www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org
Report to the community
presented by thank you to Participants
The Dallas Jewish Community Scan: Awareness, Perceptions, and Needs Fifty Jewish agencies, congregations, and organizations in our Greater Dallas community came together for a joint effort of discovery. Thank you to our many community leaders and participants who over the past year made that possible.
The Dallas Jewish Community Scan drew honest and thoughtful responses from almost 5,000 individuals, representing one of the largest surveys of a major Jewish community in the country! This process was truly about our Jewish Community with emphasis on the word “Jewish”. What are Jews in Dallas aware of when it comes to their Jewish options? What perceptions do we have about those options and do we use them? Lastly, what needs do we have, and are they being met by Jewish service providers? Our community’s responses to the scan are shedding light on the answers. Already, each of the participating organizations has received valuable information about their constituencies and where we have challenges and opportunities going forward.
• February through March 2013: Fifty community groups were educated and recruited to participate in the scan, indicating their commitment through signed Letters of Understanding.
• April into May: The scan was drafted and tested using multiple focus groups, while agency databases were collected and refined resulting in 25,000 valid email addresses and new information appended for agency’s use (e.g., age, income, etc.)
• Through May: The scan was marketed through each of the participating agencies, as well as through targeted media, to drive up participation following the May 27 launch.
• The community’s participatory response was unprecedented!
Completing the Community Scan encompassed an important beginning. Now that we have gathered this information, there will be opportunities to review how the information and our resulting conclusions can be used to shape our planning and future programming.
Every scan participant had a personal role in these outcomes. What we discover as we continue to review the scan results will provide guidance to better engage our Jewish community. We also hope to devise improvements to better respond to our needs of today and prepare for those of tomorrow.
We are stronger together. Thank you for your participation and interest.
Respectfully,
Cindy Sweet Moskowitz bradley Laye, CFP® Board Chair Interim President & CEO 2
www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Table of Contents
Community Scan Partners 4
Our Work Plan 5
Overviews
Methodology and Respondent Breakdowns 6 Philanthropy 7 Jewish Life and Learning 8 Pre-Schools 8 Day Schools 9 Summer Camps 10 After-School Programs 10 College Students 11 Jewish Membership Organizations 11 Social Services 12
FAQS 14
Understanding the Findings / Definition of Terms
Jewish Household: One or more persons in the household consider themselves Jewish. Users: Someone who uses and or participates in the service Likelihood-to-Recommend (LtR): User’s likelihood of recommending the services provided by this type of provider to a friend with a similar need.
For detailed information on statistics and findings, please visit our website www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org.
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org community scan paRtneRs
akiba academy of dallas hadassah dallas
american Jewish committee, dallas hillel of dallas
ann & nate levine academy hillels of north texas
bbyo alumni in dallas intown chabad
bbyo north texas aaron family Jewish community center of dallas
chabad of dallas dallas Jewish community foundation
chabad of plano Jewish family service
community homes for adults (chai) Jewish federation of greater dallas
congregation anshai torah Jewish War veterans auxiliary
congregation beth el binah Jewish War veterans post #256
congregation beth torah the legacy senior communities, inc.
congregation kol ami mesorah high school for girls
congregation ner tamid moishe house
congregation nishmat am national council of Jewish Women, greater dallas
congregation ohev shalom sephardic torah center of dallas
congregation ohr hatorah shir tikvah
congregation shaare tefi lla temple emanu-el
congregation shearith israel temple shalom
dallas area torah association (data), dallas texas a&m university hillel
dallas area torah association (data), plano texas Jewish post
dallas hebrew free loan association texas torah institute
dallas holocaust museum tiferet israel congregation
dallas Jewish committee on scouting torah day school of dallas
dallas Jewish historical society university of texas hillel
dallas kosher yavneh academy of dallas
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Our Work Plan
How we conducted the Community Scan
1. Hypothesis Development • Created a Task Force (Federation, agencies, organizations, congregations).
• Conducted key informant interviews (donors, agency leadership, affiliated Jews, independent Jews, civic/religious leaders, subject matter experts, young adults).
• Reviewed our past community surveys and other studies.
• Determined which questions to ask (a limited number) and asked only those that drive success or upon which could be acted.
