More than half of the income of five of the largest Jewish federations and welfare funds in 1934 came from 816 contributors who gave $1,000 or more, it was disclosed in an analysis of Baltimore, Chicago, Brooklyn, New York and Toronto contained in the report on financing for the fiscal year of 1934 of the National Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.
The five federations raised a total of $4,677,538 in 1934 in 54,724 contributions ranging from less than $5 to $5,000 and over, the report showed. The Jewish population of these five communities is approximately 2,180,000.
Slightly over 85 per cent of the funds were raised in gifts of $100 and over from 13.8 of the total number of subscribers.
At the other end of the scale, gifts under $100, received from 86.2 per cent of the number of subscribers, account for only 14.8 of the total.
The situation is somewhat different in smaller communities, the report stated. In these there is found a greater dependence on small gifts.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.