As Nazi persecution of European Jews intensified through the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Assistance Fund deepened its commitment to Jewish organizations — both those serving New York’s Jewish community, and those providing urgent relief to Jews fleeing Europe. Several of these organizations had been recipients of the Assistance Fund’s very first grants in 1936, and the fund would significantly increase its support throughout the 1940s.

The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (Grantee 1936–1979) — which Aaron Norman helped found in 1912 — received some of the largest and most consistent grants the Assistance Fund made across more than four decades, supporting healthcare networks, community centers, and social service agencies serving New York’s Jewish community.  A $25,000 grant to the Federation in 1948 was earmarked for the expansion of Mount Sinai Hospital’s campus, helping to construct three new buildings. 

As the scale of Nazi atrocities became clear, the fund’s giving took on greater urgency. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC, Grantee 1938–1943) — founded in 1914 to provide relief to Jewish communities in crisis around the world — became one of the primary lifelines for Jews fleeing Nazi atrocities in Europe, providing food, medical care, and emigration assistance. Between 1939 and 1944 alone, JDC helped 81,000 European Jews find asylum through emigration. The United Jewish Appeal (UJA, Grantee 1939–1947), formed in 1939 to aid European Jews, received consistent support from the fund from its beginning, with grants designated for refugee relief and rehabilitation. In 1986, the Federation and UJA merged to form UJA-Federation of New York,  and is today one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world, annually supporting programs that reach 5.5 million people globally.