The American Fund for Public Service was founded thanks to Charles Garland’s decision to channel his inheritance from his Wall Street Broker father toward helping the public good rather than maintain it for himself. Rather than retain his million-dollar inheritance, Garland dedicated nearly $1 million toward leftist causes, with the support of leaders like A. Phillip Randolph and Upton Sinclair. Between 1922 and 1941, much of the Fund’s grantmaking included giving to such causes as labor unions, radical publications, bail and legal defense funds; and civil liberties, penal reform, and minority rights groups.[1] The board members liquidated the fund in 1941, at which point the organization had dedicated substantial resources toward worker education and the fight for civil rights.
