Editor's Letter

Beyond The Study

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October 27 2005

study is sure to confirm the suspected decline in the
overall population of students in Jewish day and con-
gregational schools in Metro Detroit. We then will
have the data to build a model for anticipating stu-
dent needs.
Federation President Peter Alter gave a reasoned
response when I asked him during the early stages to
justify the study. "The Detroit Jewish community has
long been characterized as stable, cohesive and gener-
ous in support of communal needs," he said. "How-
ever, we are not insulated from the major demograph-
ic shifts and social changes that are taking place in
society. In serving our current needs and planning for
our future, it is incumbent upon us to gather new
insights into the community:'

The challenge lies in what

the community does with

the study results. We must

realize a tangible, measura-

ble return on investment.

I like that the study will zoom in on a precious
resource: older adults. What are the most vulnerable
in this group lacking? The findings will help elevate
our Commission on Jewish Eldercare Services, a suc-
cessful initiative emanating from the 1989 study.
Still, Jewish comm-unities tend to invest in battle-
ship-sized studies but don't do enough year-to-year
tracking and follow-up. A massive study represents a
benchmark. Unfortunately, few, if any, federations
invest the dollars to actually track trends yearly. At a
time when the Jewish community must be nimble, it
collectively still puts most of its survey eggs in a big-
study basket. I urge our Federation to examine and
act proactively upon community trends occurring
between the 2005 study and the next time a major
study is done.
By committing to an intensive annual review and
update, to probing beneath the demographic bark, the
Detroit Federation would create a national model. The
Detroit Jewish community would benefit over the
long haul through more facts and less guessing.EI

POI NTS TO PONDER.

Part 1
is important to know who we are as a Jewish
community. This insight will enable us to step
ahead with confidence as we strive to make Jewish
Detroit the best that it can be. Our demographics
reveal much about our collective
and family interests — and
about how wisely were spending
the money that Federation raises
on the community's behalf. But
the value of a demographic study
lies in how you interpret, apply
and update the research data.
I welcome Federation's new
Robert A. Sklar study, the first such analysis in 16
Editor
years. The Detroit Jewish
Population Study begins this
week and runs for four weeks. The Detroit Jewish
News is a co-sponsor because we believe the data-rich
findings have the potential to benefit the entire com-
munity, not just Federation and its partner agencies,
in many exciting ways.
For example, the JN is testing new publication con-
cepts to attract younger Jews with some ties to organ-
ized Jewish life. To assure growing readership, the IN
requires new, younger readers of all Jewish back-
grounds. In that same context, Federation requires
new, younger givers so its Annual Campaign can meet
increasing Jewish needs, locally, nationally and
around the world. These new donor connections
stand to strengthen over time. Informed young adults
clearly are the community's lifeblood.
The challenge lies in what the community does
with the study results. We must realize a tangible,
measurable return on investment. At this juncture,
Federation projects the cost — from fieldwork this
fall to release of initial findings next spring — at
about $300,000; a substantial portion will be paid by
private philanthropy. Federation bears the burden to
prevent an investment free fall.
Jewish demographer Dr. Ira Sheskin of the
University of Miami is piloting the study. It will target
Jewish education, Federation's Annual Campaign and
the changing demographics of the family and of
Jewish life in Metro Detroit. It will deeply influence
our community's strategic planning.
Who we are today no doubt will be substantively
different than we who were in 1989. Do 96,000 Jews
still call Metro Detroit home? How far has Detroit
Jewry extended in all directions from its core in
southern Oakland County? Are half of our families
still unaffiliated? How many are interfaith? What com-
munal services are most popular?
These are some of the pressing questions facing us.
The study will yield data that we do not have. The
data no doubt will both validate and expose. It might
even shock. At worst, it will bolster decisions essential
to ensuring our future. At best, the study will test
assumptions about the needs of older adults, 20- and
30-somethings and people with special needs.
On the education front, we know that Oakland
County's student numbers are falling. Federation's

Share
Your
Soul

What communal services is the
Detroit Jewish community lack-
ing or short on?

What questions do you hope are
addressed from the study's data
yield?

E-mail:
letters@thejewishnews.com

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