When leaders approach us with their dream of establishing a new open mikveh in their community, often they ask, “Where do we begin?”

The Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network is thrilled to offer a new resource to support communities in creating a new open mikveh. 

The Mikveh Starter Toolkit is a robust collection of resources, guided activities, one-on-one consultation, model examples, and templates to guide your community in transforming your mikveh vision into reality.  

The Mikveh Starter Toolkit draws from the wisdom, best practices, and learnings of open mikveh initiatives around the world to provide you with a roadmap of realistic steps toward achieving your open mikveh dream. This is a practical, hands-on resource to help your community take impactful action in the essential areas of mikveh making. 


REGISTER to Access the Mikveh Starter Toolkit

The Mikveh Starter Toolkit is a self-paced, customizable, easy-to-navigate online platform with six learning modules: 

  • Developing Your Mikveh Roadmap 
  • Building a Mikveh Vision for Your Community 
  • Developing Your Leadership & Governance Structure 
  • Mikveh Design & Construction 
  • Raising Awareness & Capital 
  • Behind the Scenes: Logistics, Guiding & Scheduling 

Click here for a detailed outline of the guiding questions, activities, and outcomes of each module.

Upon completion of the Toolkit, your community will have achieved milestones like: 

  • Created a one-pager pitch document with compelling data and stories 
  • Defined your mikveh mission, vision, and core values 
  • Outlined a fundraising and community engagement plan 
  • Created a mikveh design checklist for your construction team 
  • And more! 

The Mikveh Starter Toolkit program includes access to five one-on-one meetings with expert consultants in the field to answer your questions and provide individualized support.  

  • Kathryn Klibanoff, 2K Consulting 
  • Naomi Malka, The Soul Center 
  • Dara Steinberg, Steinberg Consulting 
  • Rabbi Joshua Heller, Congregation B’nai Torah & MACoM 
  • Soreh Ruffman, Mayyim Hayyim 


REGISTER to Access the Mikveh Starter Toolkit

Who from our community should participate in the Mikveh Starter Toolkit?

We strongly recommend that three to six individuals from your community are active participants in the Mikveh Starter Toolkit. Establishing a core team, rather than relying on one individual, will ensure that your initiative is more sustainable. 

My community has already made some progress toward our mikveh initiative. Is the Toolkit still appropriate for us?

Yes! The Mikveh Starter Toolkit is a customizable, self-paced experience. Your team can skip activities and pages that are not relevant to your needs and spend more time and energy on the areas that need your focus. You have access to all of the resources and guided activities in the Toolkit from the start, so you can make your own path. That being said, we do provide a clear, step-by-step roadmap for teams to follow if that structure is helpful for you. 

What is the cost of the Mikveh Starter Toolkit?

Access to the Mikveh Starter Toolkit is offered on a sliding scale. Rising Tide Community Members have access to a discounted sliding scale.

Fees for the Mikveh Starter Toolkit support program development, resource creation, expert one-on-one consultation, ongoing evaluation and improvement, and the online learning platform technology. Please select the sliding scale level that is proportionate with your community’s access to resources. To ensure that the Toolkit is accessible for all, we rely on some communities contributing above the suggested rate. 

  • Rising Tide Community Member Sliding Scale: $300 – $500 (Suggested: $400) 
  • Non-Member Sliding Scale: $450 – $750 (Suggested: $600)  

What if I have more questions?

We’d love to hear from you! Contact the Senior Director of Rising Tide with your questions and/or to schedule a virtual meeting at lucym@mayyimhayyim.org  

Support new open mikveh initiatives around the world by sponsoring the Mikveh Starter Toolkit!


Learn more about sponsorship