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Mary Fink was an active volunteer and leader in the Jewish community. An active member of the National Council of Jewish Women, she served as the organization's president from 1962-1964. As a volunteer in the Indianapolis community, she worked on a variety of governing boards and committees aimed at community betterment. This collection contains information about her and her activities in the Indianapolis community.

George A. Brakeley, Jr., has been involved in the business of providing counsel to fund raising entities since 1934. In that year, he joined the firm for which his father was Senior Vice-President, the John Price Jones Company, Inc. (JPJ). Brakeley and JPJ developed "Survey, Analysis and Plan" reports for groups seeking to begin a fund raising campaign. In the 1940's, Brakeley began developing a campaign for a Canadian client, McGill University, which led to the creation of John Price Jones Company (Canada), Ltd., headed by Brakeley. A few years later, in the mid-1950's, he started a firm, G. A. Brakeley Company (GABCO). This company was extremely successful, and by the late 1960's had offices on both U.S. coasts and in Canada. Brakeley continued his association with JPJ during this period, however, as well as developing smaller ventures such as Brakeley and Roberts Ltd. (a public relations firm in Canada), and the Robert Johnston Company (headed by an associate of Brakeley). In 1972, GABCO and JPJ officially merged to become Brakeley, John Price Jones, Inc. (BJPJ), with Brakeley as Chairman of the Board. In 1983, George A. Brakeley III and other senior officers of BJPJ bought the controlling interest of the company, although Brakeley Jr. stayed on as Chairman until 1986. A year later he was named Senior Consultant, a title he still holds. The Brakeley papers consist of client files of seven companies associated with Brakeley, staff training materials, publications and marketing materials, manuscripts, study reports, magazine and journal articles, speech transcriptions, and staff memoranda.

The New Farmers of America (NFA) began as a national organization for African-American farm youth in 1935 to promote agricultural leadership, character, thrift, scholarship, cooperation, and citizenship. This organization served its members for 30 years providing experience in leadership and education in the agricultural field. Programs and contests designed for the organization awarded youth for achievement within the NFA and their community. In 1965 the NFA merged with the National FFA Organization. At the time of the merger, the NFA consisted of 1,004 chapters in 12 states and over 50,000 members.

The James C. Penney Foundation was created in 1954 by the merchant, James Cash Penney, and his wife, Caroline A. Penney. James C. Penney was born on September 16, 1875 near Hamilton, Missouri. In the early 1900s he purchased his first store, called the Golden Rule. His values, emphasizing both the customer and the employee, helped him build a chain of Golden Rule stores that was renamed the J.C. Penney Company, Inc. in 1913. Penney's personal philanthropy began with death of his second wife, Mary. He formed the J.C. Penney Foundation in 1925 in her memory to help support youth programs and the Penney Farms, a retirement community founded by Penney for ministers. The J.C. Penney Foundation folded after the stock market crash in 1929, but Penney regained his personal fortune and renewed his interest in philanthropy over the next two decades. In 1954 he and his wife, Caroline, founded a second foundation, called the James C. Penney Foundation.

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.

Flanner House, a social service center for the Indianapolis, Indiana African-American community, promotes the social, moral, and physical welfare of African-Americans, particularly youth. It was established in 1898 by Frank Flanner, a local mortician, under the name of Flanner Guild and was the first settlement house for African-Americans in the city. Programs and activities have included a day nursery, training for men and women, self-help projects such as housing construction, and public health programs including preventive medicine. Its current mission offers area residents a variety of direct and decentralized social services, child care, youth and senior citizen programs, and cultural and recreational activities. The records consist of board and committee records, correspondence, financial records, various programs and project records including reports and project descriptions offered by Flanner House, publications, photographs, slides and audio programs.