2. Creation of Community Database • Worked with all 50 Jewish organizations, local and national (no data sharing).
• Removed duplicate records and performed data appends resulting in a list of 60,000 Jews (25,000 with valid emails).
3. Instrument Development • Developed a survey instrument incorporating multiple rounds of feedback which allowed us to capture community needs as well as donor perceptions/passions.
4. Field Surveys • Received approximately 5,000 completed surveys skewed toward affiliated but also containing a substantial number of independents.
5. Outreach Tools • Utilized viral marketing and referrals via Facebook and other social media to reach those not in databases.
6. Analysis and Reports • Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas received the master report which has been uploaded to www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org.
• Each participating organization received an interactive report containing responses from names they provided (if enough responses were received).
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Methodology and Respondent Breakdowns
Building a Platform for the Future: The Community Scan
METHODOLOGY becomes a “Community Connector” engaging Jews across the Dallas area through changing life stages.
Unique Approach: Beyond sampling to active database The Community Scan was the result of thoughtful, strategic analysis and decisions:
1. Not Just a Demographic Study—It was recommended by the external survey-conducting organization that we not conduct a demographic study as results are static and there is no mechanism to engage the population whose needs and passions have been studied.
2. Use a Comprehensive Community Approach—It covers needs and perceptions where an agency can then reach out to constituents to engage them. There is no data sharing between agencies so there is no risk for them, but community building is increased. High participation rates are a result.
3. Builds a Platform for the Future—An interactive approach means to reach the community via multiple platforms, yielding continuous updates and real-time business intelligence. The survey becomes a “community connector,” engaging individuals through changing life stages.
Why the Comprehensive Approach works 85% of Jews have been affiliated at some point in their lives with a Jewish organization.
• 25% are currently “affiliated” (active members of a Jewish organization).
• 60% care about Judaism but are not affiliated—“independent” Jews.
• 15% do not place high value on their Jewish identity.
Many names of independents are in databases of organizations or in social networks, providing a better sampling of the broader Jewish community.
• Example: Temple Emanu-El, Jewish Family Service, University of Texas Hillel, or Birthright Israel from recent to past years.
• There are many participating Dallas-area Jewish organizations that are not Federation agencies.
• Many independents still live in the Greater Dallas area, some in the less-affluent suburbs.
• If independents are not in agency databases, they are likely friends with those who are, so social networks provide one degree of separation.
By using the comprehensive approach, we are able to gather all of the traditional sampling insights at the same cost because of redundant steps. Many names of independents are in databases of organizations or in social networks. 6
www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org PHILANTHROPY OVERVIEW
Individuals expect religious institutions to support a variety of programming. PHILANTHROPY
Findings • Respondents want to give Jewishly primarily through their synagogues, even if they do not attend with a high frequency.
• Individuals expect religious institutions to support a variety of programming.
• Social services and education followed in priority.
The data suggests that religious institutions (synagogues) are the foundation of donors’ priorities in Dallas.
• Jewish religious institutions are ranked first by the majority of respondents, but social services have a higher average. Still, we believe there is a significant drop off between the highest ranking to the other ranks.
• The drop off in respondents to Jewish Culture shows it does not appear as a top-three priority for most.
• Major donors as well as smaller donors prioritize philanthropic contributions similarly.
• 23% of respondents gave more than $10,000, and 77% gave less than $10,000.
As Jewish engagement goes up, “religious institutions” grow in priority; “social services” is a higher philanthropic priority for the less Jewishly engaged.
Nearly half of donors did not feel they are hearing from the Jewish community too much. Encouragingly, over 25% of respondents have considered leaving a bequest. The donor group consisted of those ages 18–35 who gave at least $100 and anyone 35 and older who gave at least $2,500.
Major philanthropists are considering bequests to the Jewish community at double the rate of the general community.
If anything, the data suggests that major donors may be agreeable to being approached more frequently for donations.
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING Overview
Top motivating factors include quality and preparedness for next steps.
General Overview of Jewish Life & Learning • Jewish camps (69% strongly recommend) and pre-schools (81% strongly recommend) are the strongest offerings within the community.
• Jewish Day Schools (55%) and after-school programs (47–55%) are not strongly regarded in the positive or negative; therefore, there is work that can be done to increase awareness of quality or improving quality of offerings to increase enrollment.
• Non-users of Jewish camp and after-school programs think as highly of Jewish offerings as their own secular choices.
