Welcome to Cleveland Hillel!
About the Campaign
About Oberlin Hillel
Hillel at Oberlin College is the cultural, educational, social, and spiritual center for pluralistic Jewish student life on campus - serving this role without ever having a dedicated space to call our own.
Oberlin hosts an estimated 650 Jewish undergraduate students from all across the country, and each one deserves a meaningful and rich Jewish life during their years on campus.
Our Vision for the Future
Oberlin Hillel, part of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation, is launching a $1M campaign to purchase and renovate a house near the college, creating an Oberlin Hillel House that will serve as a true anchor for Jewish student life, today and for generations to come.
For more than 50 years, Hillel has been a home-away-from-home for Oberlin students—creating space for them to gather, celebrate, ask big questions, and find belonging, even without ever having a home of our own.
Today, with more than 20% of the student body identifying as Jewish, that need is stronger than ever. Students are searching for something real: a permanent place where they feel safe, known, and proud to be Jewish.
This is our moment to meet that need.
With your support, our campaign will:
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Create a True Home: A dedicated Hillel House where students can gather, celebrate, and build community in a space that is fully their own.
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Deepen Student Connection: Expand meaningful, student-driven programs and experiences to foster Jewish identity, friendship, and leadership.
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Grow for the Future: Build on what’s working while creating new opportunities that reflect the evolving needs of today’s students.
This campaign is about more than a building: it’s about creating a lasting home where Jewish life can thrive, and where every student knows they belong.
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Your support will help create something lasting and deeply meaningful for our students today and for generations to come.
Securing a Jewish future for
Jewish students
Across the country, Jewish students are navigating a campus environment that can feel uncertain, isolating, unwelcoming, and shaped by rising antisemitism. More than ever, they need a place where they feel safe, seen, and truly at home.
Why this campaign matters:
Impact on Student Life
A dedicated Hillel House in Oberlin will foster:
Giving Opportunities
This is a rare opportunity to shape a strong and joyful Jewish future at Oberlin.
Through this campaign, you can create a lasting legacy by helping bring the Oberlin Hillel House to life and sustain a thriving Jewish student community.
Naming opportunities offer a meaningful way to honor loved ones, celebrate family, or lead by example - ensuring your impact is felt by generations of students who will gather, connect, and grow within these walls.
Hillel House Naming Opportunities
$500,000
Hillel House Name
$200,000
Student Lounge
$100,000
Multi-Purpose Room
Kitchen
$50,000
Backyard Patio & Firepit
Beit Midrash/Library
$30,000
Furnishings
$25,000
Staff Office
Sukkah
Front Porch/Welcome Area
Torah Ark
Wellness Space
Art & Creativity Space
Coffee Bar
Student Study Space
$20,000
Technology & Entertainment
​We invite you to be part of a transformative $1M campaign to purchase and renovate a home -creating the Oberlin Hillel House, a lasting foundation for Jewish life and community for generations of students to come.
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Your gift will help bring this vision to life: a place where students gather, grow, and find belonging in a space they can truly call their own.
Commitments can be made as a one-time gift or over three years, and we are honored to work with each donor to shape a giving plan that feels meaningful and achievable.
Together, we can create something enduring: a home that will sustain Jewish life at Oberlin for years to come.
Every gift helps!
Consider giving at any level!
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Your contribution could help us build our resources and programs:
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$180: Oberlin Hillel branded coffee mugs
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$360: Record player
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$720: Reusable kosher dish set
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$1,000: A set of kosher pots and pans
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$1,800: 40 siddurim
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$2,500: A Jewish cooking and learning fellowship
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$3,600:
To learn more, contact:
Paloma Zuleta
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Development Director, Cleveland Hillel Associate
216-231-0040