Northwestern University Settlement Association Records Financial Records, 1918-1971

Scope and Content

Scope and Contents

This series contains the financial records of the Northwestern University Settlement. The records fill twenty-eight boxes and span the years from 1918 to 1971. A run of ledgers forms the bulk of the series. These typically feature information organized into the following categories: trial balance, bank statements, cash received, income, expense, journal, check records, voucher registers, assets, liabilities, and accounts payable. The ledgers are arranged in chronological order.

Brief trial balance records document monthly or bimonthly totals of money spent and received in various areas such as buildings and repairs, endowment funds, and special purpose funds. Amounts are organized and arranged by account name and category of receipt or expenditure. The information found in trial balance records is used to prepare balance sheets.

Bank statements note monthly bank activity including withdrawals, deposits, and checks outstanding. These statements are arranged chronologically.

Cash received is a daily chronological account of money received and includes a description of the payment and its amount.

The income and expense categories record funds received or expended for such purposes as dues, donations, camp fees, salaries, conferences, supplies, and other regular activities of the Settlement. The records are categorized according to these purposes and are arranged thereafter in chronological order.

The journal documents monthly Endowment and Special Purpose fund activity; information is recorded by fund within each monthly listing.

Check records and voucher registers are two records which note the same monthly transactions and display the same information including check amount, check number, voucher number, and a description of the transaction. Check records are organized sequentially by check number, while voucher registers are arranged sequentially by voucher number.

Information relating to assets is arranged monthly within subject groups or according to established fund areas. Pertinent records detail monthly totals for petty cash and accounts receivable.

Liabilities are recorded monthly according to subject categories; various funds and accounts payable are totaled monthly.

Accounts payable features an alphabetical record of all individuals and organizations having dealings with the Settlement within a given year. Each transaction record notes an amount and, occasionally, a pertinent description.

Funds are listed individually by name in alphabetical order. Most prominent among these are the Endowment Fund, New Building Fund, Repairs Fund, and Special Purposes Fund. Under each fund is noted debit and credit purposes, amounts, and transaction descriptions.

Monthly income and expense records account for totals in different areas such as dues, camp, gifts and trusts, conferences, supplies, transportation, and other administrative financial transactions.

Another run of ledgers document the financial affairs of the Settlement's Resident's Club. These ledgers are arranged chronologically and, with some gaps, span the period 1928-1952. Each features a dated record of debits and credits owed by or payable to individual or institutional members of the club. Transactions are keyed sometimes to Settlement voucher and journal entry records.

Finally, a few oversize and characteristically terse general ledgers from the period 1918-1919 along with a Settlement payroll book, 1950-1951, complete the series.

Addition, Box 29

This addition to the Northwestern University Settlement Financial Records fills one archival box and spans the dates 1934 to 1985. A run of ledgers forms the series, the majority of which are for the Neighborhood Guild. These typically feature information organized into the following categories: trial balance, bank statements, cash received, income, expense, journal, check records, voucher registers, assets, liabilities and accounts payable. The ledgers are arranged in a rough chronological order.

The last two folders consist of the Residents Club financial ledgers from 1955-1956 and 1966. These are also arranged in a rough chronological order.