Habonim Dror Camp Moshava has received $1.36 million from the State of Maryland to permanently set aside for conservation 230 of the camp’s 270 acres in Harford County through Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program. It is the largest such grant this year. The Maryland Rural Legacy Program provides the funding necessary to protect large, contiguous tracts of land and other strategic areas from sprawl development and to enhance natural resource, agricultural, forestry and environmental protection through cooperative efforts among state and local governments and land trusts. The land set aside by Camp Moshava will become part of a greenbelt of forests and farms in Harford County to preserve their cultural heritage and sense of place. It will preserve critical habitat for native plant and wildlife … Continue Reading
Foundation for Jewish Camp Surveys the Future
by Abigail Pickus Enrollment in nonprofit Jewish summer camps in North America is steadily increasing - and there are more innovative Jewish camping experiences than ever before, according to the recently released strategic plan of The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC). In addition to surveying past years, the plan focuses on the strategic direction for the next five years (2011-2016) with the goals of increasing affordability; fostering greater connections between camps and Jewish schools, communities and synagogues; increasing awareness and creating innovative programming. “Jewish summer camp is higher on the communal list today across the country than ever before and a lot of that is because of the great work being done by local Federations and synagogues,” said Jeremy Fingerman, … Continue Reading
I Believe in Jewish Summer Camp … But Show Me the Data
Jewish camp is a key part of the Jewish educational landscape in North America. And now, with the release of the first report from JData, we're able to look at the overall size and health of the field. With the continuing emphasis on measuring impact across the philanthropic world, the data being collected will become invaluable not only to the camps but also to the funder community, who will be able to search - by geography, interest, and more - and compare the various areas they fund. To accomplish this, JData is creating a longitudinal database, sector by sector, that will serve as a central repository of information on the North American Jewish educational landscape. For Jewish summer camps, they are compiling information on enrollment and capacity, staff (including turnover), budgets, … Continue Reading
The Health of Jewish Summer Camp Revealed
JData has launched JData Revealed, a monthly newsletter with information and ideas from JData.com. Developed at Brandeis University with the support of the Jim Joseph Foundation, JData is a public repository of information about the organizations that comprise the Jewish education system in North America. With the 2011 summer camp season winding up, it is appropriate the inaugural issue focuses on the world of nonprofit Jewish summer camps - enrollments, budgets, staffing and other data that define the size, shape and health of the field. These camps, key institutions in the Jewish educational system in North America, are known for fun, friendships and creativity. Yet they are also settings in which children, teens and young adults are immersed in Jewish life and community and where Jewish … Continue Reading
Isaac Mayer Wise Academy and URJ Camp Establish Eco-Village
The Union for Reform Judaism's (URJ) Greene Family Camp (GFC) announced the establishment of the Isaac Mayer Wise Academy Eco-Village at GFC in Bruceville, Texas. Through the Eco-Village, some of which will be complete by next summer, campers will produce their own food, build their own communities, and explore the natural world in a more in-depth way. For many city-dwelling campers, this will be a transformative experience. It will be a place where older campers can learn about and experience the natural world while teaching younger campers to appreciate it. Every camper and staff member will be involved. Plans for the Eco-Village include a new horseback riding program and campers of all ages will also have the opportunity to learn about archeology, geology and navigation while riding through … Continue Reading
Foundation for Jewish Camp Receives Grant for Pilot Jewish Educator Program
The Foundation for Jewish Camp has received a $3.3 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation and AVI CHAI Foundation for a pilot initiative that will create senior experiential Jewish educator positions to be shared by nonprofit Jewish overnight camps and Jewish day or synagogue schools. This groundbreaking program, Nadiv, has several goals. The first is to experiment with a new model that could enhance the quality of education at Jewish camps in a sustainable way. The second objective is to create a new model for year-round positions for trained and talented Jewish educators and the third is to model a new way to foster deeper collaboration between different kinds of institutions in the Jewish educational world. Developed in partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Nadiv will … Continue Reading
MetroWest Launches ‘Enduring’ Campaign
from New Jersey Jewish News: Looking to ‘Tomorrow,’ with $70 million today A haven for Jewish kids in Ukraine. Lasting funding for Rutgers Hillel. Groundbreaking support for Jewish day schools, camping, and Birthright Israel. Projects like these and the donors who support them were the centerpiece June 12 as the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest launched “MetroWest Tomorrow,” a major effort to recognize and encourage donors who endow the Jewish causes they are most passionate about. ... The organizers’ goal is to raise more than $100 million over the next few years in programmatic endowments. Already, donors have contributed $70 million in current or future commitments to such programs as Birthright Israel, which sends young Jews on free identity-building trips to … Continue Reading
Foundation for Jewish Camp Convenes One Happy Camper Conference
Approximately 50 attendees, representing thirty federations and foundations from across North America participated in the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s continental One Happy Camper Conference in New York City on Thursday. The One Happy Camper program (OHC) is a need-blind cash grant that has, to date, allowed over 20,000 children in the U.S. and Canada to attend nonprofit Jewish overnight camp. OHC typically awards families $1000 if their child attends one of 150 camps for the first time. Occasionally there are grants available for families who continue to send their children to camp for a second and third time as well. Since 2006 when OHC began (fka Campership Incentive Program), FJC has been collaborating with organizations in order to match funds which are subsequently provided to … Continue Reading
Limud by the Lake Revisited
In 2000, with funding from The AVI CHAI Foundation, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies conducted a seminal study of Jewish overnight camps. Eight years later, the Foundation asked the Center to revisit the camps from the original study in order to document changes and uncover opportunities for future investment. Here's Prof. Amy L. Sales: In some regard, the camps were as we had left them, but in other respects they were stunningly changed institutions. We noted, for example, a new emphasis on fundraising, extensive upgrades to facilities, more elaborated staffing structures, and evidence of stronger Judaic programming. Efforts were underway to expand the reach of camp through millions of dollars in incentive grants as well as a national effort to incubate new camps. Limud by … Continue Reading
Building Stronger Year-Long Camp Communities with Video
by Eytan Graubart Video can be an ideal tool for summer camps, those idyllic places that spring up in June bursting with energy and become ghost towns by the end of August. Videos preserve camp connections among our most important audiences long after the last bunk is shuttered. Even movement camps like Habonim Dror Camp Moshava, which offer year-round activities for our camper/members, have difficulty keeping the camp spirit alive among current campers - and their families - during the school year. There are the prospective campers and their parents who are making camp-choice decisions during the middle of winter without the ability to see the camp in operation. Finally, there are our far-flung alumni and supporters who have fond but flagging camp memories and who are dispersed around the … Continue Reading
English