Havurah Shalom

What Havurah Shalom does

Havurah Shalom is a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation located at 825 NW 18th Avenue in Portland, Oregon. It serves individuals and families seeking a participatory, progressive Jewish spiritual community, with programming spanning weekly Shabbat services, holiday observances, lifecycle events (B'nei Mitzvah, baby namings, weddings, funerals, end-of-life support), and K-12 plus adult Jewish education. The congregation operates dozens of volunteer committees across six pillars — Avodah (Religious Life), Hadracha (Governance), Kehillah (Community), Limud (Learning), Makom (Place), and Tikkun Olam (Social Action) — and self-identifies as an LGBT Safe Zone aligned with the Community of Welcoming Congregations, with explicit commitments to anti-racism and social justice engagement.

The organization's digital infrastructure is built on ShulCloud, a third-party content management system purpose-built for synagogues that handles the website, member authentication, event calendar, donation processing, and Zoom-integrated hybrid service delivery. Day-to-day operations are supported by a small staff of approximately seven employees led by Rabbi Benjamin and Office and Facilities Manager Rachel Pollak; the remainder of activity is volunteer-driven through the committee structure.

Havurah Shalom's business model is donation-funded: revenue consists of voluntary membership contributions, tributes, dedicated funds (Refugee & Immigrant, Endowment, High Holidays), and the "Wings of the Dove" initiative, with no publicly disclosed pricing or fee structure. Distribution is primarily in-person at the Portland facility, supplemented by hybrid Zoom participation and a member self-serve portal, with marketing conducted through the website, a monthly Hakol newsletter, two Facebook pages, community word-of-mouth, and joint programming with other Portland-area synagogues.

Name

Havurah Shalom

Legal name

Havurah Shalom

Website

https://havurahshalom.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Havurah Shalom is a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation in Portland, Oregon, serving individuals and families through participatory Shabbat services, lifecycle events, K-12 and adult education, social action programming, and LGBTQ+ inclusive community, funded by member donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Synagogue / Religious congregation services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Jewish religious services
• Religious education programs
• Lifecycle event officiation
• Community social action
• Reconstructionist congregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and contributions: The congregation is funded primarily through voluntary membership contributions and donations from its members and supporters. No specific pricing tier is publicly disclosed.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Havurah Shalom is a participatory Reconstructionist Jewish congregation that delivers Shabbat and holiday services, lifecycle officiation (B'nei Mitzvah, births, weddings, end-of-life), K-12 and adult Jewish education, pastoral care, and tikkun olam/social-action programming to its members. Services are delivered in person at the Portland sanctuary and via hybrid or Zoom-only formats, supported by a ShulCloud-powered website with member accounts, event calendar, and donation processing.

Product overview

Havurah Shalom operates its website on the ShulCloud platform, a content management system specifically built for synagogues and Jewish religious communities. The platform provides a unified system for managing the congregation's online presence, including member authentication, event scheduling with hybrid (in-person and Zoom) capabilities, donation and payment processing, religious service management, and educational programming. The ShulCloud platform serves as the core infrastructure powering the organization's digital operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wings of the Dove: A program or initiative under Havurah Shalom

Products and services

• Shabbat and Weekday Religious Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Oregon Board of Rabbis / Oregon Jewish Community Organizations: Regional rabbinical and communal body serving Pacific Northwest Jewish congregations. Adjacent ecosystem participant; coordinates clergy, programming, and community events that overlap with Havurah's operations.

Direct peers

• Congregation Dorshei Tzedek: Reconstructionist synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts with a comparable progressive, participatory identity and adult-learning emphasis. Closest denominational and values analog outside Portland.
• Congregation Neveh Shalom: Conservative Jewish synagogue also located in Portland, Oregon. Operates as a comparable neighborhood congregation serving Jewish individuals and families in the same metro with worship, lifecycle, education, and social-action programming.
• Kehillat Israel (Reconstructionist): Reconstructionist congregation in Pacific Palisades, California offering worship, education, and social-action programming. Same denominational affiliation and similar lifecycle programming model.
• Congregation Beth Israel (Portland): Historic Reform Jewish congregation in Portland offering worship, religious education, lifecycle events, and adult learning. Direct competitor for Portland Jewish households across the denomination spectrum.

Broad incumbents

• JCC Portland (Portland Jewish Community Center): Jewish Community Center offering programming, fitness, early childhood education, and cultural events in the same metro. Provides overlapping adult learning, social, and family programming that competes for member time and dues.
• Reconstructing Judaism: The denominational movement and rabbinical-seminary umbrella for Reconstructionist congregations. Sets the theological, educational, and communal standards that Havurah's programming follows and provides shared resources.
• Jewish Federation of Greater Portland: Regional umbrella organization serving the Portland Jewish community across congregations, social services, and education. Operates broader than a single synagogue but addresses overlapping community needs and competes for donor dollars.

Regional players

• Temple Beth Am (Seattle): Large Reform Jewish congregation in the Pacific Northwest offering comparable worship, education, lifecycle, and adult-learning programming in a neighboring regional market.
• Portland Jewish Academy / Maimonides Jewish Day School: Portland-area Jewish day school. Comparable ecosystem participant serving the same Jewish community with K-8 education; overlaps with Havurah's Limud cluster and feeds the local congregation pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HavurahShalomSynagogue
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/havurah-shalom

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 Havurah Shalom