Photo courtesy of Ellen Daniel.
Submitted by The Mayerson JCC
Taking part in Jewish life in Cincinnati has never been easier, thanks to Jlive, a digital platform reimagining how our community connects with events and programs. In the late summer of 2022, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati convened a community planning meeting to gather feedback for Cincinnati 2030, the Cincinnati Jewish community’s vision for strengthening our Jewish community by the year 2030. Through this process, the Federation learned that many people in the community wanted to engage more but struggled to find information about programs and events. It became a priority to find a solution to this challenge.
“Community members shared that it can be overwhelming to figure out what events were happening across the many Jewish organizations in Cincinnati,” said Jewish Federation CEO Danielle V. Minson. “What they asked for was clear: one place to go to get engaged in Jewish Cincinnati.”
Fortunately, Cincinnati leaders didn’t have to go far to find a solution. Jlive was the answer. Jlive is a digital platform that helps people find and connect with Jewish events and programs. Think of Jlive as the Eventbrite for the Jewish community — the one-stop destination to discover what’s happening in the community for all ages. Marc Fisher, Mayerson JCC CEO, learned about this platform from his counterpart in Detroit. The JCC in Detroit, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Montreal, built a powerful community-wide tool for individuals to discover and connect with meaningful engagement opportunities and empower organizations to better reach and engage their audience.
“I had been talking with the Detroit team about the impact they were seeing in their city because of Jlive,” Fisher said. “It felt like a great fit for Cincinnati and an opportunity to partner with the Cincinnati Jewish Federation. Our mission at the J is to connect people so they can live happier and fuller lives, creating a more vibrant Jewish community. While we try to make that possible within our own walls, ultimately, we want people to engage with each other in whatever way is meaningful to them.”
With the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats, the JCC and Federation brought Jlive to Cincinnati and started reaching out to other organizations to use Jlive to promote their programs and events. Six months later, about 18 local organizations are now posting their events on Jlive, with more joining each month. More than 200 events have been created on the site.
The convenience of having all Jewish Cincinnati events in one spot is just part of the appeal. The event platform is modern, attractive, and easy to use. Accessing Jlive is simple: someone can go directly to jlive.app and search for their organization’s events, or they may be directed to Jlive from an organization’s website.
Anyone can register for local events ranging from the arts, family-friendly events, young adult programs, and more. When an individual registers for an account, their information and payment can be saved to make future registrations quick and easy.
Similar to other internet platforms, Jlive can be customized for the individual or family to focus on their interests. More importantly, Jlive strives to be a secure platform, keeping personal information, such as credit card numbers or addresses, safe.
“I believe Jlive is going to be a game changer for how people find programs in Cincinnati,” Fisher said. “Besides being an easy platform to register for programs, Jlive provides one place that organizations can share programs and one place that the community can find them.”
“If you want to know what’s going in the Jewish community, it’s just one click away,” Minson said.
