Marquette University Libraries Department of Special Collections and University Archives NICA

< National Interfaith Coalition on Aging Records Index

NATIONAL INTERFAITH COALITION ON AGING (NICA)
HISTORY/SCOPE & CONTENT NOTES

HISTORY

The National Interfaith Conference on Aging was created by the Joint Planning Committee of the Christian College of Georgia and Athens Community Council on Aging.  Its immediate goal was to organize ecumenical religious sector involvement in the 1971 White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA).  Initially a pre-WHCOA meeting of denominational leaders was planned, but time constraints led instead to a post-conference gathering to discuss implementation of White House recommendations.  At this Meeting, held in Athens, Georgia, March 8-10, 1972, delegates voted to form a coalition that would promote spiritual values in WHCOA activities, identify and improve church programs for the elderly, develop the awareness of religious organizations to their responsibilities in improving the quality of life for the aging, stimulate cooperation between the religious, public and private sectors, and encourage the aging to give from their experience and to remain active in the community life.  Dr. Roger N. Carstensen, president of the Christian College of Georgia and Rev. Donald F. Clingan of the Division of Social and Health Services of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) chaired the meeting.

A Steering Committee, which became the Board of Directors in 1973, consisted of delegates from eighteen denominations, including Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish bodies.   Membership was at first open only to national religious organizations, but later was expanded to include secular groups concerned with the aging, regional organizations, and eventually interested individuals.  "Conference" in NICA's name was changed to "Coalition" by the vote of the Steering Committee in August 1972.   NICA was incorporated in 1973 in Washington, with its Secretariat, the administrative office, located in Athens, Georgia.  Rev. Donald F. Clingan was appointed part-time Executive Director, working out of his office in Indianapolis.

The first major project, which was to consume much of NICA's time from 1973-1976, was the "Survey of Programs for the Aging Under Religious Auspices."  This was designed to provide denominational and national overviews of the nature, strengths, and weaknesses of a wide range of services for the elderly.  Rev. Thomas C. Cook, who had been working for the Athens Community Council on Aging was hired in 1973 as Project Director and Principal Investigator.  In January of 1976 he also assumed the duties of Executive Director.

After completion of the Survey Project, and partly as a response to needs perceived through the survey, Project GIST (Gerontology in Seminary Training) was initiated.   Its goal was to enhance the ability of the religious community to serve the needs of the aging by improving the skills and knowledge of seminary educators.   Participants attended workshops, compiled guidelines, and shared individual projects.

Another focus of the organization was its continued involvement with the White House Conference on Aging, particularly on the subject of spiritual well-being.  In addition to sponsoring the National Intra-Decade Conference on the Spiritual Well-Being of the Elderly, held in 1977, NICA was chosen to conduct an official mini-conference of the 1981 WHCOA, the National Symposium on Spiritual and Ethical Values System Concerns, held in Erlanger, Kentucky, in 1980.

Annual Assemblies (1972- ) brought together delegates and observer-participants for meetings, workshops, and presentations.  The newsletter INFORM, (1975- ) provided members with information about NICA's activities, developments in the field of aging, and reviews of current literature. By publishing reports, proceedings, tapes and papers, as well as making available resources from other organizations and institutions, NICA served as a clearinghouse for information about services for the elderly.

In 1982 cutbacks in federal funds led to financial retrenchment.  Secretariat hours and services were reduced.  Rev. Cook resigned as Executive Director, although he continued to serve as a consultant. Ms. Miriam Peifer assumed some administrative duties as Associate Executive Director.  Until 1988, when Dr. Thomas Robb was appointed part-time Executive Director, the position remained vacant.

The NICA Archives contain correspondence, minutes, memoranda, reports, programs, research papers, questionnaires, financial records, incorporation documents, newsletters and other publications, photographs, membership lists, grant proposals, conference reports, and related documents concerning research and development, fund-raising efforts, membership, and committee activities.

Most of the records sere acquired in 1983 from Rev. Thomas C. Cook of the National Interfaith Coalition on Aging in accordance with the contract of February 21, 1983, signed between Marquette University and NICA.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Series 1, Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Committee Records, 1971-1988, contains agendas, minutes, reports, exhibits, and correspondence between board members and between the Board and Secretariat staff.  Steering Committee papers from 1971-1972 document the formation of NICA.  The period from 1971-1976 is more fully documented than later years; there are no records at all for 1982.  While the majority of the records are from the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee (filed together), there are several folders each for the Finance, Membership, and Education and Research Committees.  The material is arrange by committee on a chronological basis.

