In 19th century America, women who wanted to help fundraise for their church or community were limited in what they, as respectable women, could do. With most of their skills related to homemaking, making baked goods and needlework that could be sold, raffled, or auctioned conformed to the accepted gender roles at the time.
I have recently learned about a form of fundraising that put a twist on the traditional signature quilt—a quilt that has the names of loved ones embroidered, inked, or stamped on the blocks as a memorial for friends and family who were separated. In this case, though, donors would make a small contribution to have their names added to a block much like today’s Buy-A-Brick campaigns. Often the finished quilt was publicly displayed and then auctioned to maximize revenue.