The Center for Jewish History has announced that its 10-year old construction debt was fully retired with $30 million, thus freeing the organization to move forward with its culture and humanities agenda to preserve and present the history of the Jewish people.

While cultural institutions across the country struggled to stay afloat during the recession and resorted to drastic measures in order to cover operating costs, the Center expanded its offerings, increased its hours and created new initiatives to support its core mission of preserving and presenting the collections of its five partners, safeguarding the memories and experience of the Jewish people. The Center’s five independent partners include: American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), founded in 1892; American Sephardi Federation (ASF), founded in 1973; Leo Baeck Institute (LBI), founded in 1955; Yeshiva University Museum (YUM), founded in 1973; and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO), founded in 1925.

“Today, the Center is internationally recognized as a model for not-for-profit collaboration. Since its founding, more than 15,000 donors worldwide have contributed more than $150 million to support the Center’s work,” says Michael S. Glickman, Chief Operating Officer of the Center. “Our goal for the future is to continue to expand the Center’s resources and reach, making it a focal point and a magnet for research, education, discussion, and artistic creation that informs and inspires the public in all aspects of the Jewish experience.”

During the coming decade, the Center will continue to focus on long-term sustainability, while incorporating technology to help achieve its mission of expanded access. The Center plans to continue working with its partners to digitize aspects of their collections and build an even greater online portal to the materials it houses, making the archive and library more easily available to the public and fostering continued engagement and dialogue around the history of the Jewish people.

about: The Center for Jewish History was founded with a core mission to preserve, protect and present the treasured collections of its five partner institutions totaling more than 500,000 books and 100 million documents that include pieces of art, textiles, ritual objects, as well as music, films and photographs. The collections at the Center range from the early modern era in Europe and pre-colonial times in the Americas, to present-day materials from across the globe. The Center provides access to a comprehensive collection of historic archival materials including the seminal works of Franz Kafka, Theodor Herzl, Moses Mendelssohn, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein and many more.