This research-philanthropy partnership aims to help Jewish communal leaders be more savvy consumers of data
April 28th, 2025
We all want our work to be rooted in evidence and best practices, and we all want to thoughtfully and deftly use high-quality, up-to-date information to guide our decisions. But these aims are neither easy nor simple to achieve. There is a glut of information in the world, of varying quality and relevance to Jewish communal concerns.
The Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education’s CASJE Research Digest, which is relaunching next month, is a case study and model of a partnership between research and philanthropy designed to address this challenge and help Jewish communal decision-makers become more informed and adept users of data and research.
Why Now:
In the aftermath of Oct. 7, we were witness to terrible loss and pain and an onslaught of questions regarding the well-being of the American Jewish community and the nature of its ongoing relationship with Israel. In that period, we also saw a proliferation of research, as a number of leading organizations and philanthropists sought to root their decisions in high-quality information about American Jewish experiences in this volatile time. CASJE catalogued more than 20 studies in just the few months following Oct. 7.
Max D. Baumgarten is the director of North American operations at the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation in Los Angeles, where he oversees grantmaking strategies focused on strengthening Jewish life in the United States.
Stacie Cherner is the director of research and learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation.
Arielle Levites is the managing director of CASJE and co-director of The Collaboratory: A Center for Jewish Education at George Washington University.
Read the full piece in eJewish Philanthropy.