Jewish Fund-raising Can Reach Higher Goals This Year, Welfare Leaders Report

New and higher goals in Jewish fund-raising in America can be set and be realized this year, it was reported at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds which concluded last night.

The spirit of unity prevailing in the Jewish federations and welfare funds throughout the country was lauded by Sidney Hollander, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, in addressing the Assembly. “The continuing evidences of community achievement and community solidarity seems to me the most heartening thing we find in Jewish life in America today,” he said. He praised the local community leaders for finding “the formula wherein Zionists and non-Zionists, orthodox and reform, Jews of the East and Jews of the West, can work together in common purpose.

Jacob Blaustein, chairman of the Budget Research Committee of the Council, reported that his committee is receiving complete cooperation from the organizations whose work it is studying, but it has found that there are a number of problems which need to be resolved. He cited as an example the American fund-raising offices for overseas activities and said that they are sometimes inadequately informed about operations and developments in their European agencies to which funds are transmitted. Emergency conditions since 1939 have intensified this difficulty, he said. He emphasized that the informational aspects of the Budget Research Service is being increasingly used by the Council’s member agencies.

“While this national advisory budget service subject is not up for action at the present Assembly, it is one which will require and warrant much consideration in the days to come,” Mr. Blaustein declared. “The need for objectivity is likely to grow as we approach the post-war period and all the changes that it heralds. Among other things, once an organization is in a field, there is a tendency for it to be halting and only partial in adapting its program to the changing conditions. Moreover, there is another tendency, i. e. for a host of organizations to be created to cope with this or that aspect of the new problems. Sometimes these new organizations are necessary and worthwhile; often they are not. The communities must have some recognized source to which they can turn for objective advice and counsel.”

90 PERCENT OF JEWISH CHARITY FUNDS COME FROM SMALL NUMBER OF GIVERS

H. L. Lurie, executive director of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, told the Assembly that for effective results the local Jewish community must be organized on the widest possible basis of individual and group representation.

“Democratic procedure is the essence of all forms of voluntary organization,” he said. “When we talk about democratizing Jewish organizations, we usually mean increasing membership through spreading the base of the organization. Organized philanthropic associations are technically democratic in form. If they fall short in spirit and procedure, it is because they are in many instances the product of the initiative and enterprise of a select group concerned with the purposes, or the administration of an agency for a longer period, or on a more intensive basis than the general population.

“It is generally known that 90 percent of agency funds comes from a relatively small percentage of the population,” Mr. Lurie continued. “It would be a mistake to assume that we broaden the membership base primarily to secure an additional 5 percent or 10 percent in funds. Such an objective is hardly worth the effort or the problems which intensified fund raising brings with it, Similarly, the administration of social agencies, local, national or overseas for the most part does not depend on popular participation but on the technical and administrative skills of its lay and professional leadership. No, the main reason for broadening the base is a recognition of the fact that we are no longer dealing exclusively with individuals, but rapidly becoming organizations concerned with Jewish problems, that means with problems affecting every individual Jew, problems which he himself would be unable to solve no matter what course of action he would seek for himself. For the first time in our experience in this country we have the basic conditions which make it essential for Jewish communal agencies to be organized on a popular basis.”

Mr. Lurie pointed out that some of the differences in the Jewish community “are more apparent than real.” “Custom and tradition,” he said, “have great potency, but the new generation coming into its majority in all of our local communities is likely to differ considerably in outlook, interests and in the capacity for community organization from the older generation. The new Jewish population is native American and its views, attitudes and adjustments have been fashioned by the conditions of life in this country. It is likely also to have a distinctly American outlook on problems overseas since it lacks the European experience which has had so large an influence on the programs and organization of the immigrant generation. Social-economic and cultural differences between American Jews and other Americans are also diminishing. The natural barriers which hamper the intercourse of different national or religious groups due to language, educational and cultural factors are being greatly diminished.”

VALUE OF JEWISH AGENCIES TO GENERAL COMMUNITY IS EMPHASIZED

The value of Jewish welfare services to the general community was emphasized by Joseph Willen, executive vice-president of New York’s Federation. “We sometimes need to remind ourselves,” he said, “to what a great, even preponderant, extent the voluntary social welfare work of our country is organized on a religious basis, according to the three-fold sectarian pattern — Catholic, Jewish, Protestant (though the last is often hidden under the name of non-sectarian). Thus as we support a Jewish institution we not only take care of special Jewish needs. We do more. Whether in a Jewish hospital — which trains Jewish doctors, but ministers to the sick of all faiths — or in the Jewish family service, which ministers only to Jews — in both instances we are not merely taking care of our own, we are assuming our share of the total volume of the needs of the general community that must be taken care of in each locality.”

At a luncheon session of the American Association for Jewish Education, held as part of the General Assembly, a plan was adopted for the federation of bureaus of Jewish education in 25 cities as a “functioning arm” of the Association, Representatives of 10 of the 25 bureaus which would be involved were present at the session and endorsed the plan., which will be submitted to all of the communities for their approval.

A review of the Jewish Welfare Board’s third year of war activity was given to the delegates by Frank L. Weil, Lt. Jacob M. Rothschild and Moritz M. Gottlieb. It was announced that the JWB budget for 1944 will be $1,171,590.

Dr. David Lvovitch, reporting for the ORT, said that the present ORT activities among refugees are a basis for post-war reconstruction. In addition to training refugees to enable them to earn their living, the ORT also is training future instructors for the post-war period, he stated. ORT training will be most helpful in facilitating selective immigration, he added.