From Our CEO
Dear Friends,
Our teens are navigating a lot. They are facing a dual burden – all of the trials and tribulations that come with adolescence are compounded by the rising antisemitism they are encountering in school and online. We want our teens to be resilient and to feel proud of who they are, for all the facets of their identities, especially their Jewish identity. Fortunately, at a time when they are needed most, Moving Traditions programs are growing faster than ever before.
Together with educators and parents like you across North America, Moving Traditions partnered with 270 Jewish institutions to impact more than 11,500 Jewish youth last year. That means we exceeded our strategic plan goal of doubling our reach to 10,000 by 2026 – and we did it in 2025.
As our offerings grow and our partnerships expand, the quality and responsiveness of our programs have not waned. Educators, teens, and parents all tell us that our programs help teens feel pride in who they are (shleimut), experience a sense of belonging in their communities (hesed), and feel better equipped to create a more just and equitable world (tzedek).
I’m so proud of the way that Moving Traditions continues to help our teens navigate these trying times and of the growing scale of our impact. I hope as you read this report, you will be inspired to support our work and continue the journey with us as we continue to help more teens thrive in these ever-changing times.
Warmly,
Shuli Karkowsky
CEO of Moving Traditions
20 Years of Impact
Since Moving Traditions launched in 2005:
48,500+
teens participated
2,950+
Jewish educators & clergy trained
800+
Jewish institutions partnered
Mission
Moving Traditions emboldens Jewish youth to thrive through the pursuit of personal wellbeing (shleimut), caring relationships (hesed), and a Jewish and feminist vision of equity and justice (tzedek).
Moving Traditions’ philosophy for helping Jewish youth thrive rests on three interconnected outcomes:
SHLEIMUT
93% of educators
reported that teens in our programs increased their skills, learning or awareness to pursue self-knowledge and wellbeing.
HESED
91% of teens
in our programs experienced Judaism and Jewish community as vibrant, meaningful and relevant.
TZEDEK
95% of teens
in our programs felt inspired to make a positive difference in their communities.
“I am deeply appreciative that Moving Traditions continues to create new programs and evolve current resources to respond to changing realities. Their materials feel extremely timely and up to date in ways that other ‘out of the box’ curriculum often do not.”
— Moving Traditions Partner Educator
Scaling Our Impact
Moving Traditions released its latest strategic plan in 2022 with a goal to double our impact by 2025-26 through three ambitious goals.
In 2024-25 Moving Traditions engaged a total of 11,500+ Jewish youth in our programs. Not only did we exceed our goal – we did it a year earlier than we hoped we could.
How was this possible? Simply put, because we are working with more partners than ever before, and they are using more of our curriculum with more youth participants.
36% of our 270 partners in 2024-25
offered both B-Mitzvah and Kulam, our middle school and high school curricular programs, up from just 8% two years ago.
Among those partners who ran both middle and high school programs, more than 75% ran our programs for at least five grades of students.
Not only are we reaching more students during the school year, but we are also engaging more youth during the summer, through our 8-session CIT training program to promote the wellbeing and emotional development of campers.
75+ camps
ran Moving Traditions programs in summer 2025
“LOVE LOVE LOVE this program and the intentions behind it. It was so useful with our CITs and I cannot wait to use it again next year!”
Our partners tell us that our programs are helping them engage their students on a deeper social-emotional level and it’s making a difference.
84% of partners
reported that our programs help retain students beyond B-Mitzvah.
“Kulam is a life changing program for students and teachers. I’ve never seen a curriculum like it before. Giving teens the opportunity to learn, grow, explore, and share in a safe, brave space is truly powerful and empowering.”
Additionally, Moving Traditions was thrilled to welcome jGirls+ Magazine to our suite of programs in early 2025. Together, our three immersive teen experiences are reaching more teens than ever before.
30% increase
in applicants for the jGirls+ Magazine publishing board
50% increase
in teen content submissions for jGirls+ Magazine
88 teens
participating in Kol Koleinu, Kumi, and jGirls+ Magazine fellowships in 2025-26
Supporting Educators
with Curricular Programs & Responsive Resources
We know it would not be possible to reach as many teens as we do each year without our amazing network of partnering institutions. Last year in 2024-25, Moving Traditions partnered with 270 Jewish institutions across North America, and we are already projecting more than 300 partners for 2025-26.
300+ partners
in 2025-26 throughout North America
U.S. Partners per Year
(plus an additional 10 partners in Canada in 2025!)
More than just curriculum, our programs come with training and support that ensure success.
250+
educators attended training from Moving Traditions to effectively run our programs.
1,100+
practitioners attended CultureShift sessions designed to help staff better serve Jewish youth
25+
new sessions were added to our Curriculum Portal this year to help educators stay prepared
Spotlight:
Jewish Identity & Israel
We are constantly updating our curricular materials and piloting new programs. In 2024-25, Moving Traditions piloted a 10-session Jewish Identity and Israel curriculum for Hebrew High Schools. In the pilot phase, 20 partners offered the curriculum and directly impacted 366 teens.
