RAISING MONEY FOR A CHARITY.
One of the trials of a young Charity is raising money. I was determined
to put this on as sound and rational a basis as possible. It seemed to
me, that, if the facts were well known in regard to the great suffering
and poverty among the children in New York, and the principles of our
operations were well understood, we could more safely depend on this
enlightened public opinion and sympathy than on any sudden "sensation"
or gush of feeling.
Our Board fully concurred in these views, and we resolutely eschewed all
"raffles" and pathetic exhibitions of abandoned children, and
"pedestrian" or other exhibitions offered as for the benefit of
humanity, and never even enjoyed the perfectly legitimate benefit of a
"fair." Once, in a moment of enthusiasm I was led into arranging a
concert, for the benefit of a School; but that experience was enough.
Our effort at musical benevolence became a series of most inharmonious
squabbles. The leading soprano singer had a quarrel with the bass; the
instrumental split with the vocal performers; our best solo went off in
a huff, and, at last, by superhuman exertions, we reconciled the
discordant elements and got our concert fairly before the public, and
retired with a few hundred dollars.
Whatever gave the public a sensation, always had a reaction. The solid
ground for us was evidently the most rational one. I accordingly made
the most incessant exertions to enlighten and stir up the public. In
this labor the most disagreeable part was presenting our "cause" to
individuals. I seldom solicited money directly, but sought rather to lay
the wants and methods before them. Yet, even here, some received it as
if it were some new move of charlatanry, or some new device for
extracting money from full purses. Evidently, to many minds, the fact of
a man of education devoting himself to such pursuits was in itself an
enigma or an eccentricity. Fortunately, I was able early to make use of
the pulpits of the city and country, and sometimes was accustomed to
spend every night in the week and the Sunday in delivering sermons and
addresses throughout the Eastern States. As a general thing, I did not
urge a collection, though occasionally having one, but chose rather to
convince the understanding, and leave the matter before the people for
consideration. No public duties of mine were ever more agreeable than
these; and the results proved afterwards most happy, in securing a large
rural "constituency," who steadily supported our movements in good times
and bad; so quietly devoted, and in earnest, that death did not diminish
their interest--some of our best bequests having come from the country.
The next great implement was that profession which has done more for
this Charity than any other instrumentality. Having, fortunately, an
early connection with the press, I made it a point, from the beginning,
to keep our movements, and the evils we sought to cure, continually
before the public in the columns of the daily journals. Articles
describing the habits and trials of the poor; editorials urging the
community to work in these directions; essays discussing the science of
charity and reform; continual paragraphs about special charities, were
poured forth incessantly for years through the daily and weekly press of
New York, until the public became thoroughly, imbued with our ideas and
a sense of the evils which we sought to reform. To accomplish this, I
had to keep up a constant connection with the press, and was, in fact,
often daily editor, in addition to my other avocations.
As a result of this incessant publicity, and of the work already done, a
very superior class of young men consented to serve in our Board of
Trustees; men who, in their high principles of duty, and in the
obligations which they feel are imposed by wealth and position, bid fair
hereafter to make the name of New York merchants respected as it never
was before throughout the country. With these as backers and
supervisors, we were enabled to approach the Legislature for aid, on the
ground that we were doing a humane work which lightened the taxes and
burdens of the whole community and was in the interest of all. Year
after year our application was rejected, but finally we succeeded, and
laid a solid and permanent basis thus for our future work.
SOURCES OF INCOME.
Our first important acquisition of property was a bequest from a
much-esteemed pupil of mine, J. B. Barnard, of New Haven, Conn., of
$15,000, in 1856. We determined to use this at once in the work. For
many years, finding the needs of the city so enormous, and believing
that our best capital was in the results of our efforts, and not in
funds, we spent every dollar we could obtain at once upon our labors of
charity.
At length, in 1863, a very fortunate event occurred for us: a gentleman
had died in New York, named John Rose, who left a large property which
he willed should be appropriated to forming some charitable institution
for neglected children, and, under certain conditions, to the
Colonization Society. The will was so vaguely worded, that the brother,
Mr. Chauncey Rose, felt it necessary to attempt to break it. This, after
long litigation, he succeeded in doing, and the property--now swollen to
the amount of nearly a million dollars--reverted mainly to him. With a
rare conscience and generosity, he felt it his duty not to use any of
this large estate for himself, but to distribute it among various
charities in New York, relating to poor children, according to what
appeared to be the intention of his brother. To our Society he gave, at
different times, something like $200,000. Of this, we made $150,000 an
invested fund; and henceforth we sought gradually to increase our
permanent and assured income, so that the Association might continue its
benevolent work after the present managers had departed.
And yet we were glad that a good proportion of our necessary expenses
should be met by current contributions, so that the Society might have
the vitality arising from constant contact with the public, as well as
the permanency from invested property.
If we take a single year, 1870, as showing the sources of our income, we
shall find that out of nearly $200,000 received that year, including
$32,000 for the purchase of two Lodging-houses, and $7,000 raised by the
local committees of the Schools, $60,000 came by tax from the county,
$20,000 from the "Excise Fund" (now abolished), nearly $20,000 from the
Board of Education, being a _pro rata_ allotment on the average number
of pupils, and about $9,000 from the Comptroller of the State; making
about $109,000, or a little over one-half of our income, received from
the public authorities. Of the ninety-odd thousand received from private
sources, about eleven thousand came from our investments, leaving some
$80,000 as individual contributions during one year--a remarkable fact,
both as showing the generosity of the public and their confidence in the
work.
This liberal outlay, both by the city and private individuals, has been
and is being constantly repaid, in the lessening of the expenses and
loss from crime and pauperism, and the increasing of the number of
honest and industrious producers.