As the result of an unconditional gift of $1,000,000 by Ralph Jonas, Brooklyn philanthropist, to the proposed city-wide Jewish charity federation, the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies has approved the proposed merger with the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities. The Brooklyn Federation will vote on the merger on December 5. Mr. Jonas will turn over his gift to the combined federations one month after the merger goes into effect, which he hopes will be on January 1, 1931.
The plan to unify the two federations into one city-wide body has been discussed for ten years. The recent publication of the Jewish communal survey of New York which indicated that while there are more Jews in Brooklyn than there are in Manhattan and the Bronx combined, the Brooklyn federation raised only about a sixth of what the New York federation did.
As most of the Jewish wealth is said to be concentrated in Manhattan, it was felt that the problem of charity support should be treated from the point of view of the city as a whole.
Mr. Jonas’s gift makes the amalgamation possible at this time by offering, in effect, to ease the financial burden of the union in the first period of its existence. Moreover, according to a report made to the New York Federation trustees by Justice Joseph M. Proskauer of the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, a group of supporters of the merger movement is making an effort to raise a second $1,000,000 to assure the success of the merged federation. That money is to be raised over and above the sums collected during annual federation campaigns.
The Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies announced the receipt of $1,012,000 in contributions toward its deficit of 1929. The deficit represents the sum required by the ninety-one constituent charities of the federation for current operating expenses this year, beyond the funds available from the $3,584,000 on the Jewish community chest’s books from regular annual subscriptions.
Since the opening of its membership extension campaign, 3,674 members have been enrolled in the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies, according to an announcement by Sol Stroock, former president.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
