Abstract
Community Chest of Northampton, Massachusetts that sought the federation of non-sectarian social service agencies for the raising of funds necessary to carry on the work of several agencies doing welfare work in town. Records include constitution and by-laws, Board of Directors membership lists, minutes, annual reports, campaign reports, ledgers, annual meeting planning documents, scrapbooks, and newsclippings.
The collection is open for research.
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Background on Northampton Community Chest Association (Northampton, Mass.)
In 1922, the Northampton Chamber of Commerce retired from its leadership in the local Community Chest, and a separate Northampton Community Chest Association was established. The Community Chest sought the federation of non-sectarian social service agencies doing welfare work in Northampton, Massachusetts, for the raising of funds necessary to carry on the work of their several agencies.
The Community Chest Association continued its work until 1933 when four of six agencies withdrew from the Chest. The Community Chest Board then recommended that the Council of Social Agencies serve in the Chest's former capacity and it briefly disbanded. In 1936, however, the Community Chest resumed its work.
The Chest frequently did not meet its campaign goals; public apathy and ignorance of the Chest's purpose were reasons often cited for the failures. Public confidence in the Chest was greatly weakened by a theft of funds from the Chest Office in 1957. The Board minutes reflect an interest in joining the United Fund as early as 1955, but that decision was deferred until 1969, when the Northampton Community Chest association reincorporated as the Hampshire United Fund, Inc.
Contents of Collection
Records consist of constitution and by-laws, Board of Directors membership lists, minutes, annual reports, campaign reports, ledgers, annual meeting planning documents, scrapbooks, and newsclippings.
Organization of the Collection
This collection is organized into three series:
| Series 1. Administration | 1922-1969 |
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Includes minutes of the Community Chest Association (1922-1934, 1954-1969). Minutes were kept annually and include some correspondence, campaign reports, and committee reports. Annual Meeting/Dinner materials (1961-1965) include minutes of that meeting, presidents' reports, and correspondence concerning dinner and arrangements. Annual Reports (1949-1967), photocopied, summarize the Chest's activities of the year including campaign results and agency disbursements. Agency Allocations (1967-1969) include agency budgets and requests as well as Budget Committee minutes, notes, and final allocations. |
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| Series 2. Reports | 1940-1964 |
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Campaign analyses (1940-1943, 1964) made by outside agencies. The reports include campaign results by committee (residence, mercantile, industry, school, and institution), committee members, campaign expenses, and conclusions and recommendations. |
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| Series 3. Financial Records and Scrapbooks | 1945-1968 |
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Arrangement:
Divided into two sub-series.
Scope and content:
The first sub-series, Financial Records, consists of four scrapbooks (1945, 1956-1962). The scrapbooks contain Community Chest Campaign newspaper clippings. The second sub-series is comprised of ledgers (1958-1968). |
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| Series 1. Administration | 1922-1969 |
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| Constitution and By-Laws | c.1922-1966 |
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Box 1: 1 |
| Board of Directors | 1953-1964 |
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Box 1: 2 |
| Council of Social Agencies | 1942-1955 |
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Box 1: 3 |
| Minutes | 1922-1934, 1954-1969 |
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Box 1: 4-11 |
| Annual Meeting/Dinner | 1948-1965 |
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Box 2: 12-14 |
| Annual Meeting/Dinner--Plaque Awards | 1961-1965 |
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Box 2: 15 |
| Agency Allocations | 1967-1969 |
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Box 2: 16-19 |
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| Series 3. Reports | 1940-1964 |
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| Annual Report | 1949-1967 |
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Box 3: 1-3 |
| Campaign Report | 1940-1943, 1964 |
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Box 3: 4-8 |
| Comparison of Actual Operations with Budgets and Recommended Allocations | 1949 |
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Box 3: 9 |
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| Series 3. Financial Records and Scrapbooks | 1945-1968 |
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| Campaign Records | 1966-1968 |
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Box 3: 1 |
| Scrapbook | 1945 |
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Box 3: 2 |
| Scrapbooks | 1957-1962 |
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Box 4: 3-5 |
| Ledgers | 1958-1962 |
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Box 5: 6-9 |
| Ledgers | 1963-1968 |
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Box 6: 10-12 |
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Processed by Anneliese Ostendarp, June 1985.
Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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Cite as: Northampton Community Chest Records (MS 52). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
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