CILV

What CILV does

CILV (Communauté Israélite de Lausanne et du Canton de Vaud) is a non-profit religious community association founded in 1848 and headquartered at Avenue Georgette 3, Lausanne, Switzerland. The organization serves Jewish residents of Lausanne and Canton Vaud, delivering synagogue services (Shabbat and festival worship), lifecycle ceremonies (Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, funerals), religious education, youth programming, burial services according to Jewish law (Halakha), and community social support. CILV is recognized as an institution of public interest under Article 171 of the Vaudoise Constitution and is constituted as a cultual association under Articles 60+ of the Swiss Civil Code. The community maintains institutional affiliations with the Fédération Suisse des Communautés Israélites (FSC.I) and CICAD (Coordination Intercommunautaire contre l'Antisémitisme et la Diffamation).

The organization's revenue model rests on voluntary membership with annual subscription fees structured across 18 income-based tiers, ranging from CHF 260 (Class 12, students) to CHF 15,000 (Class HC, highest earners), plus a proportional entry fee. CILV supplements this membership base through an operational partnership with Restaurant O'Centre, which provides on-site dining and off-site kosher catering for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, kiddushim, family celebrations, conferences, and seminars. Membership also triggers automatic enrollment in affiliated bodies — Hevrah for men and Entraide des Femmes Israélites de Lausanne for women — under Article 3 of CILV's statutes.

Go-to-market relies on direct community engagement, word-of-mouth, and an informational website (cilv.ch) that supports an online membership application process. The organization employs approximately 11 staff and is led by a committee including a President of Admissions (Edouard Argi) and a Secretary General. Geographic scope is restricted to Lausanne and Canton Vaud, with no disclosed expansion ambitions, technology product offerings, app, or external investment activity.

Name

CILV

Legal name

Communauté Israélite de Lausanne et du canton de Vaud

Website

https://cilv.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1848

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CILV is a non-profit religious community association founded in 1848 that serves Jewish residents of Lausanne and Canton Vaud, providing synagogue services, lifecycle ceremonies, religious education, kosher catering, and community support funded by tiered membership dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

CILV is a Jewish religious community association that provides worship services, lifecycle event support (Bar/Bat Mitzvah, weddings, burials), religious education, community programming, and youth activities to Jewish residents of the Canton of Vaud. It also partners with Restaurant O'Centre to provide Kosher catering for community events.

Product overview

CILV is a Jewish community organization (Communauté Israélite de Lausanne et du Canton de Vaud) that offers religious, community, and membership services. Its primary service offerings include synagogue services with Shabbat and holiday schedules, community life programs, a kosher catering partner (Restaurant O'Centre), and youth activities. Membership requires an application process with annual dues based on a tiered classification system according to income.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• O'Centre Restaurant: Kosher restaurant and catering service operated in partnership with CILV, offering event hosting for bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, birthdays, and other Jewish celebrations.

Products and services

• Restaurant O'Centre Kosher Catering
• Synagogue Worship Services
• Community Life Programs
• Youth Activities (CJJL)
• Community Membership

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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 and minor.

• Fédération Suisse des Communautés Israélites (F.S.C.I.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCILV is a member of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (FSC.I), which represents Jewish communities across Switzerland. This membership provides institutional affiliation and collective representation at the national level.
• CICADcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCILV maintains membership in CICAD (Coordination Intercommunautaire contre l'Antisémitisme et la Diffamation), the inter-community coordination against antisemitism and defamation in Switzerland.
• Restaurant O'CentreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRestaurant O'Centre operates as a Kosher catering partner for CILV community events. The restaurant provides on-site and off-site catering services for events including Bar/Bat Mitzvah, weddings, kiddushim, family celebrations, conferences, and seminars. Private dining rooms available.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Communauté Israélite de Genève (CIG): The recognized Jewish community of Geneva, organized under the same Swiss legal framework as a cultual association. Operates an analogous membership-and-dues model, runs synagogue services, religious education, and lifecycle events for the Jewish population of another Swiss canton.
• Synagogue de Lausanne (the historic CILV synagogue building): Embedded within CILV itself, the Lausanne synagogue (documented in Ronald Lévy and Eran Shamgar's publication) is the physical infrastructure through which CILV delivers its core service. Notable as a heritage asset documented since 1948 and central to the community's ongoing operating model.
• Israelitische Gemeinde Basel: The Jewish community of Basel, similarly constituted as a religious association under Swiss civil code. Comparable in scale, scope (worship, education, lifecycle), and dues-based funding model to CILV, serving the Jewish residents of Basel-Stadt.
• Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (IKG Wien): The officially recognized Jewish community of Vienna, organized under Austrian cultic law with a membership model similar to CILV's. Provides worship, education, burial, and cultural services to the Jewish population of a major European city, offering a relevant international comparator for organizational structure and revenue mechanics.
• Jüdische Gemeinde Zürich (JGZ): The Jewish community of Zurich, the largest organized Jewish community in Switzerland. Provides a directly comparable offering (synagogue services, kosher supervision, education, burial) under a membership structure analogous to CILV, though at substantially greater scale.

Regional players

• Board of Deputies of British Jews: The primary representative body of the UK Jewish community. Comparable to CILV's FSC.I/CICAD affiliations in providing institutional representation and advocacy, though operating at national rather than cantonal scale.
• Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF): The representative umbrella body for French Jewish institutions. While operating across France rather than Switzerland, it represents the same religious-community / institutional-affiliation model that CILV operates within at the local Vaud level, and is a comparable reference for how Jewish communities are organized in neighboring jurisdictions.

Others

• CICAD (Coordination Intercommunautaire contre l'Antisémitisme et la Diffamation): The Swiss inter-community body coordinating the fight against antisemitism and defamation. CILV is a member; CICAD functions as an enabling institution that extends CILV's reach on advocacy and security matters beyond what its small staff could achieve independently.
• Fédération Suisse des Communautés Israélites (FSCI): The national umbrella federation of which CILV is a member. While not a competitor, FSCI provides the institutional framework, collective advocacy, and coordination layer that defines the operating environment for CILV and comparable Swiss Jewish communities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cilv

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 CILV