The George A. Brakeley, Jr., Papers document the development of fund raising through his personal involvement in the field and the records of his various firms. The papers are divided into two major series: Administrative Files and Client Files.

Administrative Files -- The Administrative Files cover the internal records of the various companies and contains records detailing how Brakeley and his associated firms approached the business of providing fund raising counsel. The records illustrate how Brakeley promoted both his companies and the business of fund raising, how marketing and advertising were handled, how staff was trained, and what research was performed and why. A retrospective look at some of the early fund raising materials produced by the John Price Jones Company was printed in book form for the twenty-fifth anniversary of that firm.

George A. Brakeley Articles -- Brakeley has published articles in various periodicals over the past twenty-five years. He uses these to accomplish two basic goals: to make the public more aware of the role of philanthropy in society and to share information with other fund raising counsel about various issues, such as strategies that have worked well for his companies. Articles were published in both philanthropy-focused journals such as Philanthropy Monthly and National Society of Fund Raising Executives Journal, as well as in general periodicals such as New York Times.

Manuscript, Unpublished -- This is a typewritten manuscript for Democracy's Gift Dollars, an unpublished monograph written by Brakeley.

George A. Brakeley Memoranda -- The bulk of these memoranda, which date from 1973-1975, concern Brakeley's involvement with the Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs. This Commission, initiated by John D. Rockefeller III and commonly referred to as the "Filer Commission" in reference to Chairman John H. Filer, studied the role of private philanthropy in the United States and how it might be strengthened. Brakeley, while not directly involved in the Commission, served as counsel.

George A. Brakeley Speeches -- Brakeley has gathered, over the last forty years, a set of transcripts from speeches he has given to various groups. The speeches include presentations to clients which discuss the findings or status of their case study, talks given to professional organizations such as the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, educational presentations given as part of a workshop or other forum, such as the Computer in Hospital Development Workshop. As noted in the box listing below, a few of the transcripts have audio cassette recordings with them.

Marketing Records -- These materials are advertising and promotional materials used by Brakeley's companies. There are print ads, direct mailings, client lists, and pamphlets which explain the Brakeley approach to philanthropy and fund raising.

Publications -- Brakeley produced a newsletter, News from New York, on an irregular basis, which dealt with general fund raising issues and events, and was distributed to industry professionals.

Staff Articles -- Just as Brakeley felt it was important to publish articles about his field in order to educate and communicate, he also encouraged his staff to do the same. The articles in this subseries are arranged according to the publication in which they appeared.

Study Reports -- Brakeley's overriding philosophy in the operations of his companies has been a spirit of voluntarism and public service. Throughout his career, he has stressed the importance of the "philanthropic impulse," of companies giving of themselves when they can't always give money. One way in which a company can contribute is by doing research. Brakeley has therefore always emphasized research as part of his companies' operations. The firms have released many unique study reports over the years which look at different aspects of philanthropy and its impact on society. Topics include higher education, the arts, and general fund raising education.

Training Materials -- Brakeley endorsed a pro forma approach to staff training, and these manuals, newsletters and other materials used by his firms illustrate that attempt to develop a standardized format and process for dealing with clients. Each company in which he was involved generally provided a thorough training manual or guide, and then continued staff education through periodic communications, such as his Chairman's Letter and the Philanthropic Papers, as well as non-periodic reports such as The Survey, Analysis and Plan: Basic Questions to be Answered.

Client Files -- Brakeley's approach to fund raising is that financial support for any philanthropic venture depends upon the character of the institution itself and the strength of the program it is pursuing. Therefore, he believed that a fundamental part of any plan for large-scale fund raising is a careful study of the institution, the work it is doing, operational methods, financial status, the institution's needs, its relationships with the people it serves, and the people from whom support may be expected. The "Survey, Analysis and Plan" was designed to examine these issues and to put forth the results of "careful fact-finding, analysis of the facts and a plan of action." A typical Survey, Analysis and Plan consists of six parts:

Background. This section presents an overview of the client's field, current trends within that field, public relations considerations, and any standards or principles of fund raising to be kept in mind in the course of the fund raising. Survey. The survey is a study of the "assets and liabilities" of the client institution itself and usually will consider both the institution as it is today and the opportunities, plans and needs of the institution in the future. Analysis. In this section, the facts presented in the Survey are weighed according to the situational factors presented in the Background section. The analysis is broken into seven key parts: The Case is the specific justification or cause for which the institution exists, and is the basic premise on which any appeal for support is made. The analysis should test the strength of the case, identifying weak areas as well as those which should have popular appeal, and also should identify a central theme for the appeal. Leadership. The effectiveness of current leadership and potential needs for new leadership are illustrated in this section. Prospects. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is provided concerning both the existing field of prospects and a potential one. Workers. This section examines the pool of workers which would be needed for a fund raising plan, and provides leads as to where new workers may be obtained if necessary. Expenses. A determination is made as to whether the client can afford the expenses expected to be incurred in the fund raising, and "helpful" suggestions are made. Favorable and Unfavorable Factors. This section balances the above factors and then looks at them in the light of current economic and business trends in an effort to determine how much money might be raised in a campaign. Conclusion. The analytical findings are summarized, recommendations are given concerning what weaknesses must be strengthened, the degree of success is gauged and suggested methods for that success are given. Campaign Specifications. General specifications for a campaign are given, taking into consideration the conclusions drawn in the analysis. Topics such as the goals, general character of the campaign, timing, publicity, and the name of the campaign are covered in this section. The Plan. This element determines how the specifications should be met. Typically, it is divided into three parts: Plan of Organization. This section usually offers a chart along with textual descriptions of each leader and committee. Items included here are the number of workers to be used, methods of recruitment, and recommendations on leadership style. Plan of Publicity. This section will discuss the aims and theme of a publicity campaign, the media to be used, and whom is to be responsible for the preparation, approval, and issuance of publicity materials. Operating Schedule. This part of the plan gives the specific timing of the campaign, including schedules for preparation, cultivation, and direct effort. The Budget. This final section is a detailed statement of the estimated costs of the campaign, based on previous experiences. These segments were most often collected and issued together in a final report called "Survey, Analysis and Plan", but occasionally an individual segment, typically a survey or case statement, would be issued separately, usually because that was the only service for which the client contracted. In a few instances, more expansive coverage was given to certain large campaigns; for these clients, longer and more intensive "case histories" were developed. Case histories document the Brakeley companies' involvement beyond the planning stages and into the actual implementation of the campaign. This involvement generally consisted of an oversight of the clients' fund raising staff and operations, not active participation in the fund raising itself. The collection contains case histories for fifteen institutions:

Colby College Colgate University College of Mount Saint Vincent Columbia - Presbyterian Medical Center Emory University Foundation Center Frontier Army Museum Association Hospital of St. Raphael King's College LDS Hospital McGill University Smithsonian Institution Quadrangle Campaign Stanford University University of Southern California Young Women's Christian Association The Client Files are broken into seven subseries, one for each Brakeley entity. Within each subseries will be found the "Survey, Analysis and Plan" reports, case histories, and various segment reports created for clients of that firm, organized alphabetically by the client name. The subseries are:

Brakeley / Geever Venture Brakeley, John Price Jones, Inc. Brakeley & Roberts, Ltd. G. A. Brakeley and Company John Price Jones Company, Inc. John Price Jones Company (Canada), Ltd. Robert Johnston Company