Call Number:

AC201

Repository:

Princeton University Library: University Archives

Extent:

22 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Princeton University Fund Records, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1877-1972 (inclusive) and 1938-1956 (bulk)

Creator:

Princeton University. Princeton University Fund.

Abstract:

Though informal fundraising groups acting under the auspices of the Graduate Council had used the name since the 1920s, the Princeton University Fund as it came to be known was officially assembled in 1940 to provide a permanent organization dedicated to annual giving and other fundraising efforts. Consists of detailed committee minutes and correspondence of the Princeton University Fund. Also included in the collection are annual fundraising reports, promotional materials and clippings, and organizational charts.

Though informal fundraising groups acting under the auspices of the Graduate Council had used the name since the 1920s, the Princeton University Fund as it came to be known was officially assembled in 1940 to provide a permanent organization dedicated to annual giving and other fundraising efforts. Prior to this time University alumni had been subjected to appeals from a number of diverse fundraising bodies, each with a different mission and target. While the newly created Princeton University Fund did not purport to replace these organizations, it did offer a more organized mission and annual giving program, and was generally more successful in its efforts as a result. The fund was headed by a board made up of three trustees, three graduate council members, three faculty, one undergraduate, one non-princetonian, and the president and financial vice-president of the University as ex officio members (who took an active part in most board meetings). The board oversaw the activities of several sub-committees, the most important of which were Annual Giving, Bequests, and Special Gifts. One notable program overseen by the Princeton University Fund was the Class Memorial Insurance Fund, in which alumni would purchase small life insurance policies and then name their respective class fund as a primary beneficiary. After the Office of Development was created by the University in 1956 the Princeton University Fund continued to operate, however by 1967 the bulk of its responsibilities had been taken over, and by the end of the decade it had been completely absorbed into that office.

The College of New Jersey was initially chartered in 1746. The first classes were held in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in the parsonage of the president, the Reverend Jonathan Dickinson. Upon his death, the College moved to Newark, New Jersey, and was headed by the Reverend Aaron Burr, Sr. Since 1756, the College has been located in Princeton, New Jersey. For the first fifty years, nearly all College operations took place within Nassau Hall. Fires, fundraising difficulties, low student enrollment, and the Civil War challenged the vitality of the College in the early and middle nineteenth century, but the College grew vigorously under the leadership of President James McCosh, and it was renamed Princeton University in 1896. The Graduate School was established in 1900, although a limited graduate program had existed since the 1870s. Princeton enthusiastically supported the country (living up to its informal motto, "Princeton in the Nation's Service") during the First and Second World Wars, offering the expertise of faculty and campus space for training, as well as facilitating the early graduation of students so they could enlist. The post-World War II years brought dramatic changes to Princeton. The size and strength of the University's facilities and academic programs—especially for the applied sciences and public policy—were increased dramatically. Under President Robert Goheen, Princeton began to admit minority students in greater numbers in the 1960s and admitted women undergraduates in 1969. Today, Princeton is widely regarded as one of the top universities in the world.

Consists of detailed committee minutes and correspondence of the Princeton University Fund. Also included in the collection are annual fundraising reports, promotional materials and clippings, and organizational charts.