by Douglas Bakken and Edmund Berkeley, Jr.

As historians research and write about the United States at the end of the twentieth century, surely one of the trends that will catch their attention will be the growth of organized philanthropy. And one of the most important elements of that growth will be the family foundation. As a former archivist now serving as a foundation director, and as a practicing archivist for over thirty-four years, we believe that the efforts being made by family foundations to ensure that their records will be preserved are admirable. Without such documentation, it will be far more difficult for these historians to derive an accurate picture of the important work of family foundations. This publication is filled with information about preserving the valuable documentation of foundations in archives, either within the foundation’s own administration, or by agreement with a nearby archival organization. There are also lists of resources which to call for further information.

Anyone who questions the research value of foundation archives should read Darwin H. Stapleton’s article, “Plumbing the Past” (reprinted from Foundation News & Commentary magazine) and James Allen Smith’s “Why Foundation Archives Matter,” one of several excerpts from Establishing Foundation Archives. Smith writes wisely that “it is indeed accident and happenstance, more often than not, that determine what raw historical matter will remain in our possession in the long run.” Much archival writing in recent years has only focused on documentation strategies & plans that archival institutions follow in the systematic collection of documentation. These institutions, whether they are a local or state historical society, a university library’s special collections department, or a state archives charged with the preservation of that state’s vital records, hope to save and make available for research “raw historical matter” about as many aspects of the institution’s responsibilities as possible. Obviously, such efforts can never be 100 percent successful, but efforts are underway to collect the documentation necessary to provide future historians with a wide range of historical material.

Archives serve the interests of the organization of which they are a part. The archives of a foundation are no different. Richard Kaplan describes the value in establishing an archives within the structure of a foundation in Establishing Foundation Archives. The real driving force… is the protection of the institution’s proprietary interests… These records remain protected and confidential until their public release no longer affects personal reputation or the foundation’s fiduciary responsibility.”

As Thomas Rosenblum writes in “Hiring an Archival Consultant,” a foundation staff may wish to bring in a consultant (or consulting firm) for advice on establishing an archives. A consultant who has had experience both as an archivist and as a records manager will be best as both disciplines are likely to be involved. The consultant can advise the staff about legal, administrative and historical values of the foundation’s existing records, what should be preserved in the archives, when in the course of their “life cycle” vital records should be transferred to the archives, and where the archives should be created and maintained. There are professional organizations (see the handout in this packet headed “Archiving Your Family History Organizations to Know and Publications to Read”) that review the credentials of archivists and of records managers. Those meeting the required standards may use the titles “Certified Archivist” (CA) and/or “Certified Records Manager” (CRM). Lists of consultants are also available.

There is a considerable amount of material in this publication about oral history. Interviewing those persons who were involved with the establishment of a family foundation is often vital because the records accumulated by the foundation in the course of its daily administrative life are likely to be dry, even though important! An oral history tape of an interview and its transcript has an entirely different tone and appeal than a formal record. A skillful interviewer can bring important events to life and lead the interviewee to reveal motives behind actions that formal records never note. Oral history must be used with caution because our memories are not always accurate; we all tend to remember things in ways that favor ourselves. Nevertheless, oral histories can be an extremely valuable adjunct to the archival records, especially when a family and its foundation are involved.

While this publication will probably not answer all of your questions about establishing an archives for your family’s foundation, we hope that it will answer some of them, raise some issues as you consider the possibility of an archives, and serve as an introduction to an important and vital movement in the foundation world.

(Douglas Bakken is executive director of the Ball Brothers Foundation in Muncie, Indiana. Edmund Berkeley, Jr. is senior associate director and university archivist at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.)