Encountering Financial Roadblocks

By early summer 1933 AAJR formalized a plan to establish four temporary fellowships for German Jewish scholars. The scholars would each receive $2,500 to cover institutional support and some living costs for a year in New York City, with the possibility of extension.

While the details of the plan were being worked out, AAJR launched a campaign to secure funding for the fellowships. The Executive Committee began with a plea to AAJR members for financial support, and later that summer they began reaching out to a variety of individuals and organizations, including rabbis and well-known Jewish socialites and philanthropists.

Despite the effort of its members, AAJR had trouble raising enough funds to support the fellowships. This was especially distressing since the Academy hoped to organize more than the originally planned four fellowships. By September, little financial headway had been made.

The financial challenge encountered that summer was the first experience of what would become a recurring problem. AAJR members, committed to aiding their European colleagues, found the process of securing funding to be a constant struggle.