It was a remarkable year at the RBF that brought to fruition long-term projects, initiatives, and plans that will lay the foundation for our continued efforts and evolution over the next decade and into a new era that has already begun.
John D. Rockefeller’s 1908 Orangerie, which will be transformed into the
David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center to open in 2021. Photo by Fred Charles.
In my 19 years at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, never before has the present tense in which I write this introduction to the Annual Review seemed so epochally removed from the year on which it reflects.
The RBF made a $12.5 million impact investment in Renewable
Resources Group (RRG), which launched California Harvesters
in 2018 to provide a better environment for farmworkers while
meeting labor demands. Photo courtesy of RRG.
The journey we have taken to deploy our endowment investments for greater sustainability has led us to a broader realization that the impact of our institutional decisions and practices can bolster and extend the social change efforts of our grantees.
Afghan Women’s Network empowers its members to participate in Afghanistan’s political processes and efforts to secure justice and peace. Photo courtesy of Afghan Women’s Network.
As a result of a generous bequest from the estate of David Rockefeller, the Fund’s 2019 grantmaking budget increased by more than 10 percent over the previous year.
In 2018, a generous gift from the estate of David Rockefeller raised the Rockefeller Brothers Fund endowment from approximately $960 million to over $1.2 billion.
Given the enormous and complex challenges facing today’s increasingly interdependent world, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has worked over the last decade to align the remaining 95 percent of its financial portfolio with its programmatic interests in democratic practice, peacebuilding, and sustainable development.
