The National War Fund was the joint financing of war appeals during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO),

United Seamen's Service The United Seamen's Service, sometimes abbreviated as the USS, is a non-profit, federally chartered organization founded in 1942 to promote the welfare of American seafarers and their dependents, seafarers of all nations, US government military ...

, and about twenty other overseas relief programs. The National War Fund operated from 1943 to 1947.

Background

Beginning in September 1939 when Germany attacked Poland, 596 foreign relief agencies raised $597,621,366. On July 25, 1942,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

signed Executive Order 9206, moving foreign relief from the State Department to the President's War Relief Control Board.^:3-4 In 1942, the Community Chests and then the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

asked the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

and the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

to have common instead of independent relief campaigns.^:97 As WWII heated up, local goals multiplied as income tax, wages, and employment surged.^:98

Founding

The fund was started in February 1943. It was headed by

Winthrop W. Aldrich Winthrop Williams Aldrich GBE (November 2, 1885February 25, 1974) was an American banker and financier, scion of a prominent and powerful political family, and US Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Early years Aldrich was born in Rhode Islan ...

, who was chairman of the board of directors at

Chase National Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking subsidiar ...

and who had previously been president of the

British War Relief Society The British War Relief Society (BWRS) was a US-based humanitarian umbrella organisation dealing with the supply of non-military aid such as food, clothes, medical supplies and financial aid to people in Great Britain during the early years of th ...

. The idea of the fund came from the President's War Relief Control Board. The purpose of the fund was to help win the war^:13 and avoid the confusion, duplication of effort, and rivalries that had occurred among foreign relief fundraising. In particular, American citizens were getting annoyed at constantly hearing requests for donations from a bewildering number of sources. The fund only admitted one agency for any given overseas country or function, and forbade member organizations from doing drives of their own. President

opened the first National War Fund drive with a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

address on October 5, 1943. Roosevelt said of the new fund, "It is a philanthropic federation with three simple aims: first, to determine the nature and the extent of the war-related needs; second, to see that everybody has a chance to contribute to the funds required; and third, to channel the sums raised for its member agencies wherever American help is currently most needed—to raise enough and on time."

Fundraising

Need for relief was almost unlimited with the USO alone needing at least $60 million. The initial policy was to raise as much as feasible, set at $125 million nationally.^:17 Initial financing for the National War Fund began with a syndicated loan of $17.5 million from 76 banks, preparing bank boards in all sections of the country to champion the National War Fund.^: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.^:105 States added at least 5% margin for losses to their quota before dividing into county and local quotas.^: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. The fund raised monies from 43,000 local communities overall, a reach that represented a significant broadening of the American philanthropic effort. In about a thousand locations, the work was done by the local Community Chest organization, with Rochester, New York, being one such instance. The Fund resulted in an all time record for federated fund-raising.^:64 Two different figures are seen for how much money was raised through the National War Fund. The larger, $750 million, is for the overall amount, of which more than half was Community Chest money. The amount raised for the specific war-related agencies tied to the National War Fund itself, such as the USO, the United Seaman's Service, and the foreign relief agencies, was around $325 million. Of these, the USO received the most outlays from the fund, around $175 million. Administrative, fund-raising, and publicity expenses were just 0.8%.^:109

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

donated royalties on his book I Never Left Home worth over $155,000, making him the largest individual contributor besides John D. Rockefeller, Jr.^:66-67

Marketing

The most effective speakers were agency representatives recently returned from abroad.^:43 Nearly everything that could be was localized. Leaflets left a space for naming the local community campaign.^:41 A button, pin, or sticker showed one had given.^:40 32 million window stickers were produced in 1945.^:44 In its final year, the Fund materials on the radio made an estimated 850,780,000 listener impressions. Each year a 10 min motion picture was shown in 13,000 motion picture houses.^:42 If the Fund publicity were run commercially it would have cost an estimated $30 million, versus a net cost of less than $1 million.^:43-4

