The Community Chest and Welfare Federation of Los Angeles Area records contains reports (both annual and research), minutes, by-laws, and other administrative materials that document the higher level functions of these non-profit organizations during formative phases of their history, the late 1920s through the early 1960s.

The Welfare Federation of Los Angeles Area, sometimes referred to as the Los Angeles Community Federation, was incorporated on March 12, 1924, to serve "as a central bureau through which all funds for charity, relief, and welfare work may be solicited, collected, held and disbursed." Shortly thereafter, on May 29th, 1924, the Los Angeles Community Chest was incorporated, with the backing of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, after two years of conflict among leaders of private social service agencies, many of whom feared that the future of welfare services in the region was likely to be controlled, through the Chest, by Los Angeles' business community. The first 27 volunteer directors of the board of the Welfare Federation were philanthropic leading citizens, with some experience in the administration of charitable institutions, who stepped forward at a critical moment when other leadership had failed. On January 2nd, 1925, with an encouraging fund of $2.5 million raised in the Chest's first campaign, the Welfare Federation began operations.

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