The Denver Boulder Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Initiative (the Initiative) began in 2014 with a partnership between Rose Community Foundation and Jim Joseph Foundation to fund grantees selected to be the drivers of change in the Jewish teen landscape through their teen-led programming and strong adult-teen relationships.

The Initiative partnered with us as the external evaluator for Phase I of the Initiative (2014–17). We conducted a mixed-method evaluation, consisting of surveys and interviews of stakeholder groups, including teens, parents, teen professionals, grantee leaders and their national staff colleagues, community leaders, and funders. Secondary analysis included reviews of grant reports and other relevant materials.

For Phase II of the Initiative (2018-21), we served as a coordinator and consultant to the Initiative grantees as they took on greater responsibility for the evaluation of their own program activities. We conducted regular one-on-one coaching sessions with grantees, reviewed and gave feedback on data collection tools, advised on annual plans for assessing progress toward grant outcomes, and worked with grantees to draft their yearly reports to Rose Community Foundation.

This report summarizes key outcomes, findings and recommendations of our work from 2014-21.