FAQs and Topics

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Why should we do it?

Ancestry mapping gives an organization a sense of where its members are from. You might be surprised at the diversity of locations and languages of your community.

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Pricing?

We charge $350 for up to 100 respondents, $600 for 101-300 respondents, and $1000 for unlimited respondents.

 

What is included on the form?

The ancestry map uses a form like this, customized to each organization. Each respondent can submit information for up to 8 ancestors in any order, and all questions are optional. 

• Name (may or may not be displayed, depending on the organization's preference)

• Relation to you (parent, great-great-great grandparent, etc.)

• Gender

• Birth decade

• Country of birth

• City of birth (or region or state)

• Primary language spoken in childhood

• Additional languages

• Was this ancestor Jewish?

• Did this ancestor emigrate?

• If yes, what was this ancestor's ultimate destination country?

• Ultimate destination city

• Additional info (optional)

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What about privacy?

You will be given a link to the map with your organization's data, and you can share it as you wish, privately or publicly. Your data will not be included anywhere else, and names and email addresses will not be displayed. We never share this data with third parties.

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How many participants do we need?

There is no minimum number of respondents. Even 10 participants will yield a robust map. However, we recommend getting as many responses as possible - including Jews of multiple backgrounds - to capture the diversity of your organization​.

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Instructions for organizations 

1. Determine your budget and estimate how many respondents you expect.

2. Select a plan on our website and make a payment.

3. Request particular questions and other customizations for your form.

4. We create a custom form and send you the link, along with a sample email invitation.

5. You customize this invitation and send it to your participants.

6. We monitor the responses and let you know how many have come in.

7. We map the number of respondents based on the tier you selected, and you can upgrade to a higher tier at any time.

8. We clean up the data, aggregate it, and display it on a map (a labor-intensive process involving experts in Jewish history, geography, mapping, and programming).

9. We send you a unique link to your organization's map.

10. You share the map link with your organization.

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Tips for respondents
We suggest you focus on ancestors who were born in another country, but if you don’t know where they’re from, you can include ancestors from the United States. You should include Jewish and non-Jewish ancestors, as well as ancestors by birth or by adoption. All questions are optional, so you can leave something blank if you’re not sure or don’t want something shared publicly. The more information you provide, the more accurate the mapping will be.

Contact
If you are interested in a map for your organization, please email the following information to jewishlanguageproject@huc.edu:

• Organization name

• Organization location

• Organization type (school, class, synagogue, Hillel, youth group, etc.)

• Number of people you expect will participate in the mapping

• Any questions you have