Collections

The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) was founded in 1971 by David Horton Smith and Bill Ready as the Association for Voluntary Action Scholars (AVAS). Their vision was to create an independent and impartial forum for researchers in the fledgling field of voluntary action and citizen participation. Major activities have included an annual conference and the publication of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ), formerly the Journal of Voluntary Action Research (JVAR); Citizen Participation and Voluntary Action Abstracts (CPVAA); and a newsletter. The organization's name change in 1991 signified diversification of the original mission, which now includes expanded outreach to researchers on nonprofit organizations and from previously neglected academic disciplines. The records consist of board and committee materials, correspondence, financial and administrative records, journals and newsletters, journal manuscript submissions, conference programs and proceedings, and grant proposals.

The Indianapolis Foundation was created in 1916 by the resolution of three financial institutions, the Fletcher Trust Company, Indiana Trust Company, and Union Trust Company. It was officially introduced as one of the first community foundations in the United States in the January 5, 1916, edition of the Indianapolis Star. According to the resolution, income from the Indianapolis Foundation would "be dispersed by said companies on the written order of a board of trustees for such charitable uses as well in its judgment promote the welfare of persons now or hereafter residing in Indianapolis, Indiana." The foundation began making grants in 1924 and today continues to give to Indianapolis organizations to help improve the quality of life in the city.

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."

Waldemar A. Nielsen (1917-2005) was widely recognized for his expertise in and analysis of charitable foundations. Nielsen worked in government and the nonprofit sector before establishing a consulting agency, Waldemar A. Nielsen, Incorporated, which focused on corporate social policy. Nielsen is best known for his writing on the biggest foundations within the American philanthropic world. Through publications like The Big Foundations (1972) and The Golden Donors (1985), Nielsen examined the foundations' methods and their effectiveness. The Waldemar A. Nielsen Papers consists of Nielsen's research, notes, and drafts for the books and articles published over the course of his career. The collection also contains correspondence, reports, and publications from Nielsen's time working for the government, the Ford Foundation, the African-American Institute, and from his years as a consultant.