Questions we get asked, answered

AJ 2054 stands for American Jewry in 2054, the year that marks four hundred years since the first Jews arrived in America in 1654. It is an effort of Reut USA to inspire and support a decade of renewal of American Jewry, built on the premise that American Jewry is the great diaspora of our time and carries responsibility for its own wellbeing and security as well as that of world Jewry and Israel. This site is the Emerging Communities work within that initiative: an atlas of the small, at-risk, and emerging Jewish communities of North America, each scored by vulnerability, isolation, growth trajectory, security exposure, and long-term strategic value. The wider initiative, including the AJ conference series, is at aj2054vision.org.

Because 2054 is four hundred years since the first group of Jews arrived in America, in 1654. That anniversary sets the horizon: far enough out that decisions taken now about where to invest, what to stabilize, and which communities to support actually show up in the result, and near enough that the people taking them are the ones who will answer for them.

All 147 Jewish federations in the United States and Canada that fall outside the largest metropolitan communities, from network-scale communities of a few hundred Jews to regional federations serving tens of thousands across several states.

Jewish population figures come from American Jewish Year Book estimates and federation reporting. Antisemitic incident counts come from ADL and FBI hate crime data. Security coverage is mapped against Secure Community Network regions, and campus figures come from Hillel enrollment data. Every community profile shows the source and the confidence level behind each figure.

AJ 2054 is an effort of Reut USA, the American sibling organization of Israel's Reut Group, founded and led by Gidi Grinstein. The Emerging Communities work published on this site is directed by a cross-community committee of federation executives, communal professionals, and strategists, co-chaired by Enrico Ravenna and Jessie Dowsakul. The full roster is on the Committee page.

Send it to the committee through the Get Involved page. Corrections that come with a source are the fastest to act on, and the committee replies within two business days.

No. AJ 2054 produces the analysis that funding decisions are made from; it does not make grants itself. Communities and funders use the atlas to find each other, and the committee makes introductions where it can.

Yes. The atlas, the community profiles, and the published findings are free and public, with no login and no paywall. Reut USA carries the cost, which is what donations support.

The committee replies to every message within two business days. Press and time-sensitive inquiries move faster; WhatsApp is the quickest route.