The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York today issued its 45th annual report showing unprecedented support by the Jews of New York for community health and welfare services and a record of expansion of community facilities. The highlights of the report are:
1. For the first time, Federation raised in excess of $20,000,000 for the maintenance of its 116 affiliated local medical and social service agencies. The final total, expected by June 30th when the organization’s fiscal year ends, will be approximately $20,500,000.
2. The number of contributors to Federation’s 45th annual appeal, which began in September 1961, is also expected to reach a record level, in excess of 150,000. This is equivalent to one out of every four Jewish families in the Metropolitan area. Lawrence A. Wien, president of the Federation, pointed out that this total does not fully represent the number of givers to the organization since many of the gifts although counted as a single contribution represent group giving.
3. Federation’s Building Fund campaign, which was launched last October with a record goal of $104,365,000, has resulted in gifts and grants totaling $69,125,000 to date. The Building Fund, largest single drive ever attempted by a voluntary health and welfare organization, seeks funds to provide essential new services, to replace obsolete facilities and to extend the range of services required to meet the demands of the future, particularly in the areas of medical and aged care and recreation.
4. During the past year, Federation agencies, which are located in the five boroughs and surrounding counties, served more than 800,000 persons of all races and faiths. While it is the greatest number of people ever served by these agencies, Mr. Wien said large numbers of people could not be served immediately, or at all, because of insufficient or overcrowded services. He cited the fields of the aged, family service, child care and camping as the most critical areas of shortages.
Among the gifts received for the Building Fund were nine gifts for one million dollars or more–including two in excess of $2,000,000, the largest contributions ever received by Federation. Thousands of Building Fund gifts, in all amounts, have been received, indicating deep community involvement and trust in private philanthropy, the report states. Support of the Building Fund came from all segments of the community, including individuals, public corporations and private business firms.
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.
