Muddy Waters: Cross Currents in Fundraising and Its Control – 1907–1954

What is it about?

This paper explores the changes in fundraising from local voluntary efforts to national professionally run campaigns during the first half of the 20th century and reports on efforts to control fundraising undertaken by independent nonprofits, coalitions of local agencies ("Community Chests and Councils") and the federal government during wartime.

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Why is it important?

Many of the features of contemporary nonprofit operations and regulation of fundraising have their roots in the quite different conditions that prevailed in this earlier era.