THE HEART OF THE BBYO EXPERIENCE
The smallest, most personal, and most important group within AZA and BBG is the chapter. Every member of AZA and BBG belongs to a chapter and each chapter functions much like a large family.
Chapters plan programs geared toward the interests of their current and prospective members and train new members in the traditions of AZA and BBG. A chapter’s small size allows for the development of strong bonds between its members. Chapters are where you have meetings, plan programs, and hang with Jewish teens in your town. Each chapter has a leadership board elected every six-months or annually by its members. AZA and BBG count more than 725 chapters around the world, and there is one for everyone.
Every AZA, BBG, or BBYO chapter is part of a region. Regions bring together chapters for conventions, city-wide programming, sports tournaments, and more to make members feel part of a larger community. Dive into the maps below to explore where our chapters are and how they make up our 80+ regions around the world.
Since our founding in Omaha, Nebraska in May 1924, AZA and BBG have expanded into hundreds of chapters divided over 40 regions across the United States and Canada. The first chapter in Canada was founded in Calgary, Alberta on December 1926.
BBYO’s first chapters in Latin America started in the early 1950s with the founding of AZA in Mexico City. BBYO Argentina, founded in 2012, is home to our largest membership in Latin America. Today, BBYO has a presence in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
Since the founding of the first AZA chapter in Leeds in March 1940, the love of AZA and BBG across Western Europe has only continued to grow. After expanding to cover most of the United Kingdom, BBYO established its first AZA chapter in Paris, France in January 1945. Today, BBYO has a presence in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom.
BBYO has had a presence in Eastern Europe since 1936, when the first chapter outside of North America was established in Sofia, Bulgaria. While the size of the Jewish communities are smaller in Eastern Europe, our chapters thrive and continue to grow across the region. Today, BBYO has a presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Turkey.
BBYO's community in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) is known as JDC's Active Jewish Teens (AJT) with clubs spanning from Kiev to Bishkek. JDC's AJT was founded in 2013 through a joint effort with BBYO and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). AJT reaches thousands of teens across the FSU led by their governing body, the AJT Parliament. JDC's Active Jewish Teens is present in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Ukraine.
BBYO is a proud partner of Maccabi World Union in Israel. AZA and BBG work hand-in-hand with Maccabi World Union's youth Movement, Maccabi Tzair. Maccabi Tzair has dozens of youth clubs across the country that are led by the Haganah. Teens from Israel are plugged into BBYO experiences year-round through our summer camps, trips to Israel, Movement initiatives, and more.
BBYO has a growing presence in the Middle East and recently launched in Morocco in 2021 and United Arab Emirates in 2024.
BBYO’s presence in Africa started in April 1941 with the 76 charter members of Maimonidies AZA in Cairo, Egypt. AZA and BBG continued to grow across Africa in 1961 with the founding of an AZA chapter in Johannesburg. Today, BBYO has a presence in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.
In June 1941, a group of Alephs were installed into the first chapter in Asia in Shanghai, China. BBYO has had a resurgence in the region after a few decades of dormancy. Today, BBYO has a presence in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Since 1948, BBYO has had a storied history in Australia stretching from Sydney to Melbourne. In recent years, chapters have flourished and brought a new renaissance of AZA and BBG to the region. Today, BBYO has a presence in Australia and New Zealand.
The greatest legacy to leave in BBYO is starting a chapter. Starting a new chapter or opening BBYO in a brand new area is one of the fastest ways to grow our movement. A new chapter would form for one of three primary reasons:
There are Jewish teens in a community interested in BBYO, but no current chapter.
There are not enough leadership opportunities in the current chapter.
Ther are special populations of teens in your community that could form an affinity-based chapter (e.g., summer camp alumni, Russian-speaking Jews, etc.)
Follow these steps to officially launch your AZA, BBG, or BBYO chapter. If you're looking for a Name Change Petition, head here. For more information, check out the Chapter Chartering Process Overview.
This stage begins with group of teens interested in starting a new chapter. In this stage, you're building a network of teens, parents, and community partners. We want to help you out—let us know what you're starting!
The actions below will help you launch your Start Up Chapter.
Submit Start Up Chapter Notification form
Complete Community Mapping thought exercise
Begin spreading the word to recruit members
Identify informal teen leaders
Build awareness in your local Jewish community
Establish a strong relationship with a supportive adult and encourage them to become your chapter advisor
Host a chapter kickoff event and make a plan to gather monthly as a group
Encourage attendance at regional conventions and events
A Temporary Chapter is a group of at least 12 teens formally committed to building AZA and BBG in their community. You’ll begin to establish your goals and benchmarks as a chapter and choose your name!
