1941: Russell Sage Foundation

By charter the purpose of the Russell Sage Foundation is the 'improvement of social and living conditions in the United States of America.' It was established by Mrs. Russell Sage in 1907 with an original endowment of $10,000,000, to which in her will some ten years later she added $5,000,000. Its income in 1941 was approximately $580,000.

In pursuing its purpose the Foundation investigates social problems and conditions in order to disseminate information aimed to assist the public in endeavors to ameliorate, remedy or prevent conditions deemed harmful to families and individuals. More than 60 per cent of its income is devoted to work carried on by its own staff. Among the more important areas in which the staff has made studies in recent years are: organization of charitable and relief work, child welfare, city and regional planning, consumer credit and loans to the small borrower, delinquency and penology, family welfare, handicrafts, housing reform, labor relations, interpretation of social work to the public, recreation and the improvement of leisure time, social case work, social statistics, and social surveys.

While it is not primarily a contributing organization, the Foundation does make grants of upwards of 35 per cent of its income in cases where particular pieces of work seem likely to be carried on with greater economy and efficiency by other agencies. Among the types of activity or studies assisted in this way recently are: adult education; city planning; family welfare; education and training for social work; child welfare; placement and vocational service; legal aid; crime prevention; social welfare publications; improvement of race relations, social research, and social phases of the arts.

The Foundation has published over 130 books and over 200 pamphlets. Distribution of books, pamphlets, educational measuring scales, forms, catalogues, etc., in recent years has averaged more than 200,000 pieces annually. Among its recent publications are: Your Community, by Joanna C. Colcord; Housing for the Machine Age, by Clarence A. Perry; Consumer Credit and Economic Stability, by Rolf Nugent; Civil Service in Public Welfare, by Alice Campbell Klein; (The) American Miners' Association, by Edward A. Wieck; and the Social Work Year Book, 1941, edited by Russell H. Kurtz.

1940: Russell Sage Foundation

The chartered purpose of the Russell Sage Foundation is the 'improvement of social living and living conditions in the United States of America.' It was established by Mrs. Russell Sage in 1907 with an original endowment of $10,000,000, to which she added $5,000,000 later in her will. The income of the Foundation in 1940 was approximately $570,000.

In carrying out its purpose the Foundation studies the causes of adverse social conditions in order to disseminate information of assistance to the public in endeavors to ameliorate, remedy or prevent such conditions. Over 60 per cent of its income is devoted to work carried on by its own staff. Among the more important areas of staff study are: organization of charitable and relief work, child welfare, city and regional planning, consumer credit, delinquency and penology, family welfare, handicrafts, housing reform, labor relations, interpretation of social work, recreation, social case work, social statistics, and social surveys.

While the Foundation is not primarily a contributing organization, it does make grants of upwards of 30 per cent of its income, chiefly to agencies with similar purposes, and in instances where it is believed particular pieces of work can be carried on with greater economy and efficiency by others. Among the types of activity financially assisted are: adult education; city planning; family welfare; education and training for social work; community organization; child welfare; placement and vocational service; legal aid; crime prevention; social welfare publications; improvement of race relations, and research in the social sciences.

The Foundation has published more than 130 books and over 200 pamphlets. Among its more recent publications are: 'Your Community,' by Joanna C. Colcord; 'Housing for the Machine Age,' by Clarence A. Perry; 'Consumer Credit and Economic Stability,' by Rolf Nugent; 'Civil Service in Public Welfare,' by Alice Campbell Klein; 'The English Hire-Purchase Act, 1938,' by John E. Hamm; and 'Migration and Social Welfare,' by Philip E. Ryan.

1939: Russell Sage Foundation

The Russell Sage Foundation was instituted by Mrs. Russell Sage in 1907 as a memorial to her husband. Its purpose is the 'improvement of social and living conditions in the United States of America.' It endeavors to carry out this purpose through the study of social conditions and the analysis of social problems and by spreading the information which it so collects. The total endowment provided by Mrs. Sage was $15,000,000. Its income at present is approximately $575,000 per year. It was established when available funds for the study of social problems in this country were very small; and the emphasis it has given to such work has undoubtedly had influence in the increased funds devoted to social research during the last two decades. One of the first grants of the Foundation was to the Pittsburgh Survey of 1907-09, which had a part in starting a long series of studies of local social problems throughout the nation.

About 60 per cent of its income is devoted to work carried on by its own staff. Among the more important areas in which the staff has conducted studies are: charity organization and relief, child welfare, city and regional planning, consumer credit, delinquency and penology, educational methods in the grades, employment and labor relations, family welfare, handicrafts, housing reform, interpretation of social work to the public, recreation and community centres, school hygiene, social case work, conditions in Southern highlands, social statistics, social surveys, and zoning.

The Foundation has published over 130 books and over 200 pamphlets. Printing of books, pamphlets, educational measuring scales, forms, catalogs, etc., now runs about 200,000 pieces per year. Among its most recent publications are: 'Social Work Year Book 1939,' edited by Russell H. Kurtz; 'Lawyers and the Promotion of Justice,' by Esther Lucile Brown; 'Your Community,' by Joanna C. Colcord; 'Housing for the Machine Age,' by Clarence A. Perry; and 'Consumer Credit and Economic Stability,' by Rolf Nugent.

The other 40 per cent of its income is given to agencies with kindred purposes. Among the activities assisted are: better housing; training for social work; child welfare; improvement of country life; legal aid; race relations; and research in the social sciences. Its headquarters are in New York City.