Evaluation of the RSJ Camper Outreach Initiative

Created by the Genesis Philanthropy Group and conducted in partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), the Russian-Speaking Jewish Camp Outreach Initiative (RSJ Initiative) works to engage more campers and staff from the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) community in North American Jewish camps. A grant from Genesis Philanthropy Group to FJC supports 15 camps in building capacity to recruit RSJ campers as well as provide the campers with a high quality camp experience. FJC supports these camps with consultation and training, and through the One Happy Camper® (OHC) incentive program and camp scholarships. Since 2013, the RSJ Initiative has helped 15 camps enroll approximately 1,300 new and returning RSJ campers in their programs.

In 2017, the Genesis Philanthropy Group partnered with Informing Change to conduct an evaluation of the Initiative. Informing Change surveyed RSJ campers who attended camp between 2014–17 and studied a subset of OHC survey data collected from 2014–17 from RSJ parents, identified by country of origin. Grant reports from participating camps to FJC were also reviewed. In addition, camp directors and RSJ camp counselors from RSJ Initiative camps were interviewed, as well as FJC staff.