News

In considering the specific challenges and opportunities facing today’s democracy and democratic engagement in the United States, the Fund has revised the program guidelines for its Democratic Practice–United States portfolio. The revised guidelines recognize that the goal of advancing a vital and inclusive U.S. democracy is both to improve democratic systems and to enable U.S. citizens and residents to leverage these systems to advance social, racial, and economic justice.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), is among four recipients of the 2015 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Ma was recognized for his leadership of IPE and its ongoing work on projects that strengthen public participation in environmental governance.

The Iran Project has released a statement on the April 2nd announcement detailing the framework agreement reached by Iran and the United States along with five other world powers to limit Iran's nuclear program. The statement applauds the achievement reached after 18 months of complex negotiations, while recognizing there is still more work to be done.

In an editorial, Valerie Rockefeller, former chair of the Fund and a great-great granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, explains the RBF’s rationale for joining the global shift toward divesting from fossil fuels and investing in clean energy businesses.

A recent report by Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies highlights the collaboration among civil society leaders to make necessary changes to Kosovo’s judicial processes during its nascent independence.

In his new book, Staying the Course: Reflections on 40 Years of Grantmaking at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, William S. Moody, a former program director, charts the opportunities of working with individuals and communities around the world to make lasting and positive change.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has made revisions to its Pivotal Place: New York City Program guidelines. Recognizing the many accomplishments of our grantees and the Fund's interest in concentrating limited resources on other areas in which we are currently working to achieve greater impact, the RBF will conclude its grantmaking of civic and political participation of immigrant communities in New York City.

Fourteen of the Picasso tapestries commissioned by Governor Nelson Rockefeller are on loan to the San Antonio Museum of Art for a special exhibition through March 8, 2015. The hand-woven tapestries are on view together for the first time outside of the Rockefeller family estate at the Pocantico Historic Area.

Thomas Friedman highlights RBF grantee, EcoPeace Middle East, as a model of "healthy interdependency," which he argues is the only way to enduring peace and security in the region. EcoPeace Middle East is led by Gidon Bromberg, an Israeli environmental lawyer, Nader al-Khateeb, a Palestinian water expert, and Munqeth Mehyar, a Jordanian architect.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has begun a two-step process to divest from investments in fossil fuels. The Fund's immediate focus will be on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, two of the most intensive sources of carbon emissions, with the goal to reduce its investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014.