Topic: Financial Sustainability

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.

Philanthropy and Good Government: The Rockefeller Foundation and Public Administration
Partnering with public agencies to encourage efficient administration in state, county, and local governments.

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.

“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.

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.

Photo Essay: Radburn, New Jersey – the Town for the Motor Age
How philanthropy helped architects and planners create a new kind of suburban community.

Early Experiments in Public Broadcasting
The American public broadcast system as it exists today came out of years of work by organized philanthropy.

Funding a Sexual Revolution: The Kinsey Reports
The inside story of the study that first questioned binary sexuality and spurred outcry and controversy.

“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.

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.