Scope and arrangement
The records include correspondence, minutes of the board of directors, annual reports, case records, registers of scholarship recipients, and financial statements. The records reflect the origins of the organization in 1880 as a charity school for aiding children of Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side; its development into a vocational school for underprivileged Jewish women; and its work as a foundation offering scholarship grants and loans to disadvantaged Jewish women seeking personal advancement through higher education. Most of the records predate 1964 when the foundation became non-sectarian.
The Jewish Foundation for Education of Women records are arranged in nine series:
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The correspondence (1900-48), which is arranged chronologically, and which is sparse up to 1931, is mainly that of Irving M. Engel, as member of the board of directors and as president, with other officers of the organization including Richard Lewisohn, Jr., Louise Rosen Meyer, Maxwell Steinhardt, and Jerome Tanenbaum. The correspondence concerns routine legal, financial and administrative matters. Included is correspondence with academic institutions relative to the planning and administration of student loan funds.
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The bulk of the minutes (1915-88) which are in typescript form, are of meetings of the board of directors and members which run continuously from 1928 to 1948. Included in the board of directors' minutes are financial reports of the treasurer and of the scholarship committee, and reports on recipients of grants and loans some of which contain personal information relative to the loan recipient. Other minutes are of the executive committee (1971-84), the loan committee (1968-88), the policy committee (1956-86), and the scholarship committee (1939-42). The miscellaneous minutes (1915, 1917, 1931) include minutes of an annual meeting (1915); minutes of a meeting (1917) held at the home of Adolph Lewisohn regarding an article on ideal education by Nathaniel Myers; and minutes of a special committee (1931) regarding the continuance of the work of the board of directors.
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The annual reports which are printed and bound in book or pamphlet form, are in the period 1880-1893, 1896-1919. There are no reports present for the years 1894-1896. The earlier reports are entitled Louis Down Town Sabbath School and Louis Down-Town Sabbath and Daily School; and from 1897, Hebrew Technical School for Girls. Included in the miscellaneous reports (1928-31) are surveys and evaluations of the work of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls.
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The bulk of the case files (1937-55), which are arranged alphabetically by year by name of applicant, fall in the period 1937-41. The files consist of applications submitted to the scholarship committee by women applying for tuition loans or grants. The applications record data on the personal and family history of the applicant and her parents, including age, birthplace, occupation, and financial status. Many of the applicants or their parents had immigrated from Europe. The interviewer's personal impressions of the applicant and her recommendations are recorded on the verso of the application or on a separate sheet. Each file contains a record of the financial transactions resulting from each loan or grant. There are also follow-up reports submitted by scholarship recipients after the completion of their studies. There are also a few photographs of applicants. Women receiving scholarships were required to reside within a radius of 50 miles of New York City, and be enrolled in an accredited college, university or technical school without geographical limitation. No records of disapproved applications are present.
Additions to the Case Files series are described in Series I. Additional Records.
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The registers of scholarship recipients are arranged alphabetically by recipient's name in two periods, 1934-40; and 1940-63. The registers record the recipients's home address, case number, period of grant, name of school and course of study, name of referral agency, name of interviewer, and synopsis of awards and disbursements made.
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The bulk of the financial records consists of auditors' annual financial statements and reports in the period 1927-50. There is no report for the year 1931. Included also is a cash book (1944-60); two journals (1933-58; 1939-43); and a register (1940-43) of grants approved by the board of directors. Financial reports of the treasurer which were submitted to the board of directors are filed in Series B. Minutes (Containers #2-3).
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The bulk of the miscellaneous records (1887-1985) consists of by-laws; papers relating to corporate name change; leases, deeds, mortgages and indentures; lists of graduates; and memorabilia. There are also students' monthly reports (1924-25) of grades mainly for the manual course; an index card file (1928-32) of students which lists the course, date of entry and type of diploma awarded; and an incomplete index card file (1942) of students seeking employment. Included in the memorabilia are engrossed tributes to Nathaniel Myers upon his death in 1921; an autograph manuscript poem (1922) written by Minnie D. Louis in tribute to Nathaniel Myers; an holograph pledge (1902) of subscriptions for a new school building signed by Nathaniel Myers, Adolph Lewisohn and others; and printed copies of addresses by Nathaniel Myers and by Minnie D. Louis.
There is also a list of graduates (1907-32) of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls which is partially fragmented and deteriorated. In so far as possible damaged pages have been replaced on Permalife paper.
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These records consist of badly fragmented and deteriorated pages of a list of graduates of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls in the period 1907-1932. When feasible damaged pages have been replaced by preservation copies on Permalife paper and filed in Series G. above.