Motivation for Engagement

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, which of the following best describes your charitable contributions to Jewish institutions and organizations?

The top motivations for involvement were to sustain the community for future generations and one’s family, and to maintain the connection for themselves. Antisemitism was an important reason for involvement, but few named it as one of the most important.

Although the sense of community may not be as important as the sense of Jewish identity, it was the most important motivation for being involved with Jewish institutions. In a list of reasons to be involved, the top two were the “desire to help sustain and continue the Jewish community for future generations,” which was very important for a 56% majority, and “wanting to keep a Jewish connection for yourself and your family” (very important for 54%).

Other motivations relating to Jewish history and a sense of community followed with slightly smaller majorities. Thirty-five percent indicated that the desire to help Israel was an important reason for being involved. Generational motivation was ranked at the top by both parents and non-parents, and across all age and giving levels. It was also the top motivation for the engaged.

Reasons to be Involved

Ranked by % “One of the Most Important”

The graph above shows the attributed importance of reasons offered by some for being involved in Jewish organizations or institutions. Two notable differences emerged between the engaged and the unengaged. First, among the unengaged, none of the items rose to the level of very important for a majority. Among the engaged, all the items were very important for a majority.

Second, for those who are engaged, the top reason for involvement was that “history has shown that Jews need to take care of themselves.” This was very important for 43%, just ahead of sustaining the community for future generations. The historical imperative was more important for 67% of the engaged but ranked well behind the more positive reasons concerning continuity and future generations. Generational and personal connections ranked at the top across giving levels but were highest for bigger donors. For smaller donors, antisemitism was also a top motivation for involvement.

Reasons for not getting involved include time, other priorities, and politics, although those who are already engaged also cited lack of diversity. The most common reason given for not being more involved in Jewish organizations was not having the time or that they would rather do other things. Simply put, it was an issue of competing priorities. Many are disengaged by choice, and even substantial intuitional changes may not be sufficient to stimulate their involvement. Unengaged individuals were much less likely to perceive the institutions as representative and open, and more likely to see them as too focused on Israel, politics, or donors.

Thirty-two percent said that between work, family, and other obligations, they simply do not have time to be involved, and it was a very important reason for their lack of involvement in Jewish community organizations. Twenty-eight percent said that Jewish organizations were just not a high priority for them. The lack of time ranked at or near the top for those who were engaged already and those who were not. Among the unengaged, 36% said that being involved was not a priority, and 34% that they did not have the time. Lack of time was also the top obstacle for the engaged (29%); 17% of the engaged regarded involvement as a low priority for themselves.

Concern that the institutions were too political or too conservative was a problem across engagement levels, with 25% of the engaged and 26% of the unengaged citing “most of the organizations are too conservative for me on political issues” as a reason for not becoming involved. Political partisanship “here and in Israel” was a very important reason for not being involved for 23% of the engaged and 21% of the unengaged.

For individuals already engaged in Jewish organizations, lack of diversity was just as problematic as politics. Twenty-four percent of them said that “these groups are not open and welcome to new diverse voices such as those of younger Jews,” which was a very important reason for not becoming involved. Among Jews whose annual charitable giving exceeds $10,000, failure to welcome diversity was the single top reason for not becoming more involved in Jewish organizations. Thus, although the lack of diversity may not be keeping people from becoming involved, it is a concern for those who are already active.