JFGO population study

The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando is sponsoring a population study of the Jewish community of Central Florida. Studies like this are conducted by Jewish communities all over the United States to estimate the size and characteristics of the local Jewish community and to assist Jewish communal organizations to make well-informed, data-driven decisions for the benefit of the entire community. The study will be conducted by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, one of the leading social science research centers in the world that focuses on contemporary Jewish life.

The last community study in Central Florida was conducted in 1993, when the community was estimated to include just over 9,000 Jewish households and nearly 19,000 Jewish individuals in Orange and Seminole Counties and parts of Volusia and Osceola Counties. The new study will cover the same areas but also include part of Lake County. We know the community has experienced significant growth in the past 27 years, and we look forward to learning what the new study tells us.

Beginning in November, you may be contacted by the Cohen Center or their research partners at the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, and invited to complete a survey. If you were chosen at random to participate in the study, you may receive letters, phone calls, and/or emails from the Cohen Center or UNH. If you receive a phone call from UNH at 603-397-0660, or an email from Brandeis at noreply@qemailserver.com or orlandostudy@brandeis.edu, it is probably about the study. Survey responses will be confidential and findings will be reported only in the aggregate. The more households that participate, the more information will be available to help Jewish organizations in the community make data-driven decisions about the future.

You can read more about the study on the Cohen Center's website at: https://www.brandeis.edu/ssri/communitystudies/orlando.html

To learn more about participating in the study, please see Cohen Center's FAQ at: https://www.brandeis.edu/ssri/communitystudies/faqsurvey.html

If you have questions about the study, please contact Keith Dvorchik (kdvorchik@jfgo.org), executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, or Prof. Matthew Boxer (mboxer@brandeis.edu), who is leading the research team for the study. Results of the study will be available in the summer of 2021.