DETROIT
More Jews Help Non-Jewish
Causes Than Communal Ones
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
hree out of four Jewish
families in the Detroit
area made charitable
contributions to non-Jewish
causes in 1988. Fifty-one
percent gave to Jewish
organizations, but only 43
percent contributed to the
Allied Jewish Campaign.
These were among the
major findings of the report
on philanthropic giving in
Detroit that was culled from
the 1989 Jewish population
study undertaken by the
Jewish Welfare Federation.
The philanthropy report,
and a second one on Jewish
communal services, showed
that despite relative wealth
overall, three out of 10
Detroit Jewish households
(approximately 6,600
households) have income
less than $40,000 per year.
Nine percent of Jewish
households are classified as
low income and 11 percent
as moderate income.
In the first half of 1991,
additional reports from the
study will cover Jewish
neighborhoods and mobility,
population characteristics
and an overall summary. A
recent report dealt with Jew-
ish identity and affiliation.
The information is based
on telephone surveys of
1,100 Detroit area Jews
called randomly from com-
munal lists and from the
telephone book. The Jewish
Welfare Federation will use
the data for strategic plann-
ing for itself and its agen-
cies.
The reports are based on
responses representing the
76,000 Jews living in the
community's core area, 12
suburbs in south Oakland
County.
They show that 21 percent
of Detroit-area Jews live in
households with an annual
income of less than $30,000;
24 percent have an annual
income of $30,000 to
$50,000; and 55 percent are
above $50,000.
They also showed a troubl-
ing statistic for the Allied
Jewish Campaign: the mid-
dle-aged population (age 50-
69) contributes twice as
much to the Campaign as
younger persons with the
same incomes. (See related
story below.)
Even among the affluent,
85 percent of those aged 50-
69 and 86 percent of those 70
and older gave to the Cam-
14
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1990
paign, while only 64 percent
of those 30-49 gave to the
Campaign. The report
defined affluent as
households with annual in-
comes of $100,000 or
meeting any of the following
criteria: country club mem-
bership, ownership of a
home valued at $200,000 or
more, or owning other assets
worth $500,000.
The report said there was a
"predictably strong associ-
ation between communal af-
filiation and philanthropic
giving." It found that those
with strong affiliations to
the Jewish community give
more than double than those
with moderate affiliations.
The moderates give three
times more than those with
weak affiliations.
Key Points
• 20 percent of the
Detroit area's Jewish
population has low or
moderate income.
• Single-parent families
have a higher proportion
of income and family
problems.
• More Jews contribute
to non-Jewish causes than
to Jewish causes.
• 60 percent of young
Jewish children regularly
receive child care from
non-family members.
• The presence of other
Jewish children in their
child's programs is impor-
tant to parents.
• 85 percent of Jews age
70 and older live in their
own homes.
Among the affluent, those
with high affiliations to the
Jewish community gave an
average Campaign gift of
$2,300 in the 30-49 age
group and $3,800 in the 50-
69 age group. For moderate
affiliation, affluent donors
averaged $800 in the 30-49
age group and $1,800 in the
50-69 group.
Affluent donors with the
lowest affilation to the com-
munity averaged $200 Cam-
paign gifts in the 30-49
group and $800 in the 50-69
group.
The report noted that af-
fluent Conservative Jews
give about 50 percent more
to the Allied Jewish Cam-
paign than their Reform
counterparts. Survey in-
vestigators Jacob Ukeles
and Steven Cohen attribute
this to the Reform
movement's efforts toward
less-affiliated Jewish
families and to the mixed
married.
"To the extent that Reform
temples do so, they also will
tend to reach larger
numbers who are not par-
ticularly sympathetic to the
Campaign," they wrote.
The number of affluent Or-
thodox contributors reached
by the survey was too small
to make a comparison.
Communal
Services
The report on clients,
needs and use of Jewish
communal services in the
Detroit area stressed that
two groups are particularly
vulnerable, earning less
than $30,000 annually: sin-
gle parents and older per-
sons (age 70 and up). Fifty
percent of each of these
groups earned less than
$30,000.
An estimated 85 percent of
those Jews over 70 live in
their own homes. The re-
mainder live with their chil-
dren, in special housing or
nursing homes. More than
40 percent of the re-
spondents with older parents
are involved in their
parents' care.
