The majority of the Institute's surviving records consist of financial statements, audits and correspondence relating to fiscal or budget matters. The minutes of the Institute detail the activities of the Board of Directors, the incorporators, the annual corporation meetings, and the committee dividing the assets of the Institute. In late 1937 the Commonwealth Fund decided that all case files pertaining to the treatment of children at the Institute should be destroyed. Therefore, in February of 1938 these records, as well as the index to these cases, were burned. Other folders in this series contain sensitive material.

Types of records include: administrative and grant files.

Types of records include: grant files and applications.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the Commonwealth Fund provided financial support for several unique projects concerning psychiatry, pediatrics, and the teaching/training of psychiatrists. Public and private institutions, as well as individuals, were recipients of these grants, with the majority going to universities and colleges. The records for the special studies consist mainly of correspondence and general files relating to a specific grant. Financial records are also found in the folders titled "General Files and Correspondence." A list of the original Commonwealth Fund code assigned to the grants is available in the print version of the finding aid.

Pilgrim Trust records primarily consist of Annual Reports, Minutes, and a variety of newspaper clippings.

Types of records include: meeting minutes, correspondence, speeches, and reports.

The Reference Files consist of ready-reference materials, primarily publications and articles, orginally compiled for the Commonwealth Fund Library.

Barry C. Smith served as General Director of the Commonwealth Fund, 1920-1947. During this period the reports were officially titled as Report of the General Director to the Directors of the Commonwealth Fund. Beginning in 1948, the offical title became known as Report of the President and Staff to Directors of the Commonwealth Fund.