New York Charity Organization Society

The New York Charity Organization Society (COS) was an American organization founded in 1882 by Josephine Shaw Lowell. Lowell, a prominent charity worker and social reformer, believed that charity should not only alleviate suffering but also rehabilitate recipients. She served as the first woman commissioner of the New York Charities Commission from 1876 to 1889, where her investigations led to the establishment of important institutions.1

The COS was dedicated to fostering cooperation among charitable agencies. Under Lowell's guidance for 25 years, the society emphasized the theoretical foundations of relief work, as articulated in her influential publication, Public Relief and Private Charity (1884). Lowell was also instrumental in founding other organizations, including the Consumers' League of New York and the Woman's Municipal League.1