This summer, more than 1,300 Jewish community members from across Greater Washington participated in Federation’s Impact Index Pulse Survey, giving us a clearer picture of how Jewish life is experienced across our region. Through a 20-minute text-based survey, respondents shared their attitudes and behaviors across eight pillars of communal wellbeing: engagement, education, belonging, safety, activism, health, caring, and connection to Israel and global Jewry.

Conducting research like this is core to our role in the community. We invest in data projects like this to inform our strategies and investments, and to equip synagogues, schools, human service agencies, and community-building organizations with insights they need to strengthen Jewish life in alignment with their own missions.

While we are not a synagogue, this insight matters deeply for synagogue leaders to know that among 29% of individuals who are not currently engaged but want to be, affordability is real barrier. 78% of those individuals say they would participate more in synagogue life if membership were more affordable.

This finding is especially important for our human service agencies: only 44% of individuals who identified as financially vulnerable reported knowing where to find help in the Jewish community during a time of need—in comparison to 55% of more well-off individuals.

We do not exist in a vacuum. Our community is telling us clearly where the opportunities lie: deepening engagement, expanding belonging, strengthening care, and ensure that every Jew regardless of geography, background, or perspective has access to a vibrant Jewish life. The survey shows that 72% of Jewish adults in Greater Washington consider themselves engaged with Jewish life to some degree, and at the same time, 54% say they would like to be more engaged, including 62% of respondents under the age 35 who live in the inner core of Northern Virginia and D.C. proper.

Federation will continue to fund and lead studies like this because understanding our community is essential to strengthening it, and to stewarding our collective resources responsibly.