• Motivating factors consistent across most Jewish programs include:
»» Quality, quality, quality (and preparedness for next steps) (#1)
»» Well-trained staff (#2)
»» Welcoming and inclusive environment (#3)
»» Support desired Jewish development for children (#4)
• Interestingly, cost is not ranked in the top third of motivation factors.
Jewish pre-school families see quality in their programs.
Pre-Schools Overview • Jewish users of Jewish pre-schools have very strong JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING perceptions of quality (81% strongly recommend).
• Perception of users of non-Jewish pre-schools is much weaker (49% strongly recommend).
• Jewish users of secular pre-schools perceive Jewish pre-school quality as far lower than their own schools (34% strongly recommend).
• Key motivators for Jewish non-users of Jewish pre-schools are:
»» Welcoming and inclusive environment (#1)
»» Quality (#2)
»» Preparedness for next level of schooling (#3)
»» Jewish development (#4) 8
www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Action Items:
• Market Jewish pre-school users’ experience to Jewish secular pre-school parents.
• Work to increase welcoming/inclusiveness perceptions.
Jewish Day School parents and private school parents are equally likely to recommend their school to others.
Day Schools Overview • Jewish Day School awareness (84%) was higher than any other Jewish Life & Learning opportunity for youth.
• 25% of Day School families are minimally involved elsewhere in Jewish life.
• The perceived quality of Jewish Day School (55%) is much lower than Jewish pre-school or camp. JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING • Perceived quality of Jewish Day School parents is about the same as those with children in private schools.
• Perception of Jewish Day School among private school families is mixed.
• Perception of Jewish Day School among public school families is weak.
• Top motivating factors are consistent regardless of which type of school children attend:
»» Preparedness for next level of schooling (#1)
»» Quality (#2)
»» Welcoming/inclusive (#3)
»» Jewish development (#4)
Action Items:
• Capitalize on awareness of Jewish Day School in Dallas.
• Advertise that Jewish Day School and private school users are equally likely to recommend their school.
• Improve quality, preparedness, and other top- motivating factors.
• Market these improvements to parents with a private school mindset.
• Engage Jewish Day School families in additional Jewish activities
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Jewish parents are very happy with their children’s Jewish camp experience.
Summer Camps Overview • Jewish summer camp had the lowest awareness level of any youth educational opportunity.
• Jewish summer camp parents are very happy with their camps.
• Those who send their children to Jewish summer camp are much happier with the camp experience than Jewish parents using other camps.
• Perception of Jewish summer camp among Jewish non-users is uniformly high.
• Motivating factors are the same for Jewish users and Jewish non-users of Jewish camp alike:
»» Quality (#1)
»» Training of staff (#2)
»» Schedule (#3)
»» Jewish development (#4)
Action Item:
• Build awareness of Jewish summer camp availability and the high-satisfaction ratings of participating children and their parents.
After-School programs top motivating factors: staff training, convenient location, quality program, Jewish development. JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING
After-School Programs Overview • Jewish community after-school, non-religious programs (eg: Aaron Family Jewish Community Center) are perceived as higher quality than any other after-school activity, but no Jewish after-school activity has a very high Likely-to-Recommend (LtR) score (31% poor to 55% ok) compared to other educational opportunities.
• Perceived quality of Jewish after-school programs among Jewish non-users matched user perceptions (47%–54%).
• Top motivating factors were training, location convenience, quality, and Jewish development.
Action Item:
• Be more creative in after-school programming.
10 Jewish college students are highly motivated to participate in Jewish life if their friends do.
College Students Overview • A top motivating factor is that their friends participate in the same groups and activities.
• Another top motivating factor is being comfortable participating given their Jewish background.
• These elements are consistent across parents of college students and college students themselves.
Action Item:
• Create opportunities to keep college students Jewishly engaged by crafting channels of communication with
youth groups, synagogues and campus organizations. JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING
Program quality, life-stage activities, vision and values resonate.
Jewish Membership Organizations Overview Synagogues are the bedrock of involvement in the community.
• Even in the least-Jewishly-engaged group (did not participate formally), over 50% report being synagogue members and 80% were members at some point.
