Publishing information:
Shirley Tillotson
Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, May 2008. 352pp. Hardback & Paperback (Jan 2009). ISBN 978-0-7748-1473-7 (hardback) 978-0-7748-1474-4 (paperback) $85/$32.95
Written by a historian, this is the first Canadian book to explore the evolution of modern charitable giving and the development of that country’s welfare state. The author’s meticulously traced account of the rise of professional fundraising leads her to argue against the popular view that the welfare state killed off private charity. Indeed, she concludes that ‘organised charity’ (exemplified by the early twentieth century ‘community chest’ appeals run jointly by charities in all major Canadian cities) provided the blueprint for how to organise the large-scale funding and delivery of welfare services; modern charity was thus ‘the welfare state in waiting’. However persuasive the reader finds this argument, it is worth getting hold of a copy of this book for the illustrations alone. Tillotson has collected a dozen superb examples of early twentieth century fundraising appeals that represent a unique slice of social history, and show how far the fundraising profession has come in just a few decades.
