American Jewish Committee Joins L.c.b.c. Budget Review Process

The Executive Board of the American Jewish Committee approved tonight the agency’s participation in the budget review process of the Large City Budgeting Conference, a voluntary organization of the larger Jewish welfare funds in the major cities of the U.S. Announcement of the action was made by Morris B. Abram, president of the American Jewish Committee.

The American Jewish Committee Board, meeting at the Americana Hotel in conjunction with the Committee’s 58th annual meeting, approved the agreement negotiated by Mr. Abram, Philip E. Hoffman, chairman of the Board of Governors; Richard Maass, vice president, and Dr. John Slawson, executive vice-president, with a committee headed by George Michelson, chairman of the Large City Budgeting Conference.

The Large City Budgeting Conference, established in 1948, is a cooperative activity of the member communities, which studies the programs, budgets, and sources of income of cooperating national and overseas agencies and conducts joint budget review meetings with them. Participation of member communities and of cooperating agencies is voluntary, and recommendations of the LCBC are advisory only.

In explaining the new arrangement, Mr. Abram pointed out that “for the past several years, the American Jewish Committee has been in negotiation with the LCBC, seeking a basis for our participation consistent with AJC’s fundamental principles. We were especially concerned that AJC’s participation in any budget review process should not in any way compromise our autonomy, in fact or in principle. We felt also that it must be made clear as a basis for our participation in the LCBC that budgeting cannot be linked to allocation of function among agencies.

“Among the other factors which concerned us were the independence of our governing bodies to determine our affiliation or non-affiliation with other groups, and our right, whenever we do not agree with a budget report, to have our own statement circulated together with such report; and to submit two separate budgets–one for our domestic program, the other for our overseas program. We believe the present agreement provides the AJC with satisfactory safeguards in all these matters.

The Large City Budgeting Conference tonight welcomed the decision of the executive board of the American Jewish Committee to participate in the LCBC budget review process. George Michelson, LCBC chairman, said: “All 23 of our participating communities join me in hailing this significant decision. Thanks are due Morris B.Abram, Philip E. Hoffman, Richard Maass and Dr. John Slawson of the American Jewish Committee and to Louis J. Fox, Donald B. Hurwitz, and Irving Levick of the LCBC committee, for their constructive efforts in developing this agreement. The LCBC and each of its constituent welfare funds anticipate great mutual benefits in this new cooperation with the American Jewish Committee.”