Moishe House gauges the impact of its programming models in a number of ways, including the number of individual programs, Jewish young adult community builders, individual participants worldwide and more. But the organization also relies on evidence of behavioral and attitudinal shifts as measured by our annual peer-led fundraising campaign and regular evaluations to prove the effectiveness of organizational initiatives.
External Evaluations
To gauge the success of the Moishe House model and measure organization- and demographic-wide trends, Moishe House conducts frequent comprehensive evaluations of young adults involved in Moishe House programming.
By reaching residents, resident alumni, Moishe House Without Walls (MHWOW) hosts, community members and past participants, we are able to get a finger on the pulse of the young adult Jewish community around the world. These evaluations measure changes in young adults during their time with Moishe House, including their involvement in the Jewish community, confidence as leaders, knowledge of Jewish ritual, and more. Very important developments in Moishe House’s history have emerged thanks to previous evaluations, including the creation of our Jewish Learning Retreats and the emergence of MHWOW, which was initially imagined exclusively as an engagement mechanism for resident alumni, but has grown and expanded to far more.
2018 Evaluation
The most recent external evaluation was conducted by Informing Change and was published in the spring of 2018. This evaluation was the first to include a longitudinal component and showed that Moishe House programming is having long-term impact on Jewish young adults as they move in to other stages of life.
2015 Evaluation
Moishe House’s 2015 independent evaluation built upon the comprehensive study conducted in 2011. In 2015, we focused on learning more about its impact during its expansion, including the behavioral and attitudinal impact of Moishe House on residents, alumni and participants.
2011 Evaluation
In 2011, Moishe House completed a two-year external evaluation that was conducted by The TCC Group. The evaluation was commissioned by the Jim Joseph Foundation and included interviews, focus groups, site visits and a large scale online survey.
Young Adult Philanthropy
Each year, Moishe House aims to flip the script of young adult philanthropy through a multi-week peer-led campaign. While the majority of Moishe House programming is free and each house and Moishe House Without Walls (MHWOW) rely on the support of local, national and international funders to operate, during the WE ARE campaign, Moishe House residents, MHWOW hosts, community participants and their personal networks are asked to give a meaningful contribution to the organization.
While data suggests that young adults are not engaging philanthropically, every year, WE ARE proves that millennials are excited about giving back to organizations that are important to them and that they will participate in giving both through personal contributions and as active fundraisers. The 2023 WE ARE campaign raised more than $160,000 through nearly 2,400 contributions.
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