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:

Create a True Home: A dedicated Hillel House where students can gather, celebrate, and build community in a space that is fully their own.
Deepen Student Connection: Expand meaningful, student-driven programs and experiences to foster Jewish identity, friendship, and leadership.
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.

Your support will help create something lasting and deeply meaningful for our students today and for generations to come.

We invite you to bring this vision to life.