Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula Records, 1871-1992

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Summary

Title:
Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula records
Dates:
1871-1992
Creators:
Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula
Abstract:
The Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula records document decades of charitable giving and fundraising for local San Francisco constituent agencies, as well as national and international organizations.
Extent:
Number of containers: 77 cartons, 50 oversize boxes Linear feet: 116.85 linear feet
Language:
Collection materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula Records, BANC MSS 2010/721, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula records consist primarily of administrative and financial materials of the Jewish Welfare Federation (JWF) and its two predecessor agencies, the Federation of Jewish Charities (FJC) and the Jewish National Welfare Fund (JNWF). The collection also contains records from its descendent agency, the Jewish Community Federation (JCF), as well as files from its constituent agencies. The records are divided into four series:

  • Series I: Administrative Files
  • Series II: Finance
  • Series III: Publicity and Publications
  • Series IV: Jewish Community Federation, Planning and Allocations Department Files

The administrative files consist of materials documenting the administrative and organizational functions of the Jewish Welfare Federation; its two predecessor agencies, the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Jewish National Welfare Fund; and its constituents. Administrative files include: board of directors' minutes; annual reports; correspondence; topical files; individual constituent agency files; and background materials relating to various Jewish groups, such as the Eureka Benevolent Society, the Jewish Ladies Relief Society, and the Abraham Haas Loan Fund.

The finance files consist of organizational and general financial materials, including budgets, contributions, statements, insurance forms, tax documents, and real estate records of the Jewish Welfare Federation; its two predecessor agencies, the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Jewish National Welfare Fund; and its constituents.

The publicity files contain newspaper and journal clippings, publications, photographs, campaign scrapbooks, and awards and honors - all of which document the charitable activities and campaigns of the Jewish Welfare Federation and its predecessors.

The records from the Planning and Allocations Department of the Jewish Community Federation (the descendent agency of the Jewish Welfare Federation) consist of strategic planning reports and demographic studies data.

Biographical / historical:

By the turn of the 20th Century, Jews in San Francisco, CA had formed more than a dozen charities to tend to the poor, sick, widowed, orphaned, and elderly. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 devastated the city, a call for a local merger of Jewish charities was issued in order to provide support and revive the community. In 1910, the Federation of Jewish Charities (FJC) was officially established to manage the joint fundraising for 13 Jewish organizations in San Francisco. In 1922, the FJC joined the Community Chest of San Francisco, a forerunner of the United Way. The Community Chest administered joint fundraising for local charities, like the Federation, but for a larger constituency. However, the Community Chest did not provide funds for religious organizations. As such, in 1925, the FJC established the Jewish National Welfare Fund (JNWF) to manage fundraising for local religious agencies, as well as national and international organizations.

During the Great Depression, the Federation's priority was to provide relief to its community, as increased numbers were seeking financial support. The FJC offset costs and allowed more people to move into residential facilities such as Emanu-El Sisterhood, Hebrew Home for Aged Disabled, and Homewood Terrace. The Federation also acquired funds for the Eureka Benevolent Society to expand its programs and support families with loans, food, shelter, and other needs.

In the late 1930s, despite individual hardships, San Francisco's Jews responded in force to the repression of and anti-Semitic acts on Jews abroad. The FJC led initiatives to open borders to European refugees and petitioned government leaders for political intervention in Nazi Germany. The Federation's constituent agencies also created programs for new German immigrants. Following Kristallnacht, in November 1938, the Jewish National Welfare Fund began local fundraising for the United Jewish Appeal, which formed to rescue and aid Jews in Nazi Germany. By 1939, the majority of JNWF's funds were allocated to this mission - providing general relief through hospitals and soup kitchens; economic rehabilitation via loans; and social reconstruction through religious and educational institutions. In doing such, Jewish philanthropic priorities shifted from local to global concerns.

By the 1950s, the FJC had provided charitable fundraising for charities through two world wars and through periods of increased immigration to the United States. As such, costs increased, leaving the Community Chest no longer able to provide requisite funds. In 1955, the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Jewish National Welfare Fund merged to form the Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula (JWF). This new organization was now able to singularly address all programmatic and funding activities for local, national, and international Jewish agencies. The merger allowed the Federation to become self-sufficient and no longer reliant on the Community Chest for funding for its constituents.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Jewish Welfare Federation continued its efforts to raise funds for its international and local constituents, including campaigns to support United Israel Appeal and for organizations like the San Francisco-based Bay Area Council for Soviet Jewry, which promoted social activism on behalf of Soviet Jews and Jews around the world.

In 1982, the Jewish Welfare Federation was renamed the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (JCF) - reflecting its more than 70 years of social services to the local community. To help ensure the continuity and vitality of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish community, the JCF established the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, which began as a small community fund to receive the bequests of donors. By the early 2010s, the Endowment Fund had more than $2 billion in total managed assets. The Fund continues to provide support for emergency needs and monies for new projects that address communal problems locally, nationally, in Israel and around the world.

Acquisition information:
The Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula records were transferred to The Bancroft Library from the Judah L. Magnes Museum in 2010.
Processing information:

Processed by Jeffrey Sahaida in 2013.

Arrangement:

Arranged to the folder level.

Accruals:

No additions are expected.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding Aid written by Jeffrey P. Sahaida
Date Prepared:
© 2007
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid generated by Finding Aid author(s) via EAD XPress; markup validated by The Bancroft Library staff using OAC validation tools; Date of source: September 2013

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula Records, BANC MSS 2010/721, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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