Series 2, Secretariat Correspondence and Subject files, 1971-1980, contains correspondence, working papers, memoranda and financial documents relating to the general administration of NICA and its activities.  The majority of documents were generated by Rev. Cook in his capacities as Project Director, Executive Director, and Director of the Secretariat, although some records predate Cook's arrival in 1973.  The financial records (1972-1981) are inconsistent, but include basic information for each year.   Correspondence is largely from 1974-1975, and much, though not all of it, can also be found in Rev. Cook's correspondence in Series 3.  Three folders of Rev. Donald F. Clingan's correspondence as Executive Director are included in the subject files.   Subject files are arranged alphabetically.  Financial records, arranged by year, are at the beginning of the series.  Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent, and chronologically thereunder.

Series 2.1, Restricted Grant Proposals, 1979-1980, contains two proposals for federal funds, Project CARET (Competency in Religious Education Training) and the National Policy Center on Ethics and Values in an Aging Society, which were not funded.

Series 3, Rev. Thomas C. Cook Correspondence, 1973-1979, contains letters written by Rev. Cook as Project Director, Director of the Secretariat, and Executive Director, relating to the administration of NICA, services to members and the public, development and execution of projects (particularly the survey), and NICA's advocacy in issues of aging.  Some incoming mail is included.  This is the most complete file of Rev. Cook's correspondence, although secretariat and project records contain additional letters, both incoming and outgoing.  Further, it is not a comprehensive record of NICA's correspondence, especially for the period before January 1976, when Cook became Executive Director.  The records are arranged chronologically.

Series 4, Rev. Donald F. Clingan Subject Files, 1972-1976, includes correspondence with the Board, the public, and NICA's membership; working papers; and informational material from other groups and projects in the field of aging.  Rev. Clingan transferred his files from Indianapolis to the secretariat in Athens after his resignation as Executive Director in 1975.  There is extensive information about the early stages of the survey project, particularly about Pro-Plan international, a consulting firm hired to help with grant-writing, and later with the design and implementation of the survey.  The series contains administrative files, including membership records, arranged alphabetically, and project files, which include internal and non-NICA projects, also arranged alphabetically.

Series 5, Survey on Programs for the Aging Under Religious Auspices Subject Files and Correspondence, 1973-1979, contains correspondence with the Board, secretariat staff, and survey participants, working papers, reports, agendas and minuets of meetings, and memoranda.

Series 5.1, Restricted Survey Materials, 1974-1975, consists of raw data sent in by survey respondents, computer print outs of raw data, and the IBM data check.

Series 6, Project GIST (Gerontology in Seminary Training) Files, 1975-1981, contains grant materials, conference and workshop reports, information on participants, resource documents, and papers written for the project.  Project GIST is fully documented from initial planning to the final report.  Participant files and final papers are arranged alphabetically by name/author, Administrative records, including correspondence, grant applications, and resource documents, are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series 7, Spiritual Well Being Project File, 1975-1981, relates to specific projects and events involving the issue of spiritual well-being and the White House Conference on Aging.  Most of the material relates to a series of conferences and consultations held on the subject of spiritual well-being for the aging, including correspondence, grant proposals, programs, and proceedings.  The 1980 National Symposium on Spiritual and Ethical Value System Concerns, a mini-conference of the 1981WHCOA, was the largest of the conferences, and produced a number of publications, which are included here, as well as in Series 9.  The material is arranged chronologically.

Series 8, Serial Publications, 1973-1988, consists of the newsletter INFORM, published semi-annually from 1975-1976, quarterly from 1977-1981 and 1983-1988, and bimonthly 1981-1982; and Program Bulletins 1-3, 1973-1976, arranged by title and chronologically thereunder.

Series 9, Non-Serial Publications, 1973-1982, contains materials produced and offered for sale by NICA as well as directories and a resource manual distributed to members, and descriptive brochures on the organization.  The proceedings for the 1973, 1974, and 1975 assemblies were published, as were final reports

Series 10, Annual Assembly Records, 1972-1984, contains correspondence, announcements, programs, agendas, kits, papers, speeches, evaluations, proceedings, and minutes from the annual general meetings, including the 1972 conference at which NICA took form.  Some years, notably 1973 and 1974, are amply documented, while some later ones have nothing but programs.  (Photographs from 1973-1974 may be found in Series 2.)  After a hiatus in 1982, smaller annual meetings were held in the fall.  The last annual assembly documented in this series is 1984; minutes and agendas for later years are included in the Board of Directors reports in Series 1.  The material is arranged chronologically.

Series 11, Membership Files, 1972-1977, were assembled from the membership files of Rev. Cook and Rev. Clingan and from the files of secondary literature sent in response to inquiries about programs for the elderly at the beginning of "Survey of Programs for the Aging Under Religious Auspices."  It contains correspondence and material concerning particular member organizations.  Folders concerning membership and recruitment in general may be found in the Secretariat subject files, Rev. Clingan's subject files, and in the records of the Membership Committee.  The material is arranged according to membership category (full or voting, reciprocal, affiliate, and informational) and alphabetically thereunder.  Within each folder, correspondence is arranged chronologically in front, with published material behind it.