National War Fund

[2] It was headed by Winthrop W. Aldrich, who was chairman of the board of directors at Chase National Bank and who had previously been president of the British War Relief Society.

[3] The purpose of the fund was to help win the war[1]:13 and avoid the confusion, duplication of effort, and rivalries that had occurred among foreign relief fundraising.

[5] President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the first National War Fund drive with a radio address on October 5, 1943.

[1]:27-28 State quotas were set as a percentage of the national goal by averaging a prior Community Chest study, USO contributions, and E bond purchases.

[1]:108 National War Fund subdivisions were organized in all forty-eight states, as well as in the territories of Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone.

[2] The fund raised monies from 43,000 local communities overall,[4] a reach that represented a significant broadening of the American philanthropic effort.

[1]:109 Bob Hope donated royalties on his book I Never Left Home worth over $155,000, making him the largest individual contributor besides John D. Rockefeller, Jr.[1]:66-67 The most effective speakers were agency representatives recently returned from abroad.

[1]:43-4 Some 19 national and 12 local service organizations pooled their efforts during the war and during its immediate aftermath, when overseas relief needs were still quite pressing.

[1]:7 The State Department and American Red Cross examined their program and budget, checking for export licenses, duplication, and diplomatic, military, and economic clearance.

[1]:16 The American Social Hygiene Association ran educational activities for armed forces and war workers fighting prostitution and venereal disease.

[1]:86 Russian War Relief sent a vast quantity of household items, contributing to Allied victory and fostering understanding between the countries’ peoples by using friendly nonpolitical aid.

[7][4][5] Scholar Merle Curti wrote, "The story of the National War Fund is important in American philanthropy.