More than $35 million has been raised toward the goal of a record $218 million in the capital fund campaign of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, it was announced here tonight at the official launching of the drive. Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and Mayor John V. Lindsay told the 350 Jewish leaders attending a dinner that the drive was essential to the welfare of the more than 1.5 million New York residents of all races and faiths served annually by Federation agencies in the five city boroughs, Nassau, and Westchester, Suffolk and Rockland Counties.
Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and Secretary of Defense designate, was the principal speaker. He characterized Federation’s building drive as a “model” of the kind of individual enterprise that is necessary to offset the over-extended authority of federal government. “Your master plan, which is designed to add new medical, welfare and educational buildings to your already immensely effective network of humane services, is an example of private sector initiative at its best,” he said.
George H. Heyman, Jr., a former Federation president, read a roster of gifts that included 12 contributions of $1 million or more and an additional 56 gifts of $100,000 or more. Although not read at the dinner, there are a large number of gifts on the records of amounts under $100,000 he said. “Never in the history of private philanthropy has so great an amount been raised in so short a period solely for health, welfare and educational needs of a local community,” Heyman stated.
BUILDING PROGRAM OUTLINED
The $218 million being sought is the philanthropic goal of a master plan which, with matching government grants of almost $500 million will add more than two-thirds of a billion dollars in new, expanded and modernized medical, welfare and educational buildings and services to Federation’s network of agencies in Greater New York. Construction of new buildings repairs and modernization, and initiation of services will begin as funds become available and will take up to 10 years to complete, it is estimated.
The building program consists of more than 200 separate and distinct projects for 60 of Federation’s major affiliated agencies. In addition to money for physical facilities, the campaign will seek to raise, for the first time in Federation’s history, separate funds to be devoted to innovative programs, special services and research in the fields of health and aged services, Jewish education and social services.
The evening’s program began with the lighting of a seven-branch menorah fashioned out of bricks, symbolic of the building drive. It culminated with the dedication of a time capsule, a bronze container that was filled with documents of the building drive, publications of Federation and its member agencies, newspapers of the day and other historic material. It was sealed for presentation to the Jewish Museum of New York, with instructions that it be opened on January 16, 2073.
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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.
