This book examines both the policies of church boards and town councils in organising charitable appeals, as well as the general population's giving behaviour.
In the Dutch Republic, charitable collections were regularly organized by both religious and secular authorities. This book examines the policies of church boards and town councils in organizing these charitable appeals, as well as the general population’s giving behavior. Using archival sources from the towns of Delft, Utrecht, Zwolle, and ’s-Hertogenbosch, Daniëlle Teeuwen shows how these authorities deployed organizational and rhetorical tactics—including creating awareness, establishing trust, and exerting pressure—to successfully promote fundraising campaigns. Not only did many relief institutions manage to collect large annual sums, but contributions came from across the socioeconomic spectrum.
