News

New York City’s mayor and comptroller announced plans to sell $5 billion in fossil fuels from the city’s retirement funds, making it the largest American municipality to divest to date.

The director of finance for the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and former state first deputy comptroller wrote that divesting would be an act of fiscal responsibility.

This summer, The Pocantico Center’s open-air stage hosted a diverse group of dancers and musicians, including Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project, the A Palo Seco flamenco ensemble, the Lark Theatre’s Sweethearts of Swing, and Joshua Beamish’s MOVETHECOMPANY.

The Fund is pleased to support the advancement of mission-aligned investing practices by joining the newly expanded U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, as well as to partner with Mission Investors Exchange as a member of its inaugural class of sustaining members.

Stephen Heintz and Heather McGhee, president of Demos and a trustee of the RBF, were both included on the NonProfit Times’ annual list of top 50 sector leaders.

Along with former diplomats and leaders from the national security community, The Iran Project issued a statement recommending the U.S. not withdraw from the nuclear deal and instead pursue a comprehensive policy that furthers U.S. national security interests and pushes back against Iran’s threatening actions in the region.

This spring, art conservation students from three universities in Mexico participated in a residency at The Pocantico Center to develop their skills on its outdoor sculpture collection, and visited collections, studios, museums, and labs around New York City.

The trustees and staff of the RBF mourn the passing of our former trustee and board chair, Abby M. O’Neill, who was elected as a trustee of the Fund in 1958, the first member of her generation to serve as a Fund trustee and, later, the first woman to serve as board chair.

RBF President Stephen Heintz and more than 80 other leaders from the American and European philanthropic communities have signed a statement recognizing and affirming the important role of civil society in Hungary amid repeated efforts to restrict and stigmatize nongovernmental organizations operating there.

An evaluation of the RBF's grantmaking work in the global Democratic Practice portfolio 2010 to 2015 found that it was successful in its primary goal of strengthening the vitality of democracy in global governance. Program director Thomas Kruse's memo reflects on the evaluation and outlines the continuing strategies of the portfolio.