What Oorah does

Oorah is a 501(c)(3) Jewish outreach nonprofit founded in 1972 by Rabbi Chaim Mintz, headquartered in Lakewood, New Jersey. The organization operates an integrated portfolio of 12+ programs covering the full lifecycle of Jewish family engagement — from preschool (Little Star) through youth summer camp (TheZone) and weekend teen programming (ChillZone, 85+ locations in the US and Canada) to adult one-on-one Torah study (TorahMates, 15,000+ weekly learners), singles and dating support (Rebbetzins, 1,554+ members), gap-year programs in Israel (Shteigers, DiscoverU), live Q&A with Rabbi Mintz (Ask the Rabbi on Zoom), and tuition-assistance scholarships (2,400+ students annually). Its flagship physical asset is TheZone Resort in Stamford, NY, a year-round venue that hosts the summer camp, holiday events, and family retreats.

The technology base is a federated web platform rather than a unified product — separate domains serve each program (oorah.org, thezone.org, chillzone.org, torahmates.org, shteigers.org, rebbetzins.org, jewishlittlestar.org, oorahauction.org, oorahjobs.org), with Ask the Rabbi running on Zoom and archival video delivery via YouTube API. There is no public API, no AI features, and no mobile app; the stack supports content delivery, program enrollment, and donor management rather than a software product.

All programs and services are free to participants, paid for via donations. The dominant funding stream is the affiliated organization Kars4Kids, which generates approximately $45 million per year (per news reporting) by accepting vehicle, boat, and real-estate donations and transferring proceeds to Oorah. Direct donations flow through a tiered sponsorship portal ($10–$10,000), and the annual Oorah Auction provides supplemental fundraising. Oorah employs 101–250 staff across offices in Lakewood, Staten Island, Jerusalem, and Stamford, NY.

Name

Oorah

Legal name

Oorah Inc.

Website

https://oorah.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Oorah is a 501(c)(3) Jewish outreach nonprofit founded in 1972 that delivers an integrated ecosystem of free programs — summer camp, weekly Torah learning, youth weekend programs, gap-year support, and tuition scholarships — to Jewish families and individuals, primarily in North America and Israel, funded mainly through its affiliated charity Kars4Kids.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lakewood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Oorah is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that relies on donor contributions. The website features a donation portal with sponsorship opportunities at various levels ($10 to $10,000) and a separate Kars4Kids vehicle donation program that generates significant funding. News reports indicate Kars4Kids sends approximately $45 million annually to Oorah.
2. Event Participation Deposits: Oorah Events require a $300 refundable security deposit upon application. Events themselves are free for participants as a nonprofit benefit to members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Oorah is a Jewish outreach nonprofit that operates an integrated ecosystem of religious education, youth development, and family programming free to participants. Its flagship is TheZone, a residential Jewish summer camp and year-round resort in Stamford, NY, complemented by adult one-on-one Torah learning partnerships (TorahMates), a youth counterpart (Junior TorahMates), local teen programs in 85+ locations (ChillZone), a dating/marriage network for singles (Rebbetzins), an Israel gap-year program (Shteigers), a preschool (Little Star), tuition-assistance scholarships, live Zoom Q&A sessions (Ask the Rabbi), and holiday events and retreats. All programs are funded by charitable donations, primarily channeled through the affiliated Kars4Kids vehicle-donation program.

Product overview

Oorah is a 501(c)(3) Jewish outreach organization operating a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its flagship offering is TheZone — a premier residential Jewish summer camp and resort in Stamford, NY — which also serves as the venue for Oorah's suite of holiday events and family retreats. This core experiential platform is supported by a broad portfolio of complementary programs targeting different demographics and life stages: ChillZone (local teen programming across 85+ locations), TorahMates (adult one-on-one weekly Torah learning partnerships), Junior TorahMates (youth counterpart), Rebbetzins (dating and marriage guidance for singles), Shteigers and DiscoverU (gap-year programs in Israel), Little Star Preschool, and Ask the Rabbi (live Q&A sessions with Rabbi Chaim Mintz). Supporting services include tuition assistance scholarships (awarded to 2,400+ students annually), Jewish Resources library, Oorah Auction (fundraising platform), Candlelighting Times notifications, and Ride Share. The organization was founded in 1972 by Rabbi Chaim Mintz and is primarily funded by its affiliated charity Kars4Kids.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TorahMates: A free weekly study program partnering individuals with mentors to learn Jewish topics via phone or video call
• ChillZone
• TheZone
• Oorah Tuition Assistance
• Shteigers
• DiscoverU
• Rebbetzins
• Jewish Little Star
• Ask The Rabbi

