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The 1987 Pan American Games were held in Indianapolis between August 7 and August 23, involving 38 countries and 31 different sports. It was planned and hosted by an offshoot of the Indiana Sports Corporation, PAX/Indianapolis (PAX-I). While preparing for the upcoming games, PAX-I researched how previous organizations had handled similar events. They arranged for corporate licensing and in-kind donations and worked with Disney to design the opening and closing ceremonies. PAX-I security staff cooperated with the Indianapolis Police Department and the U.S. Department of Defense to provide security for residents and visitors. The Language and Meeting Services Division organized bilingual interpreters and translation services, and the Games and Venues Division determined sites and schedules for sporting events and practices. Human Resources coordinated a large team of volunteers, and the Communications Division arranged publicity, speeches, tours, and the "look" of the games. Support staff established an athlete's village at Fort Benjamin Harrison with the permission of the U. S. Army and handled the many logistical details necessary for the influx of athletes, dignitaries, and spectators for the 1987 games. Some political problems accompanied the games because of tensions between the United States and Communist Cuba.

Peter Dobkin Hall was a historian of American philanthropy, who held appointments at Wesleyan (1974-1982), Yale (1973-1999), and Harvard (2000 until death), and was Scholar in Residence at the Rockefeller Archive Center in 1989. He was extensively published in philanthropy but it probably best known for his book "'Inventing the Nonprofit Sector' and Other Essays on Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Nonprofit Organizations."

Transcripts for oral history interviews related to philanthropy, which were conducted by the Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice, formerly known as Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory, formerly known as the Indiana Oral History Research Center. The American Foundations Oral History Project consists of a series of interviews with prominent American philanthropists, each of whom relates their background, the development of their values, and their philosophies of philanthropy. The purpose and state of American philanthropy, including those family foundations and corporate foundations, form a central topic, as do the recent trend of increasing diversity and opinions on grant evaluation and philanthropic assessment. In addition, many interviewees comment on the role of government in philanthropy and the system of ethics at play in American philanthropy. The Center on Philanthropy Oral History Project traces creation of the Center from its earliest stages and its evolution into a fully operating academic institution dedicated to the study of philanthropy. It includes the negotiations in bringing the Fund Raising School to Indianapolis, Indiana, the grant proposals to the Lilly Endowment, finding the Center's first director, and the creation of its mission statement. This project also contains many different people's views on the study of philanthropy and the importance and success of the Center. The "Philanthropy: a history of fund raising" Project discusses the history of philanthropy and fundraising as a profession. The interviewees, all workers of different generations, discuss the various issues and changes the field of fundraising has faced over the years, with a major focus on fundraising in America. The changing public image of philanthropy, the introduction of women into the field, and the skills and techniques needed within the profession are all discussed in depth throughout the interviews. The major differences between various types of fundraising are also discussed.

In 1947 Charles Edward Marsh founded the Public Welfare Foundation to render direct financial assistance to the needy. His purpose, to offer the greatest good to the greatest number of people, symbolized the efforts of the foundation he created. His method of distributing money, called the agent system, dispersed financial assistance to provide for the immediate needs of individuals. As tax laws required more detailed reporting, the foundation began to phase out the agent system and created a more formal method of receiving proposals from organizations worldwide. With a commitment to supporting organizations that help people overcome barriers to full participation in society, the foundation had distributed more than $400 million in grants by 2007. Its purpose continues in the spirit of Charles Marsh to focus on "ensuring the fundamental rights and opportunities for people in need."

Purdue University began to offer technical training courses in Indianapolis during World War Two (1939-1945) in cooperation with a federal government program to prepare for wartime industrial production needs. Purdue's Indianapolis presence continued after the end of the war, at first cooperating with the Indiana University Extension Division in Indianapolis to offer liberal arts and social sciences courses to Purdue students, and later in developing its own general education coursework as well as deepening its engineering and sciences offerings. In the 1950s Purdue acquired property on East 38th Street in Indianapolis and in 1961 opened its new building there housing its Indianapolis Extension operation. With the creation of IUPUI in 1969 the East 38th Street campus continued to serve as a place for science and engineering classes until new buildings were completed downtown on the IUPUI campus.

Purdue University was founded as a state Land Grant university in 1869 at West Lafayette, Indiana. It has created several regional, or extension, campuses, including a campus in Indianapolis (see UA-060, Purdue University-Indianapolis Extension) that became IUPUI. Records include correspondence, minutes, reports, bulletins, publications, and other records.

The Quixote Foundation was established by Arthur Stuart Hanisch as a family foundation in 1997, and after his death in 2002 the organization adopted a limited-life strategy that resulted in full expenditure of all philanthropic funds by 2017. The foundation espoused a progressive world view, with a majority of grantees working for media reform, election integrity, reproductive rights, environmental equity, and social equality. The records consist predominantly of grant files, with other materials including board meeting minutes, Forms 990-PF, publications, and other materials created by or for the organization.

The Ray Bradbury Personal Papers Collection, 1931-2010, consists of papers of the American science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

Robert Eddinger Nelson, a pioneer in the field of higher education fund raising and development, was born in Rochester, Indiana on March 2, 1928. In 1969 he founded Robert E. Nelson Associates, Inc. as a consulting firm to advise colleges and universities in development and fund raising. He remained active in the field as a consultant, a speaker, a board member, and as a member of several university development associations until his retirement. Robert Nelson died in 2012. The Robert E. Nelson Papers consist mainly of Robert Nelson's correspondence and speech files. The collection also includes administrative files from Robert E. Nelson Associates and correspondence and administrative files from the Pith Helmet Society and the Have A Heart Foundation.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Volunteer Center of Daviess and Martin Counties was started in 1973 to engage seniors in meaningful volunteer service that strengthens the well-being of self and community. The group offers a variety of volunteer opportunities for senior citizens. This collection consists of five scrapbooks. Each scrapbook contains mainly news scrapsnewspaper clippings from 1974 to 1999 and occasionally includes letters, postcards, and photographs.