Topic: Financial Sustainability

1910s 1920s

Legitimizing the Social Sciences: The Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in the 1920s

What began as a philanthropic fund to honor its namesake became an early force in the social sciences.

1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s

Philanthropy and Good Government: The Rockefeller Foundation and Public Administration

Partnering with public agencies to encourage efficient administration in state, county, and local governments.

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

An Overview of Rockefeller Foundation Support for the Performing Arts in the 20th Century

Although known for its work in science, medicine, and health, the Rockefeller Foundation supported a surprising number of performing arts activities.

1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s

“Without Distinction of Race, Sex, or Creed”: The General Education Board, 1903-1964

In the early 20th century, the General Education Board was devoted to the cause of improving education throughout the United States, without distinction of race, sex, or creed.

Red Cross Nurses at Riverside Theater in 1918.

Success and Failure in Community-Based Healthcare: The East Harlem Health Center

An innovative nursing program gathered crucial data and brought healthcare to needy families, but ultimately lost its way.

City Housing Corporation published material, "Radburn Garden Homes". This colorful pamphlet depicts community members playing in a playground and other sports, as well as an illustrated map of the community lay out.

Photo Essay: Radburn, New Jersey – the Town for the Motor Age

Philanthropy helped architects and planners create a new kind of suburban community in the 1920s.

1950s 1960s

Early Experiments in Public Broadcasting

The American public broadcast system as it exists today came out of years of work by organized philanthropy.

1940s 1950s

Funding a Sexual Revolution: The Kinsey Reports

The inside story of the study that first questioned binary sexuality and spurred outcry and controversy.

1910s 20th Century

“Investment Philanthropy” Investing for Social Good, a Century Ago

An early twentieth-century foundation tried using its endowment to support for-profit projects that also would achieve a social goal.

1960s 1970s

Photo Essay: Supporting Minority Enterprise in the late 1960s

In 1968, the Ford Foundation began to make social investments using a new tool borrowed from the for-profit world, the Program-Related Investment.