It's open-house season at Jewish institutions across the community, particularly synagogues. Families with school-age children have started thinking about making arrangements for the fall, and that means looking at new schools, activity centers, and maybe even homes.

Naturally, Jewish institutions gravitate toward the same basic open-house calendar as secular society, but there is no need to follow anyone else's lead when it comes to the content and the structure of our events. In fact, unique demographic aspects of the Jewish community all but demand that we reevaluate some of our strategies. Are open houses truly beneficial to everyone who we are trying to reach?

To determine whom open houses serve, we must make a clear distinction between those who are unengaged and those who are unaffiliated. Consequently, the Jewish community must be in a position to acknowledge the diversity of its population and develop strategies for reaching the Affiliated but Unengaged, the Engaged but Unaffiliated, and the Unengaged and Unaffiliated.

• The Affiliated but Unengaged means those paying membership dues to a synagogue or JCC who rarely take part in its activities. For these, writing a check but never showing up could be the extent of their interaction with Jewish life.
  
  
• The Engaged but Unaffiliated may take part in activities that help to foster a Jewish identity, but perhaps do not belong to a Jewish communal institution. This is especially true of young adults and others who are not attracted to the current offerings of many communal institutions or do not yet have the financial means to join. These are people leaning toward being members of the Jewish community, and perhaps can be sold on the idea of paying for the benefits and services that a synagogue or JCC affiliation can offer (life-cycle events, educational and cultural programs, etc.). In order to provide these services, Jewish communal institutions must support themselves by charging membership fees. Thus, it is entirely understandable why they want to increase the ranks of their membership. A membership drive may be effective in reaching the Engaged but Unaffiliated.
  
  
• The Unengaged and Unaffiliated must first be sold on the idea of Jewish life in general before they might begin to value the tangible benefits of membership in a communal institution. A membership drive in the form of an open house will have little appeal for those who come from the ranks of the Unengaged and Unaffiliated – perhaps the largest segment of the community. In fact, such a strategy may inadvertently push them even further from the community. For this segment of the Jewish population, organizations must offer events that encourage individuals to actively engage in their own Jewish identity – without the organization asking for anything in return.

This is why we must be careful not to confuse membership drives with outreach. Open houses may answer the question "Why be Jewish here?" but effective outreach programs help answer the question "Why be Jewish at all?" The Unengaged and Unaffiliated are often still struggling with that very question. As a result, they are less willing to open their checkbooks when they are not completely convinced that they resonate with what is being sold.

Luckily, many organizations do offer programs and events that can resonate (intentionally or otherwise) with Jewish households on the periphery. They may be introductory Judaism courses, Jewish book fairs, Israeli film festivals, Jewish concerts, and the like. Such programs can foster connections between a person's interests in the secular world and their Jewish heritage, helping them to be more proud or interested in being Jewish. What these programs have in common is that they are often free or low-cost, they don't involve a major commitment, and they don't require very much prior Jewish knowledge – or that you be Jewish at all, which is particularly important for our intermarried family members.

Whether such programs become "outreach" or not depends on if they can reach Unengaged and Unaffiliated households and strengthen their Jewish identity through participation. But to do so, organizations must employ outreach best practices – marketing and programming in secular venues to "go where the people are," getting to know participants on a personal level, collecting their names to follow up with them personally, inviting them to other relevant events based on their own interests and needs, and so forth.

Outreach is labor-intensive and is a long-term investment in the future of Jewish identity. The end result is measured by deeper engagement, not necessarily affiliation – though it often does lead to organizational membership as people feel closer to the community. Outreach does not have the instant gratification of open houses, with participants signing membership forms that same day. Yet Jewish organizations across the country are beginning to understand that to survive and thrive, they must also make the long-term commitment to reach those on the periphery and not just open our doors to those who are ready to sign up on their own initiative.