The Brown Foundation textual records date from 1970 to 2017 and are arranged in six series: Correspondence, Organization, Projects and Activities, Resources, Photographs, and Audiovisual material.

At RH MS 876 the correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing letters. Topics are general and those not covered within other series. At RH MS 1449 the correspondence has been organized chronologically, containing both incoming and outgoing messages that generally revolve around event planning and requests for Cheryl Brown Henderson to speak at other organizations' events.

Within the Organization Series are two subseries: Board of Directors and General. These subseries contain such materials as meeting minutes and documents discussed at meetings, committee information, the Brown Institute, foundation governance and law information, and scholarship information.

Within Projects and Activities are several subseries: Anniversary/Symposia, Books for Kids, "Brown Quarterly" newsletter, Education (which includes curriculum development and scholarship information), Miscellaneous, Oral History, Traveling Exhibit, and Videos. Each of these subseries contain such papers as correspondence, fliers/promotional materials, and planning information. The earliest dated items (1940s) are within this series and, generally, are photocopies of original materials. At RH MS 1449 the materials are split similarily within Projects and Activities but more correspondence has been filed with its corresponding event or program. These materials generally mirror those at RH MS 876, with the exception of the Education subseries containing information and material on the programs run by the Brown Foundation.

The Resources series contains materials relating to Brown and related issues but not created by the Foundation. These include items such as articles/clippings, event programs and posters, papers, and nonprofit management information.

Folder arrangement within each series and subseries is generally alphabetical by topic, with chronological arrangement of items within each folder. Materials taken from a specific binder have usually been kept in their original order. Additionally, chronological order is followed when alphabetical order cannot be followed.

Photographic arrangement at RH MS-P 876 generally mirrors the manuscript arrangement with events/activities, specific people, and, lastly, unidentified people. Photographs at RH MS-P 1449 are simply filed under Anniversaries, Projects and Activities, and People/Portraits. The negatives are largely unidentified, from various events, and they often do not match the photographs.

Oversize materials, including items such as articles, posters, clippings, and tote bags, are located at RH MS Q214, RH MS Q439, RH MS R184, and RH MS R431. Compact discs, which include both multimedia and music, are located at RH CD 8. There are 7 audio cassette tapes located at KC AV 49 that include meeting minutes, promotional materials for events, and resource material, and a documentary on compact disc at KC AV 50.