This presents findings from the One Happy Camper (OHC) Retention Study, fielded March 9-April 2, 2017
among 23,925 families who received OHC incentives in 2012 through 2015. In total, 20% (4,728) of OHC
families responded and participated in the study. Findings were consistent with those in 2012, showing
very strong retention, even up to four summers after having received the initial OHC incentive.

Download to read the full report

In 2016, Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) celebrated its 18th year. Your engagement and generosity allows us to continue
to provide the leadership and innovation to fulfill our mission of building a strong Jewish future through transformative
summer experiences. With your support, we invest in leaders, amplify Jewishness, and expand the field. We are proud of
the significant achievements of the field of Jewish camp and are inspired by the impact that day camps, overnight camps,
and teen specialty experiences continue to have on our community.

The stories that follow offer observations from a graduate of one of our professional development program, highlights of
two local community partnerships, a perspective from a Jewish educator working with a day camp’s efforts to infuse Jewish
culture into camp, an overnight camps dedication to inclusivity, and a long-time investor in FJC.

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The field of Jewish camp has become increasingly aware of and responsive to the numbers of children with special needs and physical disabilities in recent years. As a first step towards initiating field-wide changes in this arena, Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is engaged in a research project mapping current, potential, and desired services available to children with emotional, intellectual, and physical disabilities at nonprofit Jewish overnight camps across North America

Laszlo Strategies delivered the results of the research (conducted in early 2013), the first of its kind in the Jewish community. The survey garnered results from 170 camp staff members (from 124 camps), 262 parents, and 141 campers.

Executive Summary

Key Findings

Full Survey Findings

In the investment community, research reports known as Blackbooks are extremely well-regarded for their insight, objectivity, and quality. The Jewish Funders Network has now brought the same rigorous lens to the world of philanthropy. We call them ‘Greenbooks.’ Think of them as guides for investing intelligently in the Jewish community. They also serve as the basis for Greenbook Salons, a series of JFN-led funder conversations about issues raised in each guide, which take place in various communities across the country and world. Greenbooks are topical, user-friendly research reports for funders, published by JFN. Each volume highlights a challenge facing the Jewish community, maps out the background and current status, and details a wide range of funding approaches to solving the problem. Greenbooks are not a solution as much as they are a start, enabling funders to have better informed and more directed conversations, to more quickly assess and then tackle the issues that matter most to them’and to the broader Jewish community. Greenbooks are dispassionate and thorough, and feature multiple approaches for funders to consider. Greenbook Volume 4 aims to inform the vital conversation about the role of Jewish overnight camps in fostering Jewish identity and commitment. To do so, the book offers funders: A survey of past, present and possible initiatives that aim to extend the reach and effectiveness of Jewish overnight camps. A catalyst to the sharing of innovative ideas with other funders, lay leaders and practitioners. A menu of opportunities to leverage investments in the field of Jewish overnight camps; and Links and citations to other resources, further information and deeper research. We are extremely grateful to Tali and Sender Cohen who have funded this Greenbook in memory of Getzel Cohen (z”l) who cherished his camp experience, which proved formative for his Jewish identity.

Download: Final JFN Greenbook on Jewish Camping

 

by Helene Drobenare, Dan Held, Ricci Postan, Josh Satok, Rabbi David Soloff Increasingly, Jewish and non-Jewish camps are developing close pipeline partnerships between day and residential camps, capturing campers at a younger age and encouraging a longer tenure at Jewish camp. Based on an overview study of Jewish day and residential camp partnerships and drawing on hands-on experience from the field, this session will tease out the benefits that such partnerships can offer both camps and will offer a set of best practices to develop a pipeline of campers from day to residential programs. The session will be relevant to both stand-alone camps and those with existing day-residential partnerships.

Download: Pipeline Report – Camping Early and Often – Silber Centre for Jewish Camping

A formative three year evaluation was undertaken to take a closer look at the six camps comprising the Ruderman/Alexander Inclusion Initiative. This comprehensive evaluation assesses the processes currently used to create, implement, and sustain the inclusive Jewish camp experience in overnight camp. Results from Summer 2015, and this 3-year longitudinal evaluation, will help identify best practices at administrative, staff, programmatic, and camper-parent levels that will result in inclusive and sustainable camp practices. Additionally, shortfalls and obstacles that are interfering with the full inclusion of campers with disabilities have begun to be identified.

Download:Summer 2015 InFocus Final Report for FJC-2-1

Since 2006, FJC has partnered with communities across North America on the One Happy Camper program to grow enrollment and increase awareness. Tens of thousands of campers have experienced Jewish overnight camp as a result of this program. This detailed report shows the successes of the OHC program this year and its influence in a family’s decision to choose Jewish overnight camp.

Download:  2014 OHC N. American Executive Summary_0 2014 OHC Detailed Findings – FINAL

In 2008 the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) launched the Specialty Camps Incubator thanks to a generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation. This innovative new program, modeled after a business incubator, was established to create five new nonprofit Jewish overnight camps dedicated to a specific skill or area of interest while introducing and integrating Jewish culture. One of the goals for the new specialty camps was to attract Jewish teens who were not attending Jewish camp. The Jim Joseph Foundation engaged Informing Change (formerly called BTW informing change) to design and implement a multi-year evaluation of the program and camps. The report that resulted is called New Jewish Specialty Camps: From Idea to Reality. It presents key findings and recommendations from the evaluation.

Download: New Jewish Specialty Camps – From Idea to Reality, Foundation for Jewish Camp Specialty Camps Incubator Evaluation Report

The field of Jewish camp has become increasingly aware of and responsive to the numbers of children with special needs and physical disabilities in recent years. As a first step towards initiating field-wide changes in this arena, Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is engaged in a research project mapping current, potential, and desired services available to children with emotional, intellectual, and physical disabilities at nonprofit Jewish overnight camps across North America Laszlo Strategies delivered the results of the research (conducted in early 2013), the first of its kind in the Jewish community. The survey garnered results from 170 camp staff members (from 124 camps), 262 parents, and 141 campers.

Download: Jewish Camp for Children with Disabilities and Special Needs – Full Survey Findings

The field of Jewish camp has become increasingly aware of and responsive to the numbers of children with special needs and physical disabilities in recent years. As a first step towards initiating field-wide changes in this arena, Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is engaged in a research project mapping current, potential, and desired services available to children with emotional, intellectual, and physical disabilities at nonprofit Jewish overnight camps across North America Laszlo Strategies delivered the results of the research (conducted in early 2013), the first of its kind in the Jewish community. The survey garnered results from 170 camp staff members (from 124 camps), 262 parents, and 141 campers.

Download: Executive Summary – Jewish Camp for Children with Disabilities and Special Needs – Key Findings