A Home for the Historic Archives of Jewish Delawareans

Please help us sustain the
Delaware Center for Jewish History at the Coxe House
Contribute to the JHSD Endowment Fund

Home for Our Collections – Research and Meeting Space

By check: Mail donations to 515 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801
Write checks to Jewish Historical Society of Delaware, with “Endowment” in the memo.
Online (Delaware Gives): https://www.degives.org/fundraisers/JHSD-Coxe-House

GIVING THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ITS OWN HOME
by Rabbi David Geffen, founding board member of JHSD, fall 2019
   Toni Young is the visionary who has continually infused the Society 
with literary historical works and historical programming. She has 
written an academic work on the Jews of Delaware from their beginnings 
until 1925. She has edited and written other works using the materials in 
the Archives and prepared informative and well-researched presentations 
at JHSD annual meetings. And her determination that the Delaware Jewish 
Historical Society be a permanent entity has led the leadership of the 
JHSD to an opportunity to acquire its own building.
   Now the JHSD is being offered its own home, the Coxe House, one of the 
historic homes and properties on Market Street in the care of the 
Delaware Historical Society. In this building will be the archives of the 
Society, with a reading room in which researchers can work. This building 
will be a place where lectures and exhibits can be held.
   The hope is that the Jewish Historical Society will be able to 
contribute to ongoing development of the history of Delaware.
   As one of the founders of this Society, I am very proud that I will 
be able to see the JHSD realize a long held dream, a facility which the 
Society can call its own.
   First State Jewery should receive its home. This historic property 
needs renovations to make the building a safe and secure home for our 
archival materials. Your generous support is most appreciated.

Coxe House Renovation Fund Update and Announcement of Endowment Fund

by Paula Gordon, Treasurer, April 2022

In late 2019, the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware began a campaign to fund our move from our space in the basement of the research library of the Delaware Historical Society to what has become the first building in Delaware dedicated to the study of Jewish History, The Delaware Center for Jewish History at the Coxe House.

Our original goal was $360,000 — $260,000 for our share of the renovation of the building and an additional $100,000 to start an endowment. We are proud that despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, we were able to raise almost $308,000.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, we raised enough money not only to satisfy our contractual obligations for the renovation of the Coxe House but also almost exactly enough to furnish and equip the building and move in.

Included in this total is $10,000 from The Milton and Hattie Kutz Foundation. The foundation has committed another $5,000 in 2022-23, for a total of $15,000 granted.

Aside from the renovation costs, our one-time expenses relating to the move fall into two main categories:
– Purchase and installation of furnishings, equipment and signage, for $30,204.03; and
– Move-related services, such as space planning, preparing for the move, and moving costs, at $19,768.00.

The Coxe House Renovation Fund campaign is now closed, and current fundraising efforts are focused on our Endowment Fund.

From the beginning of the project, the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware’s board recognized that we would need an endowment to help us cover future occupancy costs and to foster the transformation of the society into a more vibrant organization with greater capabilities.

Last summer, even before we moved in, the board began planning a new round of fundraising to create our endowment. We established a separate fund with the Jewish Fund for the Future at the Jewish Federation of Delaware, where contributions are prudently invested and managed.

Our current goal is at least $150,000 to generate sufficient monies to fund an annual draw to help cover our new occupancy expenses, specifically: rent, electricity and internet, security monitoring, commercial liability insurance, sign permit fees, janitorial and planned maintenance, and a contingency for unexpected maintenance and repair.

We will continue to grow the endowment in the future to cover additional needs that may arise as we expand our capabilities.

Thank you for your continued support!