A proposal for establishment by the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds of a national advisory budgeting service to “avoid the friction and chaos of competitive appeals” is under consideration by leaders of federations and welfare funds throughout the country following the decision of the major national and overseas agencies to conduct separate campaigns in 1941.
The proposal, advanced by Sidney Hollander of Baltimore, president of the Council, in a letter to presidents of the 202 member agencies, will be one of the major questions acted on when the Council’s General Assembly meets in Atlanta Feb. 1 to 3. Relating the events which led up to the decision of the Joint Distribution Committee, United Palestine Appeal National Refugee Service not to renew the United Jewish Appeal, Hollander urged local leaders to discuss his proposal and to be prepared to act on it at the General Assembly.
Under Hollander’s proposal, the Council would undertake to set up its own advisory budgeting service with the necessary machinery to supply local budget committees with data and recommendations “so that they can make their 1941 decisions a basis of carefully determined needs, rather than as a result of competitive pressure.” He suggested that welfare funds await the recommendations of such a body before completing their local budgeting.
Asserting that the present situation “contains many elements of uncertainty and perhaps some hazards to welfare fund campaigns,” Hollander stated:
“I am firmly convinced that even with separate appeals, welfare funds will continue as vigorously as before to promote the policy of local cooperation. I urge strongly that all possible steps be taken by local communities to avert any undesirable aspects of competition for funds which were so detrimental to campaign efforts in the past and left trails of friction and ill-will. There can be no question that welfare funds will continue to put forth the same energies and enthusiasm in order to secure adequate funds for these important Jewish causes, but they should not allow their communities to become battle grounds for competitive causes.”
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.