Products and services

• TheZone Summer Camp Oorah's flagship residential Jewish summer camp located in Stamford, NY, offering separate boys and girls divisions with sports, activities, and immersive Torah programming. Serves 1,500+ campers each summer and acts as the primary venue for Oorah's holiday events and family retreats. Features zipline, petting zoo, lakefront activities, ballroom, shul, kosher dining, and a state-of-the-art medical center.
• ChillZone A network of local youth programs offering teens a fun, positive Jewish environment with pizza, prizes, friendship, learning, and Torah values. Operates across 85+ locations in the US and Canada.
• TorahMates A free weekly one-on-one learning partnership pairing Jewish individuals with mentors to study any Jewish topic via phone or video call for a half-hour per week. Over 15,000 pairs learn weekly; participants earn miles/rewards for learning time.
• Junior TorahMates A free weekly study program for children and teens, pairing them with young adults to teach Jewish topics and/or review schoolwork. Serves as the youth-facing counterpart to the adult TorahMates program.
• Rebbetzins A network providing personalized dating and marriage guidance, mentorship, and shadchanim (matchmaker) connections for singles of Baal Teshuva background. Hosts retreats and events. Has over 1,554 engaged members.
• Shteigers A program for post-high school students spending a gap year in Israeli yeshivas or seminaries, offering up to $5,000 in financial aid, a 2-week DiscoverU summer prep program, personal mentorship, Shabbat plans, and ongoing supportive services.
• DiscoverU Separate resort-quality programs for post-high school-aged young men and women featuring recreation and Jewish learning with teachers. Also serves as a gateway/prep program for the Shteigers Israel year.
• Little Star Preschool A warm, lively preschool learning environment for children ages 3-5, providing foundational skills to succeed in Jewish education.
• Tuition Assistance A scholarship program helping families with limited yeshiva backgrounds access Jewish day schools and high schools. Oorah awards scholarships to over 2,400 students annually. Includes school placement guidance and enrollment assistance.
• Ask the Rabbi A live weekly Q&A session with Rabbi Chaim Mintz on Zoom (Tuesdays at 9:00PM EST), addressing Jewish thought, philosophy, practices, and guidance. Includes an archived searchable question database.
• TheZone Resort Oorah's premier resort venue in Stamford, NY, serving as the location for TheZone summer camp and year-round holiday events, Shabbatons, and family retreats. Features state-of-the-art facilities including zipline, petting zoo, lakefront activities, ballroom, shul, kosher dining, and a fully-equipped medical center.
• Oorah Events (Holiday Events and Retreats) A suite of holiday events and retreats (Rosh Hashana, Sukkos, Simchas Torah, Pesach, Shavuos, Purim, Chanukah, plus Men's/Women's TorahMates and Rebbetzins Retreats) held at TheZone Resort in Stamford, NY, featuring services, meals, workshops, and family programming. Participation requires a $300 refundable security deposit and active Oorah membership.
• OorahFest Concert Series An annual/periodic concert series featuring high-energy live performances by top Jewish artists. Includes OorahFest Florida, OorahFest Queens, and OorahFest Chanukah events, serving as large-scale community gatherings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ weekly TorahMates learners, 1,500+ annual campers, 2,400+ scholarship recipients, 85+ ChillZone locations

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life: The largest Jewish campus organization serving students at 550+ colleges. Comparable in offering Jewish learning, community, and programming across a wide demographic — though its target is college students rather than families.
• JCC Association of North America: Umbrella for 170+ Jewish Community Centers offering family programming, summer camps, early childhood education, and holiday programming. Directly comparable to Oorah's multi-program family-oriented ecosystem, though typically pluralistic rather than Orthodox.
• Chabad-Lubavitch: The largest Jewish outreach movement globally, operating thousands of centers, summer camps (Camp Gan Israel), Hebrew schools, and Shabbaton programming. Directly comparable as a kiruv and Jewish family-program provider, though broader in scale and Orthodox-Hasidic in orientation.
• Orthodox Union (OU) / NCSY: The Orthodox Union is the largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization in the US; its NCSY division runs youth programming, regional Shabbatons, and summer programs comparable to ChillZone, TheZone, and Oorah Events.

Emerging players

• OneTable: A nonprofit that empowers young adults (21-39ish) to host and attend Shabbat dinners. Comparable in targeting young Jewish adults for holiday/communal engagement, though more secular-leaning and event-focused rather than learning-focused.

Direct peers

• Birthright Israel Foundation: Sends young Jewish adults on free 10-day Israel trips. Comparable to Shteigers/DiscoverU as a Jewish-identity formation program for young adults, with a similarly large donor/scholarship-funded structure.
• Aish HaTorah: A global Jewish educational and outreach organization offering beginner-level Torah classes, executive learning programs, and Discovery seminars. Directly comparable to Oorah as a kiruv (outreach) organization serving Jewish adults seeking deeper engagement with Judaism.
• National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP): A Jewish outreach nonprofit operating the 'Turn Friday Night Into Shabbat' program, Hebrew reading crash courses, and synagogue-based introductory programming. Comparable to Oorah's TorahMates and Ask the Rabbi in targeting less-affiliated or beginner-level Jewish adults.
• Bnei Akiva: A worldwide Religious Zionist youth movement operating summer camps, Israel gap-year programming (similar to Shteigers), weekly youth activities (similar to ChillZone), and adult learning. Directly comparable across youth programming, Israel gap year, and adult engagement.
• Camp Ramah: A network of Conservative Jewish summer camps and year-round educational programs. Directly comparable to TheZone as a Jewish overnight summer camp, with similar scale (1,000s of campers) and integrated programming model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oorah
• Facebookfacebook.com/oorah
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oorah-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oorah