The backlog of unpaid pledges to community campaigns in the United States and Canada was reduced an average of five percent in 1961, it was reported today by Louis P. Smith of Boston, national chairman of the Cash Collection Committee of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds. The total amount collected by 79 communities–exclusive of New York–in 1961 was 2.8 percent greater than in 1960, despite a drop of 2.6 percent in pledges. The sum of $69,080,470 exceeded the total collected in 1960 by $1,897,077.
An analysis of collection results by the size of cities shows that the largest cities–those with 40,000 or more Jewish population–increased their collections by $1,452,970 or 3.1 percent. The next group of cities–those with 15,000-40,000 Jewish population–showed an even larger percentage increase–7.3 percent. The cities with 5,000–15,000 were the only group which showed a decline, averaging two percent, with some communities recording gains that were offset by the decreases of others. The smallest cities, those with fewer than 5,000 population, gained 3.4 percent.
Mr. Smith attributed the increase in payments to several factors. Among them were the realization that dollars were urgently needed at once to provide for the increased wave of immigration to Israel as well as for other overseas needs and the mounting requirements of local and national health, welfare, education and recreation services; the upsurge of the American economy;planned year-round attention to collection by an increasing number of communities and a greater exchange of ideas and experiences among communities.
These efforts were assisted by an unprecedented cash collection mobilization conducted by the CJF WF last Fall upon the recommendation of its Overseas Delegation to Israel. Mr. Smith paid particular tribute to the community leaders “who demonstrated their clear understanding of the urgency of the needs by greatly stepping up their cash collection efforts” and declared that the real benefits of their action “are being felt by the men, women and children in our communities, across the land and around the world for whose needs we are responsible.”
Serving with Mr. Smith on the CJF WF Cash Collection Committee are: John D. Feinberg, Toronto; Max M. Cuba, Atlanta; K.S. Goldenberg, St. Paul; D. Lou Harris, Toronto; Irving Levick, Buffalo; Sol Satinsky, Philadelphia; and Ted Zuckerman, Los Angeles. Donald B. Hurwitz, Philadelphia; Isidore Sobeloff, Detroit; and Henry L. Zucker, Cleveland, serve as the technical consultants.
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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.
