• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / In the Media / $1m. Challenge Grant for National Jewish Population Study

$1m. Challenge Grant for National Jewish Population Study

November 13, 2012 By eJP

Baltimore, Maryland – November 12, 2012 – The Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation announced a challenge grant of $1 million to the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at NYU Wagner, toward the costs of conducting a 2013 National Jewish Population Study (NJPS).

Mandell (“Bill”) Berman, Chairman of the Berman Foundation, designated a team of five researchers to undertake the study. They include: Prof. Steven M. Cohen (Director, Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner), Dr. David Dutwin (Vice President and Chief Methodologist, Social Science Research Solutions), Ms. Melissa Herrmann (President, Social Science Research Solutions), Dr. Ron Miller (Vice President, Research, Ukeles Associates, Inc. and Associate Director, North American Jewish Databank) and Dr. Jacob (“Jack”) Ukeles (President, Ukeles Associates, Inc.). Mr. Berman will serve as Honorary Chair of the study. A Steering Committee (in formation) and a Panel of Advisors (to be named) will guide the enterprise.

As a condition of receiving the grant, by September 1, 2013, the organizing team must raise the entire amount required, estimated at an additional $2 million.

“For decades I have supported Jewish social research in the belief that high-quality, policy-relevant information is vital for sound Jewish communal decisions,” said Bill Berman. “Every year, our national federation system, our foundations, our public affairs organizations, our national religious and educational organizations influence the spending of billions of dollars in communities across America. Yet, as we haven’t had a national study since 2000-1, we know little or nothing about the people we seek to serve at the national level – how many Jews there are, where they live, how old they are, how they engage in Jewish life, what services they use and how they connect to Israel.

“In prior years, National Jewish Population Studies have engendered spirited conversation about the Jewish future and provided the stimulus for important changes in Jewish public policy. With an increasingly diverse national Jewish community, with new challenges to the Jewish communal system, and with great ambiguity about our effectiveness in many areas of Jewish life, we absolutely need the information, analysis and discourse that only a National Jewish Population Study can provide. I hope that my initial contribution, made on the occasion of my 95th birthday and the 45th anniversary of my attending General Assemblies, will motivate others to step forward and make this vital effort possible.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: In the Media, The American Jewish Scene

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rabbi Hayim Herring says

    November 14, 2012 at 3:13 am

    A very generous and welcome announcement. I also want to put in a plug for serious data utilization training and preparation as the study is being conducted. Despite the appearance of a “data utilization committee” with a list of names in NJPS 2000-01, there was no real effort made, as was true of the 1990 NJPS. Getting information out and make sure that it is used are two different activities.

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • What Title for Henrietta Szold?
  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • The Blessings in 2020’s Losses

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved