DJB Foundation Records, 1971-1975
Mss 10
10.5 c.f (21 document boxes)
ABSTRACT
The DJB Foundation, a progressive social change philanthropy, was founded in 1948 by Daniel J. Bernstein to hold the portion of his inheritance intended for donation to charities. With his death in 1970 almost five-million dollars came to the foundation. Its most active period began in 1971 when the Board of Directors decided that all assets would be given away within ten years. The grants concentrated on groups and programs generally ignored by conventional foundations because they were "controversial" -- the poor, GIs, deserters and draft resisters, ethnic groups, convicts and ex-convicts. The DJB Foundation exhausted its funds by the end of 1974.
The DJB Foundation Records consist of financial summaries and grant files containing correspondence, proposals, and information about the recipient organization.
ACCESS
This collection is open to the public without restriction. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.
PREFERRED CITATION
Cite as: DJB Foundation Records, 1971-1975, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
ACQUISITION
Presented by Carol Bernstein Ferry and W. H. Ferry, July 1993. A93-89
Processed by Brenda L. Burk and Danielle Macsay, March 1998.
HISTORICAL NOTE
Daniel J. Bernstein was born in New York City in 1918, the youngest of three brothers. Graduating from Cornell University in 1940, he went to Harvard Business School for a year before going to work for the Land Conservation Corps. A few months later he volunteered for the Navy at the United States' entry into World War II and served for five years. An early impression that developed Dan's awareness of the plight of others was the treatment of black servicemen. The unfairness with which black sailors were dealt by the Navy was a powerful lesson for him about the hatefulness of racism.
After leaving the Navy, Dan searched for a job that would have some meaning. He was guided by Jim Robinson, a progressive minister in Harlem, to the National Scholarship Fund and Service for Negro Students. He and Felice Schwartz, the creator of the organization, built it into a great success, connecting qualified black students, available funding, and interested colleges.
After a few years, he entered the business world and eventually began working for Loeb Rhoades, a Wall Street investment firm. Although he always disapproved of the market mechanism and the faith people had in it to reflect and enhance the U.S. economy, he found it intellectually fascinating and was very successful. In 1956, while recuperating from knee surgery, Dan decided to work at home permanently. He built an office in the barn located behind his house in Scarsdale, New York; this office became the headquarters of the DJB Foundation
The DJB Foundation was created in 1948 by Daniel Bernstein as a holding operation for the inheritance received from his father until he sorted out what should be done with it. He continued to work in the stock market to earn a living but he used the Foundation funds and his own funds when limited by the tax laws to give to his causes and beliefs. The legal limitations imposed on tax-exempt funds were an obstacle to Dan and reform-minded individuals but he overcame that obstacle by using his own private funds, capital and income, to meet the needs for which foundation money could not be used.
When Dan died in 1970 at the age of 51, approximately $5 million of his estate went to the DJB Foundation. This sum was substantially all of the Foundation's capital, as at his death it had about $100,000. The Foundation now began its most active period. The Board of the Foundation consisted of four members: Carol Bernstein, his widow; Stephen R. Abrams, CPA, longtime friend and colleague; Robert S. Browne, president of the Black Economic Research Center and widely recognized for his knowledge of Southeast Asia and the domestic economic scene; and newly appointed member, W. H. Ferry, whose imagination and judgement Dan had long admired and who later became Carol's husband in 1973. Vincent F. McGee, Jr., joined the Foundation as its executive staff member in the beginning of 1973.
The board adopted the following operating practices: spend capital as well as income and use the money within ten years, concentrate on groups generally ignored by conventional foundations because they were controversial, operate on a nationwide scale despite their modest resources, give when small grants could make a difference, make grants without imposing their own ideas (no strings attached), not jeopardize the Foundation's several million dollars by grants that could be challenged by the tax authorities. The board members believed that real change must come from the roots of American society, thus they concentrated on aid to small groups organized to help themselves and to resist corporate and official power.
With these principles, the Board followed Dan's philosophy and focused its giving in support of those who were perceived to be victims of government vindictiveness or neglect. The recipients of its grants were generally controversial groups such as anti-Vietnam War supporters, progressive political groups, and organizations interested in minority rights and education. The foundation helped to fund legal defense programs, clinics, community organizations in urban ghettos and barrios and in the impoverished rural areas of the South and West, and Native American rights groups. Public foundations such as the Regional Young Adult Project, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and the Youth Project, were used as approved channels to get money to controversial causes without being challenged by the tax authorities.
With its funds virtually exhausted by 1975, the board members of the DJB Foundation more than achieved its ten-year goal of depleting its resources in only four years. The Foundation is still in existence but operates on a much smaller scale than during its most active period which is represented in the records.
RELATED MATERIALS
The Carol Bernstein Ferry and W.H. Ferry Papers, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
The Carol Bernstein Ferry and W.H. Ferry Oral History, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of two series: Business Records, 1971-1975, and Grant Files, 1971-1975. These record document DJB Foundation's most active period, which followed Dan's death in 1970 and the approximate $5 million given to the Foundation from his estate.
The Business Records, 1971-1975, contain summary financial information about the DJB Foundation. The DJB Foundation Report, 1971-1975, is the only report published by the Foundation. It includes the Foundation's philosophy of giving, and a summary of its grants describing the recipient and its purpose along with a listing of donations, 1971-1975. Also within the business records are the accounting records of 1973 prepared by Ferro, Berdon and Company that include financial statements and the accountant's report summarizing the Foundation's financial status for the year.
The Grant Files, 1971-1975, include information pertaining to organizations given donations by the DJB Foundation. The files demonstrate the process used by the board members in its grant approval process. Each file usually contains the paperwork on the IRS tax-deductibility status of the recipient organization, correspondence, a proposal describing the proposed project for funding, and documented proof of the work accomplished with the donation. Additional documentation in some files includes printed prospectuses and agendas, newsletters, articles, handwritten letters, and photographs. While the Grant Files give insight into how the DJB Foundation dealt with requests, the records do not contain all the files of organizations and individuals who received funds. The series list contains the names of the organizations and individuals documented in the collection. For a complete listing of donations made by the Foundation, consult the Report of the DJB Foundation, 1971-1975 found in the Business Records of the collection.
Contents | Box | Folder |
Business Records, 1971-1975 | ||
Report of the DJB Foundation, 1971-1975 | 01 | 01 |
The DJB Foundation Financial Statements and Accountants' Report, 1973 | 01 | 02 |
Grant Files, 1971-1975 | ||
Black Mesa Defense Fund, 1971 | 01 | 03 |
Black Servicemen's Caucus, 1973 | 01 | 04 |
Black World Federation/The Black Scholar, 1971-1973 | 01 | 05 |
Board of Studies in History of Consciousness, 1973 | 01 | 06 |
Boy's Club of Southern Marin, 1973 | 01 | 07 |
Bread and Butter Fund, 1971 | 01 | 08 |
Brockton Law Services, 1972 | 01 | 09 |
Buffalo Prison Project, 1974 | 01 | 10 |
Cage Teen Center, 1972-1973 | 01 | 11 |
California Homemakers Association, 1974 | 01 | 12 |
California Indian Legal Services, 1971 | 01 | 13-14 |
California Province of the Society of Jesus, 1972 | 01 | 15 |
California Public Interest Law Center, 1973 | 01 | 16 |
The Cambridge Institute, 1972 | 01 | 17 |
Campaign Finance Litigation Project, 1972-1974 | 02 | 01 |
Cannery Workers Committee, 1971, 1973 | 02 | 02 |
Capitol Hill News Service, 1974 | 02 | 03 |
Carolina Action, 1974 | 02 | 04 |
Center for Alternative Education, 1971 | 02 | 05 |
Center for Analysis of Public Issues, 1974 | 02 | 06 |
Center for Community Change, 1972 | 02 | 07 |
Center for Community Economic Development, 1972-1973 | 02 | 08 |
Center for Constitutional Rights, 1971-1974 | 02 | 09 |
Center for Defense Information, 1971-1975 | 02 | 10-13 |
Center for International Studies, 1971-1974 | 02 | 14 |
The Center for National Policy Review, 1971 | 02 | 15 |
Center for National Security Studies, 1974 | 03 | 01 |
Center for New Corporate Priorities, 1971 | 03 | 02 |
Center for New Schools, 1972 | 03 | 03 |
Center for Rural Studies, 1972-1973 | 03 | 04 |
Center for the Study of Criminal Justice, 1974 | 03 | 05 |
Center of Metropolitan Mission In-service Training, 1973 | 03 | 06 |
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, 1972-1974 | 03 | 07 |
Central West Alabama Legal Service Center, 1974 | 03 | 08 |
Change for Children, 1973 | 03 | 09 |
Chicano Communications Center, 1971-1973 | 03 | 10 |
The Children's Foundation, 1973-1975 | 04 | 01 |
Chinatown Co-op Garment Factory, 1973 | 04 | 02 |
Church World Service, 1971 | 04 | 03 |
Citizens Communication Center, 1971 | 04 | 04 |
Citizens Energy Conference, 1973 | 04 | 05 |
Citizens' Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, 1973 | 04 | 06 |
Civil Liberties Legal Defense Fund, Inc., 1974-1975 | 04 | 07 |
Clay County Community Development Program, Inc., 1973 | 04 | 08 |
Clay County Community Federal Credit Union, 1974 | 04 | 09 |
The Clinton Program, 1971-1972 | 04 | 10 |
Coalition of Concerned Black Americans, 1972-1974 | 04 | 11 |
Colonias del Valle, Inc., 1972 | 04 | 12 |
Columbia G.I. Office, 1973 | 05 | 01 |
Columbus Trust, 1971 | 05 | 02 |
Committee for the Development of Mass Communications, 1974 | 05 | 03 |
Committee for Environmental Information, 1971 | 05 | 04 |
Community Law Center, Inc., 1972-1975 | 05 | 05-07 |
Community Legal Action Workshop, 1973-1974 | 05 | 08 |
Community Radio Workshop, Inc., 1972 | 05 | 09 |
Community Rundown, 1973 | 05 | 10 |
Congreso Obrero, 1973 | 05 | 11 |
Congress of African People, 1973 | 05 | 12 |
Connecticut Citizen Research Group, 1973-1974 | 05 | 13 |
Connections Guidance Center, 1972 | 05 | 14 |
Constitutional Litigation Clinic, 1971-1975 | 05 | 15 |
Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc., 1971-1972 | 05 | 16 |
Council on Economic Priorities, 1971-1975 | 06 | 01-02 |
Criminal Jury Trial Rights Project-National Lawyers Guild, 1974 | 06 | 03 |
Crystal City Legal Aid Association, 1972 | 06 | 04 |
Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University (D-Q University), 1971 | 06 | 05 |
Delta Coalition for Better Broadcasting, 1974 | 06 | 06 |
Delta Housing Development Corp., 1974 | 06 | 07 |
Delta Legal Assistance Center, 1973 | 06 | 08 |
Delta Ministry, 1971-1972 | 06 | 09 |
Delta Regional Law Firm, 1974 | 06 | 10 |
Delta Valley Federal Credit Union, Inc., 1974 | 06 | 11 |
East Harlem Block Schools, 1972 | 06 | 12 |
East Harlem Environmental Extension Service, Inc., 1972 | 06 | 13 |
East Harlem House, 1974 | 07 | 01 |
East Harlem Redevelopment Project, 1972 | 07 | 02 |
East Harlem Tenants Council, Inc., 1971 | 07 | 03 |
East Los Angeles Community Union, 1971 | 07 | 04 |
East Tennessee Research Group, 1974 | 07 | 05 |
Eastern Farmworkers Assn., 1975 | 07 | 06 |
Eastern Kentucky Resource Center, 1974 | 07 | 07 |
The ECOS Project, 1971 | 07 | 08 |
Ecumenical Ministry in the Haight Ashbury, 1972-1974 | 07 | 09 |
Education and Training for Cooperatives, Inc., 1971 | 07 | 10 |
Electricity and Gas for People, 1974 | 07 | 11 |
Emmaus House, Inc., 1971 | 07 | 12 |
Escuela de la Raza Unida, 1974 | 07 | 13 |
Escuela y Colegio Tlatelolco, 1973-1974 | 07 | 14 |
Escuela y Colegio Tonantzin, 1973 | 07 | 15 |
Eugene Friends Meeting, 1971 | 07 | 16 |
Exploratory Project for Economic Alternatives, 1972-1974 | 07 | 17 |
Fannin County Taxpayers Association, 1974 | 07 | 18 |
Farm Labor Organizing Committee, 1973-1974 | 08 | 01-02 |
Federation of Southern Cooperatives, 1973-1975 | 08 | 03 |
Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1971-1974 | 08 | 04 |
Feminist Education Foundation, 1972 | 08 | 05 |
The Fortune Society, 1971-1974 | 08 | 06 |
Freedom Village, Inc., 1971-1973 | 08 | 07 |
Fund for Class Action Costs, 1974 | 08 | 08 |
Fund for Investigative Journalism, 1971, 1974 | 08 | 09-10 |
Germantown Area School Program, 1971 | 09 | 01 |
The G.I. Office, 1973 | 09 | 02 |
G.I.'s in Germany, 1973-1974 | 09 | 03 |
Givat Haviva Educational Foundation, 1971-1973 | 09 | 04 |
Goddard-Riverside Community Center, 1975 | 09 | 05 |
Grand Jury Educational Fund, 1974 | 09 | 06 |
Greene County Development Center, 1973-1975 | 09 | 07 |
Gulf Boycott Coalition, 1973-1974 | 09 | 08 |
Harlem School of the Arts, 1971 | 09 | 09 |
Harlem Philharmonic Symphonic Society, Inc., 1971-1972 | 09 | 10 |
Health Policy Advisory Center, 1972-1975 | 09 | 11-12 |
Highlander Research and Education Center, 1972 | 10 | 01 |
Hispanos Unidos de Park Slope, 1972 | 10 | 02 |
Home Co-op, 1974 | 10 | 03 |
Household Technicians of San Francisco, Inc., 1974 | 10 | 04 |
Illinois Congress of Ex-offenders, 1973 | 10 | 05 |
Independence High School, 1972 | 10 | 06 |
Indochina Curriculum Group, 1974 | 10 | 07 |
Indochina Information Project, 1972-1975 | 10 | 08 |
Indochina Resource Center, 1971-1975 | 10 | 09-11 |
Industrial Areas Foundation, 1973 | 10 | 12 |
Inmates Communication Workshop, 1973 | 10 | 13 |
The Inner City Fund, 1972-1974 | 10 | 14 |
Institute for Neighborhood Studies, 1972, 1974 | 10 | 15 |
Institute for Policy Studies, 1972 | 11 | 01 |
Institute for Regional Education, Inc., 1974 | 11 | 02 |
Institute for Social Analysis, 1972 | 11 | 03 |
Institute of the Black World, Inc., 1971-1972 | 11 | 04-05 |
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, 1974 | 11 | 06 |
Internews, 1972-1974 | 11 | 07 |
Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, Inc., 1971-1972 | 11 | 08-09 |
Intertribal Friendship House, 1971 | 11 | 10 |
La Clinica de la Gente, 1972-1975 | 12 | 01 |
La Clinica del Pueblo de Rio Arriba, 1971, 1974 | 12 | 02 |
La Cooperacion del Pueblo, 1971-1974 | 12 | 03 |
La Flore County Area Cooperative, 1972 | 12 | 04 |
La Gente, Inc., 1972 | 12 | 05 |
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., 1974 | 12 | 06 |
La Puerta, 1973 | 12 | 07 |
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, 1973 | 12 | 08 |
Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee, 1971 | 12 | 09 |
League to Improve the Community, 1973 | 12 | 10 |
Legal In-service Project, 1972-1974 | 12 | 11 |
Los Angeles Black Service Center, 1971 | 12 | 12 |
Mafundi Institute, 1972 | 12 | 13 |
Malcolm X Liberation University, 1973 | 12 | 14 |
Mannes College (School) of Music, 1971-1973 | 12 | 15 |
Marin City Community Organizers, 1974 | 12 | 16 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation, Inc., 1971 | 12 | 17 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Workers Conferences, 1975 | 12 | 18 |
Massachusetts Community Center, 1974 | 12 | 19 |
Massive Area Redevelopment Committee, 1973 | 13 | 01 |
Media Access Project, 1971-1974 | 13 | 02-03 |
Metropolitan Urban Service Training, Inc., 1971 | 13 | 04 |
Mexican American Council on Education, 1973 | 13 | 05 |
The Midwest Academy, Inc., 1973 | 13 | 06 |
Midwest Association for Sickle Cell Anemia, Inc., 1972 | 13 | 07 |
Miles College, 1972 | 13 | 08 |
Mile Square Federation, 1973-1974 | 13 | 09 |
Milwaukee Urban Research Project, 1974 | 13 | 10 |
Minority Control Fund, 1972-1973 | 13 | 11 |
Mississippi Audio Visual Rural Information Center, 1974 | 13 | 12 |
Mississippi Prisoners' Defense Committee, 1974 | 13 | 13 |
Mississippi State Association of Cooperatives, 1972 | 12 | 14 |
Mountain People's Rights, Inc., 1971-1972 | 13 | 15 |
Movement for Economic Justice, 1973-1975 | 14 | 01 |
National Conference of Black Lawyers, 1971-1974 | 14 | 02 |
Offender Aid and Restoration of New York City, Inc., 1973-1974 | 14 | 03-04 |
Open Channel, 1972 | 14 | 05 |
Organizers Fund, 1974 | 14 | 06 |
Pacific Counseling Service, 1972-1974 | 14 | 07-08 |
Pacific News Service, 1973-1975 | 14 | 09 |
Pacifica Foundation WBAI-FM New York, 1971-1972 | 14 | 10 |
Pan African Skills Project, 1972-1973 | 14 | 11 |
Parents Activities Association, Inc., 1972 | 14 | 12 |
Parole Litigation Project, 1974 | 14 | 13 |
Penal Reform Institute, 1972 | 15 | 01 |
Penn Community Services, Inc., 1971-1975 | 15 | 02-04 |
Peoples Bicentennial Commission, 1972-1975 | 15 | 05-06 |
Peoples Foundation for Community Development, 1974 | 15 | 07 |
People's Union Farm, 1971 | 16 | 01 |
Philadelphia Clearinghouse Project, 1974 | 16 | 02 |
Philadelphians for Equal Justice, 1974 | 16 | 03 |
Phoenix House Foundation, Inc., 1972 | 16 | 04 |
Pilipino Bayanihan, Inc., 1973-1974 | 16 | 05 |
Pilipino Organizing Committee, 1973 | 16 | 06 |
Pitt River Nation, 1971-1973 | 16 | 07 |
Planned Parenthood, 1972 | 16 | 08 |
Potrero Hill Youth Legal Center, 1973 | 16 | 09 |
Prison Art Program, 1973 | 16 | 10 |
Prison Law Project, 1971-1973 | 16 | 11 |
Prison Reform Task Force, 1974 | 16 | 12 |
Prisoner Visitation and Support Committee, 1973-1974 | 16 | 13 |
Prisoners' Union, 1972-1973 | 16 | 14 |
Program for Economic Justice, 1974 | 16 | 15 |
Project of Amnesty, 1972-1974 | 17 | 01 |
Project on Educational Testing, 1973 | 17 | 02 |
Project Spa, 1972 | 17 | 03 |
Public Advocates, Inc., 1974 | 17 | 04 |
Public Art Workshop, 1972 | 17 | 05 |
Public Law Education Institute, 1971-1973 | 17 | 06 |
Public Media Center, 1974 | 17 | 07 |
Puerto Rican Organizers Training Center, 1973 | 17 | 08 |
Putney School, 1971-1973 | 17 | 09 |
Ravenswood School Project, 1974 | 17 | 10 |
Redevelopment Media Project, 1971 | 17 | 11 |
Regional Young Adult Project, 1971-1976 | 17 | 12-13 |
Rent Control Project, 1974 | 17 | 14 |
Research Institute for Educational Problems, 1971-1972 | 18 | 01 |
Return Surplus Lands to Indians Project, 1971 | 18 | 02 |
Rising Up Angry, 1974 | 18 | 03 |
Rural Advancement Fund of the National Sharecroppers Fund Inc., 1971-1973 | 18 | 04 |
Rural Mission, Inc., 1971-1974 | 18 | 05 |
San Francisco Community Service Fund, 1973-1974 | 18 | 06 |
San Francisco Consumer Action, 1973-1974 | 18 | 07 |
San Francisco Neighborhood Housing Corporation, 1973 | 18 | 08 |
San Francisco Newsreel, 1972 | 18 | 09 |
Sane Educational Development Fund, Inc., 1972-1973 | 18 | 10 |
Save Our Cumberland Mountains, 1974 | 18 | 11 |
Scarsdale United Fund, 1971-1973 | 18 | 12 |
Scientists' Institute for Public Information, 1971-1974 | 18 | 13 |
South East Alabama Self-Help Association, Inc., 1971 | 18 | 14 |
Southern Broadcast Media Project, 1973 | 18 | 15 |
Southern Education Program, Inc., 1971 | 18 | 16 |
Southern Resource Center, 1974 | 18 | 17 |
The South Forty Corporation, 1974 | 18 | 18 |
South Texas Project, 1975 | 19 | 01 |
Southwest Alabama Farmers Cooperative Association, Inc., 1973 | 19 | 02 |
Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education, Inc., 1973 | 19 | 03 |
Southwest Research and Information Center, 1972-1975 | 19 | 04 |
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, 1974 | 19 | 05 |
Southwestern Indian Development, Inc., 1971-1974 | 19 | 06 |
Southwestern Institute, 1971-1972 | 19 | 07 |
Street Sweepers Fund, 1972 | 19 | 08 |
Student Press Law Center, 1974 | 19 | 09 |
Suburban Action, 1971-1974 | 19 | 10 |
The Support Center, 1974 | 19 | 11 |
Tax Analysts and Advocates, 1972-1976 | 19 | 12 |
Texas Institute for Educational Development, 1972-1974 | 20 | 01 |
Town of Mound Bayou, 1971-1976 | 20 | 02-03 |
Twice Born Men, 1973-1974 | 20 | 04 |
Union of Vietnamese in the U.S., 1973 | 20 | 05 |
United Church of Christ Office of Communication, 1974 | 20 | 06 |
United Farm Workers Cooperative, 1972 | 20 | 07 |
United Front Press, 1973-1974 | 20 | 08 |
United Methodist Church Board of Church and Society, 1971-1972 | 20 | 09 |
United Projects, 1973 | 20 | 10 |
U.S. National Student Association, 1971-1974 | 20 | 11-12 |
United States Servicemen's Fund, 1971-1972 | 21 | 01 |
Urban Policy Research Institute, 1971-1975 | 21 | 02-04 |
Venceremos Brigade, 1973 | 21 | 05 |
Video Chinatown, 1972 | 21 | 06 |
Vietnam Era Veteran National Resource Project, 1973 | 21 | 07 |
Voter Education Project, Inc., 1973 | 21 | 08 |
Washington Area Military and Draft Law Panel, 1972-1974 | 21 | 09 |
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