Carolyn Farb Papers, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.
Donations from Carolyn Farb, 2000-2002
Joanie South-Shelley, 2002
Open for research.
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Terms are either Library of Congress Subject Headings or taken from local sources.
Carolyn Farb is an internationally known fundraiser, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist. During the past thirty years, she has raised over $25 million for a number of charities and worthy causes, the majority of which are based in Houston and benefit local organizations. Her hard work and devotion to others have earned her the nickname "the first lady of philanthropy," and she has received numerous accolades for her efforts.
Farb's interest in helping others began early in her life; as a teenager, she volunteered at the snack bar at Texas Children's Hospital. Her beloved grandfather, Jake Freedman, a businessman in Las Vegas, fostered her spirit of giving.
Farb became actively involved in fundraising in the 1970s, when she worked with groups such as the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, the Alley Theatre, and KUHT, Houston's public television station. The scope of her activities increased greatly during the 1980s, a period of boom and bust in Houston. Farb's zero-budget philosophy, her attention to detail, and her enthusiasm enabled her to raise record amounts of funds in that strained economy. In 1983, she was the first person in Texas to raise $1 million in one evening, for the Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research's Million Dollar Evening. In 1987, Farb chaired An Evening of Hope for the Bering Community Service Foundation, which benefited AIDS patients. Until that time, this disease had received scant positive attention and very little funding. In the early 1990s, Farb's efforts increased public awareness of another devastating disease, neurofibromatosis, with two fundraisers: My Heart Belongs to Daddy and I've Got a Crush on You. She has chaired several events benefiting the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, including Marvin's Million Dollar Dream for prostate and breast cancer research. Other health-related recipients include the Myasthena Gravis Foundation, the American Paralysis Association, the Leukemia Society of America, Cancer Fighters, United Cerebral Palsy, the Arthritis Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the March of Dimes.
Carolyn Farb's fundraising activities have also benefited various women's and children's causes, the homeless, and animals. These include the Ms. Foundation's Stars of Texas Gala, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Pink Ribbons Project. Farb has worked in conjunction with the Rotary Clubs International to raise funds for Nicaraguan children devastated by earthquakes, and has chaired several UNICEF events. Other recipients include the Girl Scouts of America, the Star of Hope Mission, the Children's Miracle Network, and the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Farb's work has also enriched the arts and educational communities in Houston. She has raised money for the Alley Theatre, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Society for the Performing Arts, among others. In 1996, she chaired the fundraising campaign for the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, specially constructed to house medieval frescoes in danger of destruction. The Quest for Excellence in 1999 raised funds to create an endowed chair in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Houston.
Farb has received many accolades for her work. These include Cancer Fighters of Houston's All-American Award, the Volunteers of America's Outstanding Human Service Award, the YWCA's Woman of the Year award in 1991, and the Dr. Robert Graves award from the Thyroid Society for Education and Research. She was named a Distinguished Woman by Northwood University in 1996, and was inducted into the Texas Philanthropy Hall of Fame in 1997. Farb has also served on numerous boards of directors in Houston, including the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Rothko Chapel Foundation.
Carolyn Farb is a native Houstonian. She attended the University of Oklahoma, where she studied journalism. She has contributed articles to Andy Warhol's magazine,
The collection primarily contains papers, photographs, and newspaper clippings, the majority pertaining to Carolyn Farb's fundraising activities. The material has been arranged into thirteen series: Fundraising; Book; Honors and Awards; Speeches; Organizations and Events; Administrative; Journalism; Correspondence; Print Media; Fashion; Ephemera; Photographs; and Video, Audio, and Compact Disk Recordings. (Material in the last two series is dated from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, but has not yet been processed and therefore is not included in this finding aid.)
The collection contained several magnetic photo album/scrapbooks, which have been disassembled for preservation purposes. These albums contained primarily photographs and newspaper clippings describing Farb's activities in the 1980s. The items from these magnetic albums have been placed in the appropriate folders in the Fundraising, Awards and Honors, Organizations and Events, and Photographs series. The collection also includes several non-magnetic, archival quality photo album/scrapbooks of material from the 1990s, which have not been disassembled. Some of the items in these scrapbooks correspond to folders in the four series above, and there is some material in the scrapbooks for which no folder in these series exists. The researcher thus should consult the individual folders in the relevant series, in conjunction with the 1990s scrapbooks, in order to gain a more comprehensive view of Farb's activities in the 1990s. There is some overlap between the information in several of the series, especially Fundraising, Honors and Awards, Organizations, and Print Media, and so the researcher should cross-check and correlate the information from the various series.