The actions below will help prepare your Start Up Chapter to petition for your Temporary Charter.
Learn about and implement BBYO’s relationship-driven recruitment model, MRIHA, and set a membership goal to recruit at least 12 founding members
Build your first program calendar with at least one meeting per month, and use the program planning form to create high-quality experiences
Promote your programs at least two weeks in advance to maintain strong attendance, and track attendance at each of your programs (U.S. regions should use myBBYO text to sign in)
Learn about BBYO’s board positions and select a leadership role for each teen leader
Begin shaping your chapter identity through chapter colors, mascot, and traditions
Choose a chapter name based on a Jewish value, name of a previously folded chapter in your area, or a Jewish gamechanger z”l
After you have reached your membership goal and feel you are ready to move forward, you are ready to submit the Petition for a Temporary Charter! At this point, you should also work with your chapter advisor and BBYO staff to establish benchmarks towards your Permanent Charter.
A Permanent Chapter is a group of at least 12 teens who have achieved the benchmarks set out in their Temporary Charter and established sustainable culture, systems, and structures. At this stage, you will receive your Permanent Charter and your official chapter number!
The actions below will help advance a Temporary Chapter to Permanent Chapter status.
Work with your chapter advisor and BBYO staff to establish clear benchmarks for how you will establish systems, culture, and structures on the road to becoming a Permanent Chapter. These benchmarks could relate to your chapter’s membership, programming, governance, etc., but they will be unique to your chapter and your growth areas!
Set a new membership goal and demonstrate consistent membership growth
Plan your calendar using the MRIHA funnel, and increase your cadence to a minimum of two chapter events or meetings per month
Begin participating in AZA & BBG Movement Initiatives
Introduce AZA & BBG Rituals and Traditions by using membership books, pins, and cards, and running your first Inductions Ceremony
Encourage attendance at summer experiences and IC
Participate in chapter board trainings with your region (often referred to as LTI or Execs)
Continue building local awareness for your chapter through growing a social media presence and strengthening community partnerships
Make a plan to hold your first teen-led elections to elect your next board
Draft your chapter’s constitution. You will vote to ratify your constitution in a business meeting after you receive your Permanent Charter!
Congratulations on receiving your Permanent Charter! In your first six months as a Permanent Chapter, implement the below list of benchmarks to set your chapter up for success. After that, check out the Roadmap for Building Excellent Chapters to continue your chapter development journey and utilize the Chapter Excellence Assessment to evaluate your chapter’s progress.
Hold your first teen-led elections and set up regular chapter board meetings
Host chapter business meetings using Opening and Closing Rituals. In your first business meetings, you should ratify your chapter constitution and select a chapter Stand UP cause
Continue to introduce AZA & BBG Rituals and Traditions by running your first Chapter Board Installations Ceremony, hosting a State of the Chapter address, and honoring your seniors through Life Ceremonies
Design your first piece of chapter swag so that you can wear your letters proudly and celebrate your Permanent Chapter
Ensure your program calendar incorporates a diversity of Programming Folds
Focus on how you can effectively host both members and prospects at your programs
Make a plan to reach new 8th graders while also retaining your upperclassmen
Hold a fundraiser to raise funds for your chapter or your selected philanthropy
Establish a chapter bank account or other appropriate financial system
Send strong delegations from your chapter to regional conventions, and send at least one representative from your chapter to CLTC
Explore some resources below to take your chapter to new heights of excellence.
Ready to turn your chapter's programming from good to WOW? Check out all of the BBYO International Grants that we have available for your chapter.
Evaluate where your chapter is and plan goal sofr your chapter for the upcoming semester.
Building a calendar is key to a successful chapter experience. Make sure your chapter Calendar is following the guidelines int his resource.
The Executive 'Exec' Board of a chapter ensures that your chapter is healthy and operating at fully capacity.
Every member counts and it's important to show how much we value each one - new, returning, long-standing, and prospective member. Utilize these tips to make everyone feel great at events.
Identifying potential new members for your chapter is much easier when you work as a team.
Use this survey to check in on chapter progress and identify which areas to focus on and in what order to keep growing and strenghtening your chapter.
Looking for an easy way to plan a Rush experience? Look no further! Use this resource to build your ideal calendar.
Utilize these sessions to educate Members-in-Training (MITs) and Alephs-in-Training (AITs) about everything BBYO.
