What impact has Covid-19 had on the field of global Jewish service and international development? What type of organizations were hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis?

OLAM surveyed its partner organizations to understand how the pandemic affected them, their staff size, and programs.

The survey was conducted in early 2021, and the data focuses on 2020. 48 of 51 OLAM partner organizations (94%) responded to the survey.

Several organizations joined the OLAM network after the survey was conducted, and their information is not included; as of June 2021, the OLAM network includes 58 partners. Data from our new partners is, of course, not included in the survey.

Of the 48 organizations who did respond, 30 are based in Israel, 8 in the US, and 10 in other countries. These organizations serve the world’s most vulnerable people through international development, global volunteerism, and humanitarian relief.

This is the third in-depth survey OLAM has conducted since it was founded in 2015. The previous surveys looked at data from 2016 and 2018. 20 partner organizations responded to all three surveys, and some of the analysis focuses specifically on those organizations, which allows us to track trends over a period of time.

Overall, the field of global Jewish service and international development has grown from 2016 to 2020, though many individual organizations were hit hard by the pandemic, especially those in Israel and those that focus on global service. Still, these organizations, and all OLAM partners, worked hard to respond to emerging needs, and continued to serve communities in the developing world and to address global challenges within their new reality.

The 2020 partner survey data was analyzed by external evaluator Shoshana Ross.