Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Organizational History
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title:
Jewish
Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula records
Date (inclusive): 1871-1992
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2010/721
Creator:
Jewish
Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula
Extent:
Number of containers: 77 cartons, 50 oversize boxes
Linear feet: 116.85 linear feet
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
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.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
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.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Jewish
Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula--Archives
Federation of
Jewish
Charities (San Francisco, Calif.)
Jewish
National Welfare Fund (Oakland, Calif.)
Jewish
Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties
Eureka Benevolent Society (San Francisco, Calif.)
Jewish
Ladies' Relief Society (San Francisco, Calif.)
Abraham Haas Loan Fund
United
Jewish
Appeal
Community Chest (San Francisco, Calif.)
Charities--California--San Francisco Bay Area
Jews--California--San Francisco Bay Area
Photographs.
Clippings.
Administrative Information
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.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Jeffrey Sahaida in 2013.
Organizational History
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.
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
- Series I: Administrative Files
- Series II: Finance
- Series III: Publicity and Publications
- Series IV:
Jewish
Community Federation, Planning and Allocations Department Files
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.