The feedback from the pilot was so positive that we offered it to all our Hebrew High School partners – and more than 50 have signed up to use it in 2025-26.
100% of educators
reported that the curriculum helped teens become familiar with the significance of Israel within Judaism, Jewish history, and culture, including the origins of Zionism as a political movement.
90% of teens
reported that the session helped them feel like they are part of a Jewish community that supports them as they are.
“Moving Traditions continues to show that it is responsive to the needs of our communities in the moment. I am excited to embark on the journey of bringing this well-rounded curriculum to our community.”
Supporting Teens Directly
Through Immersive Experiences
In February 2025, Moving Traditions proudly announced that jGirls+ Magazine was joining its portfolio of immersive experiences. The mission alignment was clear – though it did mean that the organization now had three, rather than two direct-service teen programs to recruit for, and concurrently. At a time when some other Jewish youth programs are seeing a decline in participation, we were gratified to see the opposite.
This year, more teens than ever applied for jGirls+ Magazine, the Meyer-Gottesman Kol Koleinu Teen Feminist Fellowship, and Kumi: Foundation. In their applications, it was clear that even as teens face hardship and challenges, they were also ready to work toward a better world. Moving Traditions is proud to give those young activists space, community, and skills to help them do so.
88 teens
are participating in our immersive programs in 2025-26:
43 in Kol Koleinu
22 in Kumi: Foundation
23 in jGirls+ Magazine, including 17 editors and 6 photographers
“Kumi has rekindled my teen’s Jewish pride and exposed her to critical thinking and new perspectives about what it means to be Jewish, which is truly a gift.”
“Kol Koleinu is a program that fuels passion and connections. It exposed me to new Jewish and feminist traditions that have changed the way I live my life. I met people that I can bond with over our shared values of being Jewish and feminists.”
“I really enjoyed the community-building and knowing there are other Jewish feminists who want to make a difference.”
Supporting Parents
Through Programs and Webinars:
At Moving Traditions, parents are not only champions for their teens in helping them connect to our programs, but they also deserve to be seen as people steering through their own challenges.
Parents participate in many of our programs, including B-Mitzvah Family Education for middle schoolers. This program transcends the B-Mitzvah milestone to reinforce open communication as parents and preteens discover together what it means to become a teen (or a parent of one).
“It was good to connect with other parents and understand their concerns about raising Jewish teens.”
Last year, Moving Traditions offered a variety of opportunities to engage in learning, including:
- In 2024-25, 6,300 parents participated in B-Mitzvah through family sessions operated by our partners.
- Raising Up Teens webinars attended by more than 1,000+ parents touched on a variety of topics, including the global rise in antisemitism; the wars between Israel and its neighbors; and the challenges our trans teens are facing under a new federal administration.
- Torah of Raising Up Teens, a new in-person series to support parents, piloted with funding from the UJA-Federation of New York with two local congregations in 2024-25 and growing locally and nationally in 2025-26
Securing Resources
To exceed the ambitious goals of our strategic plan, Moving Traditions has been working hard to secure the resources necessary to maintain high quality as we scale up our efforts – we are already achieving economies of scale.
Over the past four years, we have doubled the number of youth served, with a budget increase of just 33%. That means every dollar you invest with Moving Traditions goes further than ever.
2024 Financials
Acknowledgments
We deeply appreciate the generosity of the individual contributors
Anonymous (3)
Bernard and Etta Weinberg Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Combined Jewish Philanthropies
Crown Family Philanthropies
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
Einstein Astrof Foundation
Hadassah Foundation
Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Jack and Golde Miller Fund
Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Jewish Social Justice Roundtable
Jewish United Fund / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
Jewish Women’s Foundation of Chicago
Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta
Jews of Color Initiative
Jim Joseph Foundation
Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds
Lasko Family Foundation
Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund
Lucious N Littauer Foundation
Mazer Family Fund
Natan Fund
Newton D. and Rochelle F. Becker Foundation
SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration
Senser Foundation
Shards of Light Foundation
SRE Network
SWAHA Foundation
The Covenant Foundation
The Good People Fund
UJA Federation of New York
Wilf Family Foundation
Women of Reform Judaism
Women of Vision of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Thanks also to our talented team of professionals
and passionate lay leaders who provide leadership:
Celebrating 20-Year Partners
As this year marked Moving Traditions’ 20th year, we are especially grateful for the nine partnering synagogues who have been with us from the very beginning:
Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Minnetonka, MN
Congregation Beth Am Israel, Penn Valley, PA
Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, Bethesda, MD
Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, NY
Congregation Beth Evergreen, Evergreen, CO
Congregation Beth Or, Ambler, PA
Temple Beth Torah, Melville, NY
Temple Sinai, Dresher, PA
Woodlands Community Temple, White Plains, NY
“We consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to partner with Moving Traditions for so many years. Their attention to the needs of Jewish teens and the organizations that support them is second to none, empowering us to effectively engage with them with authenticity, creativity, and purpose.”
Help Us Keep Navigating
Please help Moving Traditions continue to meet the ever-changing needs of Jewish youth! Your gift of any amount goes a long way, and your support is greatly appreciated.
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