Agencies

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. Only causes that all Americans could be asked to support were included.^:9 Agencies were only selected for inclusion with the National War Fund after being certified by the President's War Relief Control Board.^:7 The State Department and American Red Cross examined their program and budget, checking for export licenses, duplication, and diplomatic, military, and economic clearance. Agencies negotiated federating or combining, with 13 agencies joining as the British War Relief Society.^:8 Private money would not be spent if public funds applied.^:14 Funds were disbursed without regard to race, creed, or political affiliation^:9 and all agency programs and budgets were publicly available.^:16 The

American Social Hygiene Association The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA), formally known as the American Social Hygiene Association and the American Social Health Association, is an American nonprofit organization established in 1914, that cites a mission to improve the heal ...

ran educational activities for armed forces and war workers fighting

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

and

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

.^:78-79 Agencies provided an estimated 40,894,000 lbs food, 99,400,000 lbs clothing, and 67,216,000 lbs medical and other supplies.^:79 Among the many supplies sent to Belgium were needle and thread, sewing machines, and shoe mending tools. Supplies to Britain included 316 ambulances and 1,000 mobile feeding kitchens.^:80 Specialized food and medicine for malnutrition were sent to France. X-ray equipment sent to Czechoslovakia allowed the entire population to be examined for tuberculosis.^:82 Artificial limbs and training were provided for disabled Greek veterans.^:83 Thousands of Norwegian prisoners of war in Germany got shoes.^:85 5,000 volunteer sewing groups remade a million garments for the Philippine climate.^: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.^:88

Liquidation

While most agencies foresaw operations continuing in 1947 and beyond, Community Chests agreed conducting a war appeal in 1946 would not be feasible.^:112 The National War Fund ended at the start of 1947, with the constituent organizations going their own ways. At the end of that year, a history of the fund was published by its general manager, Harold J. Seymour. The fund was formally liquidated in April 1948. The fund has generally been considered to have been successful in fulfilling its aims. Scholar

Merle Curti Merle Eugene Curti (September 15, 1897 – March 9, 1996) was a leading American historian, who taught many graduate students at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin, and was a leader in developing the fields of social history and ...

wrote, "The story of the National War Fund is important in American philanthropy." {, class="wikitable" , +Total Agency Disbursements^:70-71 , Belgian War Relief Society , $2,219,299.63 , - , British War Relief Society , $5,944,033.18 , - , Bundles for Britain , $108,775.19 , - , Catholic Welfare Conference, National , $10,963,666.42 , - , China, United Service to , $32,534,140.86 , - , Czechoslovakia, American Relief for , $2,254,706.98 , - , Denmark Relief, America , $254,457.28 , - , European Children, U.S. Committee for the Care of , $373,705.20 , - , Field Service, American , $680,191.97 , - , France, American Aid to , $6,718,153.95 , - , Greek War Relief Association , $8,172,181.96 , - , Holland, American Relief for , $3,637,699.03 , - , Italy, American Relief for , $5,692,309.50 , - , Lithuanian Relief Fund, United , $812,870.88 , - , Luxembourg, Friends of , $300,507.07 , - , Near East Foundation , $814,101.34 , - , Norway, American Relief for , $2,527,637.95 , - , Philippine War Relief , $1,584,694.62 , - , Poland, American Relief for , $6,880,382.81 , - , Prisoners Aid Committee, YMCA, War , $9,749,162.42 , - , Prisoners Aid, Inc., War , $12,794.65 , - , Refugee Relief Trustees , $4,980,629.11 , - , Russian War Relief , $16,028,952.67 , - , Seamen’s Service, United , $12,755,477.65 , - , Social Hygiene Association, American , $948,529.43 , - , World Emergency & War Victims Fund, YWCA , $1,661,973.11 , - , World Student Service Fund , $240,163.04 , - , Yugoslav Relief Fund, United , $3,158,317.73 , - , Total agencies w/o USO , $142,009,515.63 , - , USO , $175,575,959.24 , - , Total agencies , $317,585,474.87 , - , Headquarters and Campaign Expense , $2,142,867.07 , - , Expense of Labor Campaign Committees , $1,145,737.10 , - , Liquidation Expense and Contingencies , $528,121.00 , - , Total , $321,402,200.04