National Community Chest Idea is Favored by Portland, Ore., Jews

Committee Formulates Plan to Eliminate Collection Expenses (Jewish Daily Bulletin Mail Service)

The Jews of Portland may follow other communities in forming a community chest for national philanthropies.

The committee which was appointed by the Federated Jewish Societies to study this project has reported favorably on it.

“There come annually to Portland a great many solicitors for contributions, representing Jewish relief agencies situated outside of this city and state, who raise a very considerable amount of money. In a great measure this inrerferes with our local ‘drives’ for the Community Chest, etc.,” the report stated.

“A few of these non-local Jewish institutions have, up to now, been included in our Community Chest budget. It is the belief of the committee, that they should not be, as the Community Chest should be confined strictly to the support of local institutions. The belief is becoming general throughout the country, where Community Chests exist, that all outside agencies for relief should be excluded from the Community Chests. In the course of a short time the Community Chest will no doubt be restricted strictly to the relief of local institutions, and it will then become necessary for communities to raise separate funds for the relief of non-local agencies. Already a movement is on foot in New York for a national Jewish organization whose purpose it will be to consider the needs of all agencies seeking national support, and allocating to each city what its share should be.

“The working out of a plan on such a large scale, we believe, will probably take several years, and before that can be organized we will, in Portland, no doubt be facing the necessity of raising a local fund, should our Community Chest decide to exclude all outside agencies.

“The manner in which funds are being raised for non-local institutions through solicitors coming here from the outside, your committee believes, aside from the annoyance of this continual solicitation, is very uncconomical. The Committee believes that 100 per cent of the funds contributed for such institutions should go to them, whereas at present the traveling expenses, hotel and living expenses and salaries of such solicitors creates an enormous overhead expense and consumes a very large percentage of the amount contributed,” the committee declared in its report.

“We recommend that this plan be put into effect without delay.

“We believe that the funds so raised should be kept separate and distinct from the funds of the Federated Jewish Societies, to be used solely for the purpose of aiding non-local Jewish institutions, and, while the work can be done the done through the Federated Jewish Societies’ office, the funds should be placed in the hands of a board of trustees for distribution, whose duty it shall be to annually make up a budget and allocate to each one of the non-local institutions the amount they consider necessary and consistent with Portland’s Jewish population.

“We would suggest that it might be well to organize on a membership basis, having different classes of members, at different amounts, pledge an annual membership due, which will automatically take care of the fund, and obviate the necessity for an annual ‘drive.’

“Should this plan become effective the residents of Portland can then consistently refuse to contribute to any solicitor coming in from the outside, representing a non-local institution, and in the course of a short time we believe we will be saved the annoyance of such solicitation; besides having the knowledge that the full amount of our contributions will go to the institutions, without a large percentage going to cover the cost of collecting,” the report concluded.