• Low-engaged Jews would be motivated most by:
»» Program quality
»» Life-stage-appropriate activities
»» Access to clergy for meetings
»» Vision and values resonance
»» Inviting to newcomers
Aaron Family Jewish Community Center and other Jewish membership organizations:
• Approximately an equal number of respondents are involved with Jewish membership organizations as non-Jewish membership institutions (35%).
• There is a greater interest in cultural and personal growth programming than advocacy which indicates an area of opportunity.
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Social Services Overview
30% of respondents use social services— more than half of those need multiple services.
Social Services Overview • Jewish users of non-Jewish senior residential facilities have low satisfaction with their own facilities and a higher perception of Jewish facilities.
• The perception for those who use private practice and government services is that the Jewish services are better.
• A top motivating factor across many social services was confidentiality.
»» This may explain significant under-reporting suspected in social service areas and social services overall. (Only one in four said they or someone they cared for had a need, far lower than current usage records would indicate.)
• 30% of respondents use at least one social service; more than half of those who use social services use more than one service.
• The awareness levels of Jews who utilize social services of non-Jewish providers are highest for senior residential services.
• Three out of four senior residential facility Jewish non-users know about the Jewish option. This suggests that if Jewish facilities want to increase utilization, they first need to understand why they are aware but not choosing the Jewish option.
Action Items:
• There is an opportunity to raise awareness of Jewish services for children with special needs as those who use them are very satisfied. Those who do not are unlikely to recommend them highly.
• There is an opportunity to drive more people with high social service needs to use Jewish service providers. Senior assessment and case management services can help accomplish this because of their Likelihood-to-Recommend (LtR) scores. SOCIAL SERVICES
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org Quality reputation is high for users of Jewish senior wellness and residential facilities.
• People who use Jewish social services are generally satisfied. Quality reputation is high with senior wellness and residential facilities.
• The high rating of “Likelihood to Recommend” (LtR), by Jewish organization users of all services linked to the response, “I would recommend the services provided by this type of provider to a friend with a similar need.”
• Perceived quality of Jewish senior residential facilities are much higher than of other service providers.
• Private practice users are the highest need group, yet they fall off on their satisfaction. This suggests that there is an opportunity for Jewish organizations to reach out to those already in or looking to move to a private facility.
• Having an appealing facility is a very important factor.
• The ranking of socializing and having a Jewish campus indicates that being Jewish matters to seniors, but that is not the largest priority for those seeking residential facilities.
• The gap between the motivation for sliding fees and insurance coverage indicates that they will use the provider that accepts their insurance. SOCIAL SERVICES
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www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org FAQ
About the Scan
What is the Dallas Jewish Community Scan? The Dallas Jewish Community Scan is the first formal project conducted in more than 25 years to better understand the authentic needs, perceptions and philanthropic trends of our Jewish community. Fifty agencies, congregations and organizations participated, representing the broadest coalition created for such an endeavor. For a list of those participating congregations and organizations, please see page 3 or visit our website at www.dallasjewishcommunityscan.org.
What was the Federation’s role in the Community Scan? The Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas served as the coordinator and funder for the Community Scan and convened all Dallas Jewish agencies, congregations and organizations to choose to participate. More than 50 congregations and organizations provided their data to Measuring Success, our selected Market Research Firm, in the interest of reaching their entire constituencies.
Was your personal information shared with anyone? All data remained confidential throughout the entire process, and personal data provided by each participating congregation and organization was never shared with another participating organization or congregation. Additionally, all responses to the survey instrument were only reported in aggregate form that could be analyzed by categories of responses. Your specific and individual responses will never be shared.
What was your role in the Community Scan? Your opinion counted. We needed you to complete the survey. We needed your friends to complete the survey. We needed you to share the link with anyone and everyone that you thought would want their voices heard. We wanted to hear what you had to say. The survey was different for each person based on certain responses. While there were more than 100 potential questions, your survey should not have taken more than 20 minutes, and may have taken as few as five minutes.
What else do we need to know? Measuring Success estimated that it would reach out to approximately 85% of the known Dallas Jewish Community and hoped to gather data from as many thousands of Jews in Dallas as possible, both affiliated and “independent” (those who are interested in Judaism or Jewish life but not actively affiliated with an organization currently).
Who is the contact person? Feel free to contact Debbie Shtofman, Director of Community Scan Implementation and Allocations, at [email protected] or 214.615.5250 should you have any questions.
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