Over a third of the single
parent families reported in
the 1989 study they had re-
cently needed help in finding
a job. This is twice the rate of
two-parent families
surveyed. Half the single
parent population are part of
the "sandwich generation,"
raising their own children
and providing care for their
parents at the same time.
Single-parent families ex-
perienced problems at near-
ly twice the rate as two-
parent families. Twenty-
eight perecnt of the single-
parent respondents reported
teen-age problems, while
only 14 percent of two-
parent families reported
such problems. Twenty-six
percent of single-parent
families reported school
problems, compared to 16
percent of two-parent
families.
Drug or alcohol abuse
problems were six percent to
four percent, according to
the survey.
For the overall commun-
ity, of those who had sought
professional help within the
last three years, 48 percent
went to a professional
therapist, 31 percent used
the Jewish Family Service,
16 percent used the Jewish
Vocational Service, and five
CONTRIBUTIONS
CAMPAIGN
OTHER
NON-
JEWISH SECTARIAN
TOTAL
1%
3%
1%
6%
5,000 - 9,999
1%
1%
1%
7%
1,000 - 4,999
7%
18%
11 %
25%
500 - 999
4%
6%
10%
14%
100 - 499
13%
16%
26%
16%
1 - 99
19%
7%
16%
8%
0
57%
49%
35%
24%
TOTAL
100%
100%
100%
100%
MEAN GIVING
$600
$1200
$700
$2500
$10,000 +
percent went to a rabbi, Jew-
ish school or other Jewish
institution for help.
For those with incomes
over $80,000 only 14 percent
thought Jewish sponsorship
important in seeking advice.
For those under $30,000, 55
percent saw Jewish sponsor-
ship as important.
The study reported that 60
percent of children age 6 or
younger receive some type of
regular child care from
someone outside the family.
More than half receive care
in their own ,home; 20 per-
cent are in all-day, full ser-
vice day care; 17 percent are
in nursery school (typically
half-day).
.
Fifty-one percent of the re-
spondents said Jewish spon-
sorship of the child care was
important. Sixty-four per-
cent said the presence of
other Jewish children in the
program was important.
Seventy percent of the
Jewish children in the area
age 5-14 attend summer
camp. Half the children in
day camp attend Jewish-
sponsored camps and 80 per-
cent of those in overnight
camp attend Jewish spon-
sored camps.
Seventy-five percent of the
respondents say they use the
Jewish Community Center;
20 percent said they are JCC
members. ❑
Nonsectarian Charities
Are Winning Hearts
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
A
t 28, Marlene Meyer
is making a name for
herself in the world of
young, professional vol-
unteers.
In addition to her job as a
marketing promotions man-
ager for Allnet Communica-
tions, Ms. Meyer, of
Southfield, spends countless
hours each week working as
president of the executive
board of the American
Cancer Society's young pro-
fessional division. Ms.
Meyer, too, is a volunteer for
the Pontiac Rescue Mission,
a shelter for homeless
adults.
She donates to many
organizations — among
them, the Detroit Institute
of Arts, Greenpeace, the
Michigan State University
Alumni Association and
Planned Parenthood.
"I was raised to give," Ms.
Meyer says. "It was learned
and I would feel empty if I
didn't do it."
Yet noticeably absent from
her list of volunteer choices
are Jewish causes and a con-
tribution to the Allied Jew-
ish Campaign. She hasn't
given much thought to the
Campaign.
"No one has really ever
asked me to do it and I was
asked to do these other
things," Ms. Meyer says. "I
would like to make this
world a little better than it
was when I came into it. It is
important to give something
back to the community."
In an era where competi-
tion is becoming greater for
charitable dollars, Ms.
Meyer has made American
Cancer Society her cause of
choice. Others also have put
their time and dollars into
non-Jewish charities.
Three of four Jewish
families in the metropolitan
Detroit area in 1988 made a
contribution to a non-Jewish
charity, while only one in
two gave to Jewish organiza-
tions.
A newly released Jewish
Welfare Federation report
on philanthropy shows that
the pattern of giving for
younger Jews differs from
that of middle-aged Jews