Modes and Frequency of Participation in Communal Institutions

not intensely so. Among those who are engaged, 85% feel that the institutions care about what they think, but only 32% feel they care a great deal. For the Orthodox Jews, the gap in intensity is even wider, with 91% feeling institutions care about what they think, but only 19% feeling the institutions care a great deal.

Only 10% of the non-denominational and the unengaged Jews feel that the institutions care a great deal, but 54% of the non-denominational and 60% of the unengaged respondents feel they do care at least some about how people like them think.

All of this shows that the problem for community institutions is not so much a negative perception, as just a lack of a strong positive identity. This finding indicates that there is room for improvement and a strong need for it.

Even for the engaged, involvement is limited primarily to contributions and holiday events

So far, defining engagement has been left to the perception of each respondent. A fuller picture emerges by considering the frequency and type of activities that make up that engagement.

By far, the most common forms of involvement in the Jewish community are making a financial contribution, reading publications and newsletters from Jewish organizations (both of which 52% said they do at least sometimes) and participating in religious or communal commemorations like Yom HaShoah or a Chanukah lighting (48%). Therefore, even engaged Jews are most likely to be involved in activities that require less commitment or time.

This is true across a broad range of demographic groups, although younger people and those reporting lower incomes are a bit more likely to volunteer their time than to make a donation. While non-denominational Jews exhibit similar tendencies in relative terms, they

are less likely to do any of these things. On average, those who are engaged take part in 5-6 of these activities at least sometimes. This includes more active participation in volunteering, serving on boards, or using the facilities.

Of the unengaged, nearly half (44%) do not take part in any of these activities with regularity. Only 13% say they give financial contributions often and only 11% read publications or newsletters often. For all the other activities listed, only single digits (2-9%) of the unengaged do them often. This is yet another example of how they may value their sense of Jewish identity, but not a connection to the community proper.

One of the changes in comparison to 2019 is a small increase in those saying they are involved through financial contributions, with a decrease in most other activities. The changes are slight but do put financial contributions at the top of the list of activities that the unengaged do often, along with the slight decreases in everything else from the use of daycare or other services, volunteering, or attendance at events. It is presumed to be the effect of the pandemic.

Few report any drop in giving during the pandemic

Only a few survey respondents reported giving less during the pandemic, even among those who claimed that COVID-19 hurt them financially. Nearly one in five of the engaged Jews gave more than before the pandemic. When asked about changes in their charitable contributions to Jewish institutions and organizations since the COVID-19 pandemic started, over 66% said that there was no change in their scope of giving.