18 Philanthropic investment in community development
social and economic conditions that contributed to poverty and the effects that this
had on local neighborhoods (Davis, 1967, p. 16). This was in direct contrast to the
organized charity movement that sought to improve communities by focusing on
the individual and their personal failings that caused poverty. Davis (1967), in fact,
contrasts the differences between charity workers and settlement workers, noting
that charity workers eschewed reform whereas the settlement workers approached
community improvement with enthusiasm and less moral judgment. Others, such
as the well-known college president and settlement house founder William Jewett
Tucker, have contrasted the two efforts, noting that the settlement houses prac-
ticed a “higher philanthropy” as opposed to the “lower philanthropy” of charity
organizations (as cited in Davis, 1967). The settlement house movement was com-
plex, however, and, due to the class lines separating settlement house workers from
the impoverished communities they served, some settlement workers were driven
by moralistic impulses that often created conflict (Trolander, 1987).
The efforts of the settlement house movement have been well documented and
analyzed from different perspectives including motivations for reform, religious
influences, the role of gender, and the treatment of racial differences (Carson,
1990; Davis, 1967; Hayden, 1981; Lasch-Quinn, 1993; Lubove, 1962; Trolander,
1987; Wiebe, 1967). However, the direct link between philanthropy, community
development, and settlement work has not been explicitly addressed. Settlement
workers were involved in many neighborhood redevelopment efforts including
housing reform, public playground advocacy, and sanitation and public health
improvements because many settlement house workers believed that social reform
required physical, neighborhood improvements (Davis, 1967).
One of the main sources of financial support for settlement house work was
private philanthropy. Wealthy philanthropists funded settlement house efforts along
with other community development projects (Dreier, 1997; Ehrenreich, 1985; Katz,
1986; Lubove, 1962). Philanthropists are probably best known for their support of
housing reform during this time period and this includes the efforts of Edward
Waller and Julius Rosenwald in Chicago, Robert Treat Paine in Boston, and
Robert W. de Forest in New York (Dreier, 1997; Radford, 1996; Wright, 1981).
Dreier (1997) thoroughly documents philanthropy’s three-pronged involvement
with the housing crisis during the Progressive Era, including efforts to change the
behavior of the poor and address the most visible housing problems, improve hous-
ing conditions through the sponsorship of efforts such as model housing projects,
and advocate for public policy reform and strengthening of the role of government
in regulating housing conditions. Many of the prominent advocates for housing
reform, such as Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch and Jane Addams, were first exposed
to poor housing conditions in the slums through their settlement work.
Philanthropic support for community development during the Progressive Era
was uneven and largely found in urban areas populated by White, ethnic immi-
grants, thereby demonstrating a blind spot when it came to civil rights. While
many settlement leaders were not ignorant of the problems that Black Americans
confronted, they did make a clear distinction between immigrants and Blacks.