.
Thank You to Our Supporters
We are deeply grateful to our students, parents, alumni, professionals, volunteer leaders, and growing network of supporters who make Hillel’s work possible. Your dedication has enabled us to create vibrant Jewish life on college and university campuses around the world from one generation to the next, and the next, and the next for 102 years—and counting.
Thanks to your unwavering support, Hillel inspires hundreds of thousands of students each year to create their own enduring connections to Jewish life, learning, and Israel, forging the leaders of tomorrow who will guide the Jewish people into the strong and vibrant future we all envision. Because of your commitment, we will continue to build more safe and welcoming campus communities where every Jewish student belongs, and where students celebrate Jewish values and traditions while continuing to reimagine Jewish life in meaningful ways to meet this unique moment in our people’s history.
Thank you for being an essential part of this journey as we embark on The Future of Jewish Belonging on Campus. We are especially grateful to our Board of Directors, Board of Governors, Investors Council, and Strategic Planning Committee who have helped us transform this vision into reality. We also extend our deepest gratitude to our foundation partners for your generous support and belief in our work.
Together, we are shaping dynamic and thriving Jewish life on campus and beyond, and we are honored to build the Jewish future with you.