This series contains 321 folders and is dated from 1972 to 2002. It is the largest series in the collection and is arranged chronologically by year and then by date within each year. The folder titles include the name of the recipient organization followed by the name, when applicable, of the particular fundraising event. Several of the benefits had preliminary events, such as dinners or receptions, preceding the main event. In these cases, all materials for the particular fundraiser are listed under the main event. Depending on the amount of material, preliminary event information may be in a separate folder. The folders for each fundraiser contain all the information about the event, including photographs, newspaper and magazine articles, programs and invitations, with the exception of the material contained in the archival quality photo albums/scrapbooks from the 1990s, described in the Scope and Contents above.
This series contains material on the fundraising projects on which Farb served as chairman or honorary chairman, as well as some in which she was a participant in some way. folder 2, the List of Fundraising Activities, includes lists submitted by Carolyn Farb, which in some cases describe in greater detail her role in a particular project. The lists in this folder do not correspond exactly to those in the series. Items in this series include newspaper clippings, photographs, event brochures, and miscellaneous papers pertaining to the various events. Some fundraisers are represented by only a small amount of material, but the majority of folders contain more material. Several of the larger fundraisers are further subdivided because they include paperwork and correspondence concerning the planning of the events. Celebrity photos in this series include Liza Minelli, John Henry Faulk, Ann-Margaret, Crystal Gayle, Marvin Hamlisch, Don Henley, Brooke Shields, Joe Piscopo, Lyle Lovett, Fran Drescher, and an autographed photograph of Kenny Loggins. Local celebrities include Marvin Zindler, Dave Ward, Dominique de Menil, and John O'Quinn.
This series contains forty-one folders and is dated from 1993 to 1994. The series is divided into five sub-series: Drafts, Eakin Press, Photographs, Publicity, and Signings. All material pertains to the writing, publishing, and promotion of Farb's first book,
This series contains thirty-six folders, dated from 1984 to 2002, and arranged chronologically. It contains material on the awards Farb has received, and includes certificates, newspaper and magazine articles, and photographs.
This series contains thirty-four folders dated from 1985 to 2001, and is arranged chronologically. The series contains speeches given by Farb to a number of different organizations and groups. Almost all the speeches concern fundraising.
This series contains thirty-six folders, dated from 1986 to 2002, and is arranged alphabetically. It contains material on organizations that Farb is affiliated with in some way, or has been at one time. These include organizations in which she has served on the board of directors, or in some advisory or honorary capacity. Some of the folders, such as Northwood University, Houston Grand Opera, and the Rotary Clubs International, represent organizations with which she is closely associated; these three, for example, are also listed in the Fundraising series because she has chaired particular fundraisers for them. The material in this series represents a continuing association, rather than a particular fundraiser. This series also contains some single events, such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Downtown Disney event, which Farb attended.
This series contains eleven folders, dated from 1990 to 2002. It contains administrative material pertaining to fundraising, such as information on conferences, promotion ideas, and samples of letters and other materials.
This series contains nine folders, dating from the 1950s to 2000. It contains articles written by Carolyn Farb, as well as has published work, other than her first book. The material includes newspaper and magazine articles, interviews, and submissions in books.
This series contains twenty-one folders, dated from 1958 to 2002, and arranged chronologically. It includes letters, cards, and invitations to Farb, as well as letters written by her. Some of the cards and invitations have been moved to an oversize box in order to facilitate storage and access.
This series contains thirty-nine folders, dated from the 1950s to 2002, and arranged chronologically. It contains mainly newspaper and magazine articles which mention Carolyn Farb, but that do not pertain to a specific fundraising event. A few of the folders may include photographs if they pertain to an item mentioned in the newspaper or magazine article.
This series contains eight folders, dated from 1969 to 1999, and arranged chronologically. It contains newspaper and magazine articles and photographs that pertain to Carolyn Farb's interest in fashion and design.
This series contains a variety of material, including scrapbooks and t-shirts, dated 1956 to 1999.