Reasons for formation or action by voluntary societies

Simple crisis followed by response? - eg Sierra Leone project response to "the black poor", Polish refugees in 1830s, fever hospital in Leeds set up following 1799-1800 typhus outbreak, etc. But (quoting RJ Morris) what these incidents did was "concentrate anxieties about disease, street begging, radicalism and poverty which already existed. Such incidents provided a motive for selecting from the variety of ideas and examples of action by voluntary societies which were current at any given time." (eg ideas about promoting settlement in Sierra Leone were already current as the black poor crisis developed).

Morris quotes the comparison between towns which encouraged the development of new societies and how examples of other towns were used to justify action (evidence based policy making?). This was also true with different denominations and ethnic groups (see Prochaska on different female visiting societies). Immigrant groups could also be used to highlight "mainstream" attitudes and actions - eg "if even the Jews are so charitable that they have set up a charity to...".