Abstract

Childcare institutions, as a specific type of organisation, have become particularly important in Portugal. Their functioning was strongly supported by donations of a religious assistance and charitable nature, in particular until the implementation of the 1st Republic in 1910. This case study of one of these organisations (Asilo de Infância Desvalida da Horta) seeks to understand the influence that this dependence on private support exerted on management processes. To this end, an analysis of documents found in the organisation’s archives was carried out. Results show that this need for, what is essentially, private financial support clearly influenced the organisation’s internal functioning, the personnel, and the internal structure as well as the type of communication established with the exterior.