2024
Year in Review
“For a few hours, I was part of a space filled with Jewish joy.”
JEN A., NEW YORK
“ThisShabbatdinner mademefeelloved.”
MAYA C., CHICAGO
“OneTable is incredible... It helps me set intentions for Shabbat and start to get excited about it.”
YARON G., BOCA RATON
“Shabbat is a break from the outside world to recharge and know that I'm part of a community.”
NAOMI H., BOSTON
“We had a gorgeous view of the sunset and lots of space for people to connect who have never met before.”
AVIELA W., HONOLULU
OneTable 2024
What a year!
In 2024, as OneTable turned 10, our community soared to new heights with a record number of hosts and guests at Shabbat dinners, and we found ourselves again the home for many in their 20s + 30s who had been looking for their place in the Jewish world. Almost half of these community members are now part of Generation Z, confirming OneTable’s continued relevance to young adults. Our recordbreaking participation proves the deep need for Shabbat and that OneTable symbolizes unapologetic Jewish pride and joy.
Just as much as young adults needed OneTable in 2024, so did our OneTable Together community of those 50ish+. These older adults faced the same challenges: social isolation, loneliness, feeling out of touch or out of place with more traditional Jewish institutions, and searching for a way to make Judaism their own.
In a year when fear, loss, and despair seemed to be around every corner, OneTable brought people together and provided connections and resources when they were needed most. Through our Powered By OneTable technology and consulting, we ’ ve even been able to support other organizations in encouraging relationship-building and reaching levels of inclusive community that they’ve never seen before.
To me, Shabbat symbolizes family, ritual, and shalom. There is a need for Shabbat in today’s world, a need for Jewish joy, pride, ritual, and connection, and I am proud to lead an organization dedicated to amplifying each. We are excited to support and expand the energy and strength we saw our communities build in 2024, and to continue providing opportunities for connection, growth, joy, and of course a whole lotta challah.
Shabbat Shalom,
Julie Franklin Chair, OneTable Board of Directors
Sparking Joy
October 7, 2023 changed everything for us. Our core focus has been on our young adults, who are grappling with their Jewish identities, experiencing antisemitism, wrestling with their relationships to Israel, mourning relationships lost in a divided society, and more. Shabbat provided the oasis they so desperately needed to find connection, community, and joy again, resulting in the highest activity year in OneTable history.
SINCE OUR FOUNDING TEN YEARS AGO, ONETABLE HAS CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF JEWISH YOUNG ADULT ENGAGEMENT:
156,000 Dinners
700+ dinner locations in the U.S. and Toronto
IN 2024 ALONE, WE REACHED UNPRECEDENTED MILESTONES:
34,000 Dinners
In 2024, OneTable had a marked impact on those who attended Shabbat dinners
1
92% of participants feel less lonely because of participating in a OneTable dinner
30% of participants have adopted new Jewish rituals or practices since their first dinners
84% of guests felt more connected to their Jewish identity after attending a OneTable Shabbat
On average, OneTable participants are attending 3-4 dinners per year
93% of hosts felt a greater sense of agency to craft their own Shabbat experience
Gen Z participants (ages 21 - 28) are turning to OneTable for social and Jewish connectedness even as they are often more guarded and cautious of the world around them. In 2024, we took a deep dive to learn more about Gen Zers:
50% said they are inclined to attend OneTable events in the face of antisemitism
Shabbat dinner is a way to connect to Judaism and escape the hardships of the week OneTable helps participants find and create safe Jewish spaces
1. 2024 findings of OneTable’s weekly host and guest surveys following attendance at a OneTable Shabbat dinner.
2 OneTable Seeking Safety in Shabbat: Gen Z Tells OneTable What They Need https://issuu com/onetableshabbat/docs/abbreviated gen z report - digital 2024
Enriching Experiences
In 2024 we worked with M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education to better understand the educational impact of OneTable’s interventions and create a roadmap for deepening the experience for more users in more ways going forward Our partnerships, Shabbat guides and resources, staff, and hosts all serve as critical levers of change for our participant’s journeys and we leveraged them all throughout this year to strengthen Jewish identity and Shabbat practice for our participants. Here’s a sampling of some of this work:
Resources for our community
Education series with Boundless Israel and Shalom Hartman Institute for those seeking safe spaces to learn about Israel post October 7
Supporting hosts who marked the October 7 anniversary at their dinners
ONETABLE HOSTS ARE COMMUNITY LEADERS:
6,000+ young adults hosted
With our focus on user-centered design we are always asking: How Did It Go? In fact, every OneTable host and guest receives a “How Did It Go?” survey after each dinner. 40% of our current guests are interested in becoming hosts
OneTable Shabbat dinners in 2024
72% of our hosts began by being guests
OneTable staff engages with current and new hosts regularly to hear their Shabbat stories and connect them to resources that grow and deepen their Shabbat practice and hosting journeys.
Signature Research
We partnered with George Washington University's Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) to study social connection and Shabbat dinner. This is OneTable’s first-ever research grant of this scale, and is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation with support from The Jim Joseph Foundation and Jewish Federations of North America’s BeWell Initiative.
Launched in late 2022 and concluding in 2025, this groundbreaking study explores how Shabbat dinner impacts social connection. In 2024, we undertook both an experimental study and a naturalistic study to better determine the critical components of Shabbat that fight loneliness and social isolation.
Throughout 2025 we will be analyzing findings from this study, integrating learnings into our program design and sharing the study report with Jewish communal and interfaith partners.
Connection + Collaboration
We accomplish our critical work with the valued partners listed below and many more. Throughout 2024, we connected with 100+ national organizations and 250+ local partners, including:
Extending the Table
Many of us have seen recent community studies showing that adults 50+ are increasingly disassociating from Jewish communal institutions. Our own market research supports these findings as well as an interest in peer-to-peer, DIY, home-based Shabbat experiences by those 50+. 2024 saw our first full year of this program expansion:
“We had a wonderful time. . . {the guests} loved meeting new people and even felt inspired to start doing more Shabbats inside their own homes. . .
I am so jazzed to continue. “
- SUKIE S., ATLANTA
150 dinners in Atlanta, Boulder, Denver, Palm Beach, Philadelphia and many other cities across the country
800+ registered participants
Weekly gatherings for new and current hosts
ns around the country:
Expanding Impact
With one million engagements in 10 years we know a thing or two about effective, efficient, and scalable community building! Powered By OneTable provides a way for organizations to tap into our expertise through our signature technology and peer-to-peer engagement methodology consulting. 2024 saw a record number of new clients and engagements through these platforms.
engagements in 2024
JNF is using Powered By OneTable for a Yom Ha’atzmautShabbat for Israel Campaign in May 2025
206,000 engagements all time
With 3 product offerings Powered By OneTable has a platform solution for organizations of all sizes Shomer Collective’s new Shiva Circle initiativetraining and supporting community shiva guidesis Powered By OneTable
Supporting peer-led engagement for:
Looking Ahead
OneTable has seen recordbreaking numbers of people seeking our unique, peer-led model of Shabbat, and we know we are not alone in the broader Jewish community in seeing this surge of interest in Jewish life. We have raced to keep up with the increasing demand, and are projecting even greater numbers finding joy, welcoming, and elevation through OneTable Shabbats in 2025.
We aim to serve over 120,000 individuals each year and we cannot meet their needs without you.
Together, we can meet this moment and enable community-building at scale for a stronger, more connected Jewish future. THANK YOU for enabling us to carry out this critical work.
