Launched in August 2023, ConnectJew seeks to lower the barriers to Jewish involvement by aggregating information on organizations and programs and using advanced analytics to help individuals find the right places and spaces that align with their interests, skills, and values.

We are developing a technology platform to aggregate data on Jewish organizations and programs from various sources. We will then apply advanced analytics to these data to help users find the organizations and programs that are the best fit for their individual needs and interests. Our platform will feature various filters that users can apply to narrow down their search, including location, type of activity, and organizational focus. By leveraging technology in this way, we aim to make the process of finding and getting involved with Jewish organizations and programs as seamless and user-friendly as possible.

We are a group of lay volunteers passionate about building community and making Judaism more accessible to our peers. We are eager to collaborate with the community and welcome your involvement. Reach out to shalom@connectjew.org if you’d like to get involved.

ConnectJew’s initial target audience is Jewish young professionals in the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) area. However, our vision extends beyond this initial focus. We aspire to expand both our target demographic and geographic reach in the future. We aim to serve a broader range of individuals, including people of different age groups, backgrounds, and interests within the Jewish community. Geographically, we aspire to extend our coverage to include additional regions and communities beyond the DMV area. By broadening our target audience and geographic reach, ConnectJew seeks to foster Jewish involvement and create meaningful connections on a wider scale.

ConnectJew stands out from other community calendars by offering more than just event aggregation. While typical calendars provide a broad range of events, ConnectJew will go further by analyzing and matching opportunities to users. Our technology platform aggregates data on Jewish organizations and programs, and applies advanced analytics to personalize recommendations based on individual needs and their relationship with Judaism. With user-friendly filters, like location and activity type, ConnectJew aims to streamline the process of finding and engaging with relevant Jewish organizations and programs, reducing the barrier to connecting.

ConnectJew is taking a phased approach, starting with a focused scope and gradually expanding its advanced functionality. We recognize the importance of collecting and analyzing data while actively engaging with the community. As we progress, we will incrementally build and enhance our platform’s capabilities based on user feedback and insights gained from the collected data. This iterative process ensures that ConnectJew evolves organically, meeting the needs of the community and providing increasingly sophisticated and personalized experiences over time.

ConnectJew employs a search engine-like approach to find events by crawling the websites of Jewish organizations and aggregating relevant information onto our calendar. Similar to how search engines like Google gather data from across the web, we strive to ensure comprehensive coverage of Jewish events. If there is a specific event you would like to see featured on our platform, we encourage you to reach out to us via email at shalom@connectjew.org. Your input is valuable, and we appreciate the community’s active involvement in helping us curate a diverse and engaging calendar of events.

As ConnectJew builds its platform, we are initially working with a limited set of organizations. However, our intention is to expand the network based on user demand and our operational capacity. We value user feedback and recommendations, and if there is a particular organization you would like to see included, we encourage you to email us at shalom@connectjew.org with your suggestions. Your input plays a crucial role in shaping the growth of ConnectJew and ensuring that the platform aligns with the community’s needs and interests.

ConnectJew welcomes the input and participation of organizations offering programming and individual community members. We value collaboration and encourage others to get involved. Whether you are an organization providing engaging programs or a community member with valuable insights, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to send your feedback, suggestions, and inquiries to shalom@connectjew.org. Additionally, we invite you to join our weekly planning meetings held every Tuesday, where you can contribute directly to shaping the ConnectJew platform and its initiatives. Together, we can create a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community.

ConnectJew is incorporated in the District of Columbia and is a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit. We are governed by our Board of Directors, all members of the greater Washington Jewish community.

ConnectJew works similar to search engines — we scan websites for content and categorize it with the help of volunteers. We follow industry practices related to permissibility to retrieve data through the use of indicators such as noindex requests and robots.txt.

Drop us an email at shalom@connectjew.org. We’d love to hear from you.