The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994 Page: 8
754 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
rected attention away from local needs. In the 192os the Community
Chest idea of coordinated fund-raising became more widespread as Dal-
las, Galveston, and other cities established permanent organizations and
even promoted some statewide cooperation with support from chambers
of commerce. These efforts usually funded the older local community
institutions, including the United Charities groups, as well as local chap-
ters of some newer national organizations. Thus broader concepts of
community emerged during the early twentieth century, with a typical
Progressive-period emphasis on efficiency."
The Great Depression of the 193os brought further change, for some
Community Chest groups collapsed under the expanded burden of the
period and none could meet all the needs, which resulted in new feder-
al programs. Yet President Franklin Roosevelt urged the need for con-
tinued private efforts, and most Community Chests survived. World War
II stimulated increased efforts to assist war-torn nations as well as mem-
bers of the United States armed forces through USO activities. During
the 1940s leaders reorganized the Community Chest with fund-raising
campaigns through employers rather than door-to-door requests. The
beginning of the Cold War in the 195os helped keep alive broader co-
operation, despite debate over participation by some national and inter-
national agencies, such as the Red Cross. Participation by those
organizations led to the new designation of the United Defense Fund in
1958, with 130 local United Fund groups across Texas. Accompanied by
recurring debate over whether or not some medical and social concern
groups would or should participate, the United Way remained the domi-
nant approach to charitable fund-raising into the late twentieth centu-
ry.is
In the early twentieth century, the emergence of philanthropic foun-
dations in growing numbers also contributed to a broader sense of com-
munity. By the 197os over forty large private foundations had been
created in Texas, with more than thirty devoting some funds to a wide
range of charitable activities. A smaller number of community founda-
tions also appeared, such as the Dallas Foundation, organized in 192()
by George W. Briggs, president of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce,
7 Enstam, 'The Forgotten Frontier," 25-26; Suppose Nobody Cared? First Community Cheit Ca,m-
patgn, Galveston, Texas, November 25-December 6, 1924, Jean S. Morgan Collection (Rosenberg 1.a-
brary, Galveston); Susie Kathleen Thompson, "The Texas Conference of Social Welf,ue: A
History and Evaluation" (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1939), 71; Street et al., People aml
Events, 35, 44, 50; The Dallas Survey, I (Aug. 1, 1917), 1-2; Janice Longley Van Sickle, "A Br icei
History of the Dallas Community Chest" (Dallas Historical Society); Mrs. Godfrey Collins, "I'he
Community Chest of Greater Dallas" (Dallas Historical Society).
18 "Brief History of the Texas United Funds" (United Way Office, Austin); "History of the Lub,-
bock Community Chest and Council" (Southwest Collection, Texas Tech Univelsity); StI ce et'
al., People and Events, 86, 118-119g, 123, 134.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994, periodical, 1994; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117154/m1/36/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.