Contents and Arrangement Expanded View
Online

Collection Overview

Creator:
Pitchersky, Carol
Title:
Carol Pitchersky Papers
Repository:
Public Policy Papers
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dr26xx38s
Dates:
1963-2008
Size:
75 boxes
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Boxes 1-54; 1A; 1B; 3A; 3B; 4A; 4B; 6A; 6B; 7A; 7B; 8A; 8B; 9A; 9B; 10A; 10B; 11A; 11B; 12A; 12B; 13A; 13B; 14A; 14B; 15A; 15B; 16A; 16B; 17A; 17B; 17C; 18A; 18B; 19A; 19B; 20A; 20B; 32A; 32B; 33A; 33B
Language:
English

Abstract

Carol Pitchersky (1947-2004) was a fundraiser and consultant who helped bring financial stability to dozens of public interest groups, notably the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She served as Associate Director in charge of development and strategic planning at the ACLU and as a consultant to other prominent nonprofit organizations. The papers document Pitchersky's work as a fundraiser at the ACLU during the 1980s and for public interest groups in the 1970s and 1990s.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The papers document Pitchersky's work as a fundraiser at the ACLU during the 1980s and for public interest groups in the 1970s and 1990s. The majority of the organizations were involved in defending civil and human rights, and also included organizations devoted to refugee relief, the promotion of peace, protecting the environment, and supporting the arts. The organizations include the ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights First (previously the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights), the International Rescue Committee, the National Environmental Trust, the Society for Women's Health Research, and many other groups.

Arrangement

Original order of the materials has been maintained.

Collection Creator Biography:

Pitchersky, Carol

Carol Pitchersky (1947-2004) was a fundraiser and consultant who helped bring financial stability to dozens of public interest groups, notably the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She served as Associate Director responsible for development and strategic planning at the ACLU and as a consultant to other prominent nonprofit organizations.

Pitchersky began her career in Washington in 1968, working for J.R. Taft Corp., an organization that raised money for colleges, arts organizations, and community groups. While there, she wrote The Taft Reporter, the first handbook about nonprofit fundraising. In 1972, she became development director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an organization founded in the 1960s to promote justice. Under her tenure, the group grew from a relatively small funding base to a stable national organization. She left in 1977 to serve as a special consultant to the Department of Health, Eduction and Welfare, where she helped recruit executives and was a member of the team that ensured the hiring of minorities and women.

In 1979, Pitchersky became the Associate Director in charge of development and strategic planning of the ACLU. In this capacity, it was her responsibility to revitalize the organization's fund-raising programs. When she joined the ACLU, the organization was facing possible bankruptcy. The ACLU largely depended on membership dues and small donations for their budget, averaging $300,000 annually, which was insufficient to allow for building cash reserves or an endowment. However, in 1977 the organization defended the right of the American Nazi Party to mark through Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb that was home to many Holocaust survivors, which cost the ACLU a significant portion of their membership. During her nine years with the ACLU, Pitchersky established a development department and the organization's first comprehensive development program which brought in sufficient funds for growth, building a cash reserve, and establishing an endowment, and she was also involved in the major decisions of the organization as the principal deputy to executive director Ira Glasser.

After leaving the ACLU in 1988, Pitchersky worked as an independent consultant to aid nonprofits in organizing boards of directors and financial networks. Her clients, mostly liberal advocacy groups, included Common Cause, Friends of the Earth, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International USA, Children's Rights, Inc., National Environmental Trust, Washington Office on Latin America, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She was also instrumental in organizing Americans Coming Together, an advocacy group dedicated to aiding Democratic candidates in the 2004 elections.

Pitchersky was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 3, 1947 and earned her B.A. from Hunter College in New York. She married Howard Hoffman and was later divorced. In 1991, she married Morton H. Halperin, who served in the Defense Department under President Johnson and was director of policy planning at the State Department under President Clinton. Pitchersky died of breast cancer on October 19, 2004 at the age of 57.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Morton H. Halperin, husband of Carol Pitchersky, in December 2004 .

Appraisal

No material was separated from this collection during accessioning in 2004 or during subsequent processing in 2009.

Processing Information

A preliminary box list was created in 2005. In 2009 an updated folder list was created and a finding aid was written. The finding aid was written by Adriane Hanson.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Access to diaries and calendars must be requested from donor during his lifetime. The remainder of the collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Carol Pitchersky Papers; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dr26xx38s
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Boxes 1-54; 1A; 1B; 3A; 3B; 4A; 4B; 6A; 6B; 7A; 7B; 8A; 8B; 9A; 9B; 10A; 10B; 11A; 11B; 12A; 12B; 13A; 13B; 14A; 14B; 15A; 15B; 16A; 16B; 17A; 17B; 17C; 18A; 18B; 19A; 19B; 20A; 20B; 32A; 32B; 33A; 33B

Find More

Bibliography

The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical note: "Carol Pitchersky, 57, A.C.L.U. Official, Dies" by Margalit Fox. The New York Times, October 23, 2004. "Carol Pitchersky, 57; Nonprofits' Fundraiser" by Matt Schudel. The Washington Post, October 22, 2004.

Subject Terms:
Fund raising.
Nonprofit organizations -- Management.
Names:
American civil liberties union
Amnesty international
Washington Office on Latin America
Society for Women's Health Research
International rescue committee
Human Rights First (Organization)
National Environmental Trust (U.S.)
Oxfam.
Planned parenthood federation of America