Transparency
As a steward of the public trust, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is committed to sharing information to promote understanding of its mission and to advance the work of its grantees. The RBF values transparency, openness, and accountability, and has long provided detailed information about its history, program strategies, grants, impact, governance, operations, and finances. The following is available on the Fund's website:
- Grantmaking: mission statement, program statement and guidelines, an explanation of the Fund’s grantmaking process, and a searchable grants database
- Finances: the Fund's annual review, Charting our Progress, audited financial statements, IRS Form 990-PFs, divestment statement, endowment summary, investment policy, and mission-aligned investment efforts
- Governance: trustees’ biographies, bylaws, code of conduct and conflicts of interest policies, committee charters, delegated authority grantmaking policy, diversity, equity, and inclusion statement, donor contribution policy, and statement of perpetuity
- Human resources: equal opportunity statement, staff biographies, and whistleblower policy
- Performance assessment: assessments of institutional effectiveness, such as surveys by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, and program impact assessments which reflect on lessons learned from the Fund's grantmaking
The RBF also participates in transparency-related efforts such as:
- Endorsement of information standardization such as the GlassPockets Reporting Commitment (view the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s GlassPockets profile)
- Commitment to external reporting such as reports of the Foundation Center, public access to IRS Form 990-PFs, and a full grants database
- Participation in sector-wide and field-specific data collection and information sharing efforts including those of IssueLab.
The RBF shares as much information as it can in support of its commitment to transparency. There may be some instances, however, when legal requirements and confidentiality concerns preclude sharing information. For example, the RBF does not disclose confidential information shared by grantees or applicants.