Henry A. Rosso Papers, 1956-1998

Finding aid created by Angela White

Creator: Rosso, Henry A., 1917-
Title: Henry A. Rosso Papers
Collection No.: MSS099
Dates: 1956-1998
Quantity:

Quantity: 1.4 cubic feet

Quantity: 1 record carton, 1 document case

Language: Materials are in English .
Repository: IUPUI Philanthropic Studies Archives
IUPUI University Library
755 W. Michigan St.
Room 0133
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Business Number: 317-274-4064
speccoll@iupui.edu
URL: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special

Biographical / Historical

Henry "Hank" Rosso was born in Princeton, New Jersey in 1917. As a reported on his high school newspaper, he interviewed Albert Einstein (in 1935) and witnessed the Hindenburg disaster (in 1937). He served in the Army as a sergeant during World War II and graduated Syracuse University in 1949. His first experience as a fundraiser began with the first Mother's March on Polio, which later became the March of Dimes. He also supported the United Way, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, Planned Parenthood, and numerous other nonprofit organizations.

Rosso served as senior vice president and chair of the board of directors for G.A. Brakeley, the well-known consulting firm. In 1974, he and his partners (including his wife Dottie) began the Fund Raising School in San Rafael, California. As their business grew, they began traveling to cities across the United States to provide their training to fundraisers. The School moved to Indianapolis in 1988, a year after the creation of the Center on Philanthropy (now the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy). Rosso served as the Director of the Fundraising School under the auspices of the COP until his retirement.

In 1985 the National Society of Fund Raising Executives named Rosso Fundraiser of the Year. He was the author of two books on the subject of fundraising: Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, and Rosso on Fundraising.

Rosso died in 1999 in Petaluma, California.

Scope and Contents

The majority of the Henry A. Rosso Papers relate to his teaching in the Fundraising School. The folders, which contain readings, newspaper clippings, teaching materials, and worksheets, are arranged in alphabetical order by subject, excepting the introduction, glossary, and appendices.

The collection also contains some correspondence, primarily related to the publication of his book Rosso on Fundraising, and collections of memos and newsletters from G.A. Brakeley and Brakeley, John Price Jones. There are several folders of the Fundraising School promotional materials, a survey of TFRS students, and copies of articles written by Fundraising School faculty.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access:

This collection is open to the public without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use:

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Indexed Terms

General

Rights Statement: The text of this webpage is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Henry A. Rosso Papers, 1956-1998, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, IUPUI University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Presented by Dottie Rosso, 2003 and 2011. A2002/03-010, A2010/11-025.

Bibliography

  • Haddad, F. Duke. "Henry 'Hank' Rosso: The Impact of a Legend." Nonprofit PRO, April 28, 2017. http://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/henry-hank-rosso-impact-legend. Accessed August 17, 2017.
  • Kranz, Betsy. "Center on Philanthropy." Learning to Give. http://www.learningtogive.org/resources/center-philanthropy-indiana-university. Accessed on August 17, 2017.
  • Collection Inventory

    Series:

    Fundraising School Teaching Materials

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 1
    Introduction/Communication , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 2
    Annual Fund , 1975-1988

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 3
    Board Concepts , 1972-1994

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 4
    Board Workshop , 1978-1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 5
    Capital Campaigns , 1975-1983

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 6
    Case Statement - Preparation , 1966-1993

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 7
    Case Statement - Hawthorne Community Hospital , 1968

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 8
    Corporations/Foundations , 1987-1993

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 9
    Direct Mail , 1990-1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 10
    Deferred Giving , 1989, undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 11
    Ethics , 1978-1987

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 12
    Ethics - NSFRE , 1995-1997

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 13
    Endowments , 1970-1998

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 14
    Foundation Center News Releases , 1994-1998

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 15
    Foundations , 1973-1993

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 16
    Fundraising , 1982-1992

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 17
    Fundraising Vehicles , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 18
    Gifts , 1980-1994

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 19
    Higher Education , 1972-1996

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 20
    Hospital Philanthropy , 1961-1985

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 21
    Leadership , 1980-1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 22
    Major Gifts , 1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 23
    Management , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 24
    Markets , 1980-1982

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 25
    Mission - Center on Philanthropy , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 26
    Organizational Dynamics , 1973

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 27
    Philanthropy , 1971-1993

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 28
    Planning for Organizational Advancement , 1975-1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 29
    Prospect Research Bibliography , 1993

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 30
    Religion , 1974-1989

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 31
    Religion - Robert Payton , 1989

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 32
    Special Events , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 33
    Taxes , 1961-1997

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 34
    Total Deployment Process , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 35
    Glossary , undated

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 36
    Appendices , 1975-1991

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 37
    Teaching Methods , 1970-1989

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 38
    Brakeley Confidential (Internal Publication) , 1960-1961

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 39
    Memo from Brakeley (Publication) , 1959-1971

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 40
    John Price Jones Internal Reports and Memos , 1959-1987

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 41
    Philanthropic Digest (John Price Jones) , 1959

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 42
    Research - John Price Jones - Giving in the Millions , 1973

    Language: English .

    box 1
    folder 43
    Research - John Price Jones , 1956-1974

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 1
    Articles by TFRS Faculty , 1978-1987

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 2
    Boston College Fundraising School , 1976-1978

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 3
    Correspondence , 1988-1996

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 4
    Correspondence , 1991-1998

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 5
    Fundraising School Catalogs , 1974-1987

    Language: English .

    box 2
    folder 6
    Fundraising School Survey , undated

    Language: English .