Jamie Simek. Beyond the Bake Sale: Fundraising for Local History Organizations. Washington, D.C.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers/AASLH, 2022. Hardback/Paperback/eBook, 254p. $105.00/$45.00/$42.50. (ISBN: 978-1-5381-4877-8).

Abstract

In October 1900, Reverend John Gunn reflected on an opera staged for the benefit of his Atlanta parish: “The training was long and tedious; the expenses enormous. I got typhoid worrying over the thing. Expense of production: $589. Tickets, etc.: $500. Loss: $89.” While Father Gunn eventually recovered from typhus fever and continued staging productions for the cultural benefit of his parishioners, he learned to rely on wealthy patrons for financial support rather than costly fundraisers.