The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland (f. 1903) evolved out of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland which was established in November 1903. It was the fourth such organization to be established in the United States for the purpose of centralizing fundraising and thus more effectively meeting the social service needs of the Jewish community in Cleveland, Ohio.
The earliest leaders of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland were merchants, manufacturers, and professionals who were typically Reform Jews who descended from German and Hungarian families who had immigrated to the United States in the mid 19th century. In 1926, in response to the large influx of the typically working class, often Orthodox, East European immigrants which began during the last two decades of the 19th century, the first Orthodox service institutions were funded by Federation.
Also in 1926, The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland changed its name to The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland to reflect its interest in serving as an agent for community cohesiveness and meeting a broader range of the Jewish community's needs. In addition to assisting those with health and family problems, recreation and Jewish education were seen as worthy of support. In 1930 The Jewish Welfare Fund of Cleveland was established to serve as the fundraising arm of The Jewish Welfare Federation to supplement the funds allotted by the Cleveland Community Fund and to raise money for those causes that were not covered by the Cleveland Community Fund, e.g., Jewish education and national and international Jewish needs.
The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland became, in 1932, one of the founding members of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc. In 1935, The Jewish Welfare Federation was instrumental in establishing The Jewish Community Council of Cleveland, an organization whose goals included giving more segments of the Jewish community a greater voice and addressing a greater variety of issues of concern to the Jewish community. Among the activities of the Jewish Community Council were the establishment of (1) a Community Relations Committee to provide a unified voice for the Jewish community in the community at large, including a considered response to anti Semitism, and (2) a Conciliation and Arbitration Board, to work towards harmony within the Jewish community itself, a (3) a Kashruth Board to supervise the selling of kosher food, and (4) a Cultural Department to assist member groups with programming and to provide joint cultural programs including Yiddish theater and Jewish music events. In 1951, the Council and the Federation merged their functions to form The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. In 1965, the Federation erected a new office building at East 18th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland.
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records, Series II, 1936-1990 (1960s-1980s), consist of correspondence, memoranda, trustee and committee minutes, reports, proposals, newspaper clippings, wills, and financial records.
The collection is of value to researchers seeking information about large American Jewish communities in general, and the Cleveland Jewish community in particular. Following are research opportunities in each of the three series. Researchers investigating the many local, national and international organizations that work with the JCF will find much information in the Administrative Files. Of note are the files of Cleveland executives Sidney Vincent, Henry L. Zucker, and Stanley Horowitz which show their leadership roles in local organizations such as Case Western Reserve University, the Federation for Community Planning, and Baldwin-Wallace College, and nationally and internationally, at the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, the Joint Distribution Committee, and the United Jewish Appeal. Zucker's files also contain information about the 1967 Israel-Arab War.
The Jewish Community Federation was a pioneer in developing Endowment Funds, now a common feature of nonprofit organizations and foundations. The rationale in their creation was that endowment funds would strengthen the JCF's financial position by assuring continuation of agencies' services, by undertaking studies or projects not in agency operating budgets, and by helping to meet emergencies in the Jewish community. Of note are the office files that illustrate Howard Berger's activities on behalf of both donors and fund recipients. In addition to the Endowment Fund series' value to researchers investigating nonprofit organizations, the Funds and Trusts and Wills sub-series are of value to genealogists, as the compilations document charitable giving of a large number of Cleveland Jewish families and individuals.
The Social Planning and Research Department studies the needs of the Jewish community, evaluates beneficiary agency activities, fosters understanding and cooperation of agencies, and seeks improved human service programs. This series is a valuable resource in seeing how an idea develops into a committee and subsequently into a program used by an agency or the whole Jewish community. Office files of Barry Schrage, David Sarnat, Stephen Hoffman (since 1983 the executive director of the JCF), and Judah Rubinstein illustrate their activities in this area. Of note are studies of the history and population growth of Cleveland's Jewish community and the development of programs in Jewish education and programs serving college students, the aged, and the mentally handicapped. Also of interest is the JCF's growing involvement with government funding, immigrant resettlement projects, kashruth supervision, and local cemetery maintenance. Some of the local agencies that had considerable interaction with the JCF during this period are the Bureau of Jewish Education; Chabad House of Cleveland; Cleveland College of Jewish Studies; Jewish Community Center of Cleveland; Jewish Community Housing, Inc.; Jewish Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center; Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland; Jewish Vocational Service; Menorah Park Center for the Aging; Montefiore Home; and Mount Sinai Hospital of Cleveland.
The collection is arranged in three series. The researcher should be aware that material on a particular topic is likely to be located in more than one series, and within a series, under more than one heading.
All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.
The researcher should also consult MS 4563 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records; MS 4563A Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records (Restricted); and PG 530 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Photographs.
Processed by Jane A. Avner in 2000.
The Harry Ratner Human Services Fund sub-series is restricted.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4835 The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, 1993 and 1995.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.