In 2021 FJC received and successfully completed a one-year planning grant from the John Templeton Foundation that assessed how Jewish camps cultivate character development. Subsequently in 2022, FJC was awarded a three-year $1.2 million grant from Templeton to conduct deeper and more extensive research on this topic, specifically how camps nurture and teach the virtue of kindness in their campers and staff. Working closely with a select cohort of five camps, we are studying how character is cultivated at Jewish overnight camp, specifically focusing on how we develop relational virtues that help us to develop generosity of spirit, kindness and empathy. In future years we plan to develop curricula resources and share best practices and other learnings on character education with the entire field.
Census
FJC 2022 State of the Field Census published in February 2023 can be found here
FJC 2021 State of the Field Census published in January of 2022 can be found here
Market Research
During and immediately following each summer, FJC conducts Camper Satisfaction Insight (CSI) and Staff Satisfaction Insight (SSI) surveys. These in-depth, customizable market research surveys help camps pinpoint strengths and areas for growth according to respondents’ feedback. CSI provides a look at what parents and campers think of their camp experience, from programming to safety to facilities. SSI measures staff satisfaction and helps inform staff hiring and retention strategies. FJC administers both surveys in partnership with Summation Research to provide year-to-year tracking and field-wide performance benchmarks.
For summer 2022, 120 camps participated in the day and overnight CSI (camper survey) – reporting data from over 10,000 overnight camp families and over 3,000 day camp families – and 75 camps participated in the SSI (staff survey) – reporting data from over 3,500 overnight camp staff and 1,000 day camp staff.
“The information gathered through these professional surveys has provided us with customer satisfaction data for all aspects of the Ramah Wisconsin experience. This valuable information has helped us enhance our program to better meet the needs of our campers and will be a very valuable tool as we develop a strategic plan for the coming decade.”
-Dr. Jeff Kopin, President, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
