Sabbath Manifesto

What Sabbath Manifesto does

Sabbath Manifesto is a creative nonprofit project founded in 2009 that advocates for a weekly day of rest from technology and a slower pace of living. Produced by Reboot, a New York-based nonprofit Jewish cultural organization, it offers a set of 10 flexible core principles adapted from ancestral Sabbath rituals and the annual National Day of Unplugging event (held March 1-2), which encourages participants to take a 24-hour digital fast from sundown to sundown. The initiative also sells limited-edition Cell Phone Sleeping Bag merchandise designed by conceptual artist Jessica Tully as physical artifacts reinforcing the unplugging message.

The project has no proprietary technology platform; distribution relies on a WordPress website, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), the Causes.com pledge platform, and earned media coverage in outlets such as PBS, HuffPost, CNN, SF Gate, and LA Times. Celebrity endorsements from figures including Jimmy Fallon, Ashton Kutcher, and Damon Lindelof have amplified awareness, while Reboot's network of 578 members and 1,000 community organization partners enables grassroots event hosting.

Sabbath Manifesto is funded through Reboot's nonprofit umbrella and sponsorship from the Koret Foundation, with no venture capital or equity investment. The revenue model is effectively grant/sponsorship-driven, supplemented by modest merchandise sales. Customer segments span hyper-connected individuals seeking tech-life balance, culturally affiliated Jews, and community organizations hosting Unplug events. The entity operates as a movement-based initiative rather than a venture-scale commercial enterprise.

Name

Sabbath Manifesto

Legal name

Sabbath Manifesto

Website

https://sabbathmanifesto.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sabbath Manifesto is a nonprofit creative project under Reboot that promotes a weekly tech-free day of rest via 10 principles and an annual National Day of Unplugging, serving individuals seeking digital balance, community groups hosting events, and culturally affiliated Jews.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-profit sponsored initiative: Sabbath Manifesto is a project of Reboot, a non-profit Jewish organization. Funding comes from sponsors and foundations rather than product revenue.
2. Cell phone sleeping bag sales: Limited edition cell phone sleeping bags designed by San Francisco-based conceptual artist Jessica Tully are sold as merchandise to support the initiative.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sabbath Manifesto is a creative project that provides 10 core principles for observing a weekly day of rest from sunset to sunset, encouraging people to unplug from technology, connect with loved ones, and practice mindfulness. The initiative is anchored by the annual National Day of Unplugging event and supported through limited edition merchandise (Cell Phone Sleeping Bags).

Product overview

Sabbath Manifesto is a single unified creative initiative consisting of the core Sabbath Manifesto project (a set of 10 principles for weekly rest), the annual National Day of Unplugging event, and merchandise (Cell Phone Sleeping Bags). The project was developed by Reboot, a nonprofit Jewish cultural organization, and is designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world by encouraging people to observe a day of rest from technology and reconnect with loved ones, nature, and themselves.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cell Phone Sleeping Bag: A limited edition hemp cell phone bag designed by San Francisco-based conceptual artist Jessica Tully as a way to resist the temptation of the distracting electronic glow of cell phones and cameras.

Products and services

• Sabbath Manifesto A creative project providing 10 core principles for observing a weekly day of rest, encouraging people to unplug from technology, connect with loved ones, and practice mindfulness. Open for individual interpretation across all backgrounds.
• National Day of Unplugging An annual event encouraging people to pledge to unplug from technology for 24 hours, from sundown to sundown, and reconnect with the physical world and loved ones.
• Cell Phone Sleeping Bag A limited edition hemp cell phone sleeping bag designed to physically cover devices and resist digital distractions, sold as merchandise to support the Sabbath Manifesto initiative.

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of participants have joined National Day of Unplugging events

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Day of Unplugging (NDU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Sabbath Manifesto extends the National Day of Unplugging throughout the year. Community organizations can partner to host their own unplugged events.
• Causes.comcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership to create an official unplugging pledge, enabling participants to sign up and commit to the 24-hour technology detox challenge. Approximately 1,200 people signed up through the platform as of 2012.
• RebootcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReboot is the parent non-profit organization that created and powers Sabbath Manifesto. Reboot affirms the value of Jewish traditions and creates new ways for people to make them their own, producing creative projects that spark interest of young Jews and the larger community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Headspace: Major consumer mindfulness and mental wellness app offering guided meditation, sleep, and focus content. Broader incumbent in the wellness/tech-balance space where Sabbath Manifesto sits; addresses the same underlying anxiety about screen time but via a paid subscription B2C model rather than a movement framework.
• Calm: Leading meditation and sleep app competing directly with Headspace across mindfulness and digital wellness. Comparable to Sabbath Manifesto at the category level (mindfulness/mental wellness adjacent to digital detox) but operates at vastly larger commercial scale via B2C subscriptions, employer wellness partnerships, and content IP.

Others

• Moving Traditions: Jewish nonprofit that creates teen and adult programs blending Jewish tradition with contemporary issues. Close peer as a Reboot-adjacent Jewish communal nonprofit using creative content/curriculum to engage secular and culturally affiliated Jews — the same audience Sabbath Manifesto addresses.
• One Small Step / StoryCorps: StoryCorps is a nonprofit cultural initiative that convenes conversations between strangers to foster human connection — the same human-connection outcome Sabbath Manifesto pursues ('connect with loved ones,' 'find silence'). Peer in operating model (movement, nonprofit, Reboot-style partnership approach) and outcome rather than technology focus.
• The Shabbat Project: Global Jewish unity initiative hosting annual Shabbat events. Shares the Jewish-rooted, principle-driven, participatory-event approach with Sabbath Manifesto and competes for overlapping cultural mindshare within the engaged Jewish community.
• Slow Food USA: U.S. arm of the global Slow Food movement — explicitly cited as the intellectual tradition Sabbath Manifesto emerged from ('in the same spirit as the Slow Movement'). Both translate counter-cultural lifestyle ethics into community-driven nonprofit organizing; thematic cousin, not a competitor.

Direct peers

• Center for Humane Technology: Nonprofit advocacy organization co-founded by Tristan Harris focused on aligning technology with humanity's well-being. Directly comparable to Sabbath Manifesto as both operate as movement-style nonprofits raising public consciousness about technology overuse, though Center for Humane Technology targets institutional/policy audiences vs. Sabbath Manifesto's grassroots community model.
• Digital Detox: Organization running offline experiences, retreats, and products (phone locks, sleep kits) to help people unplug from technology. Most direct functional peer to the National Day of Unplugging, sharing Sabbath Manifesto's mission of curated tech-disconnection; differs in offering tangible experiences and paid products rather than an open-source principle framework.

Emerging players

• Log Off: Movement and campaign aimed at reducing children's tech exposure and promoting healthy digital habits. Closest pure-movement peer in the digital wellness space targeting parents and families — the same segment Sabbath Manifesto serves through its community organization network.
• Held (formerly Track My Hours): Screen-time tracking and digital wellness app enabling users to monitor and reduce phone usage. Partial overlap with Sabbath Manifesto's mission of curbing technology overuse, but tackles it via personal-data feedback loops rather than community/movement framing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sabbathmanifest
• Facebookfacebook.com/SabbathManifesto
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationaldayofunplugging

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Sabbath Manifesto