News

Each summer, RBF grantee Focus the Nation selects 20 college students to participate in its ReCharge! retreat on Mount Hood in Oregon. Chosen as technicians, innovators, politicos, or storytellers, these rising leaders collaborate to explore the skills needed to advance clean energy solutions for the entirety of their careers.

In an editorial published in the Financial Times, economist Nicholas Stern cites data and analysis from the Carbon Tracker Initiative to call attention to the “contradiction between the way global fossil fuel reserves are evaluated and long-term [climate change] policy goals.” The Carbon Tracker Initiative is a project of InvestorWatch, and was made possible by support from the Growald Family Fund and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Justin Maxson, president of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), was recognized by environmental news site Grist.org as an individual leading change toward a more sustainable world. MACED is an RBF grantee that finances environmentally sustainable, community-supported, economic development strategies in Kentucky.

Fearless reporter Jeta Xharra was profiled in The New York Times on November 29, 2011. Xharra is the executive director of RBF grantee the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, an organization committed to promoting transparency and accountability through investigative journalism.

Nonprofit dance organizations are significant contributors to New York City's economy and residents' quality of life, according to a report published by Dance/NYC. The report also found that the city's dance organizations—particularly smaller groups—demonstrate a "strong start-up culture of dance," with a handful of staff producing high levels of new creations.

As Egypt undergoes a historic and swift transformation, there is a need for flexible, targeted, and immediate philanthropic support, says Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. In recent months, the RBF has been exploring the most effective ways to offer its support to Egyptian-led initiatives that take into account both the immediate and longer term needs of Egyptian civil society.

The Americas Society has released the first comparative white paper that examines the economic impact of immigration-related city policies on the local business environment. The paper, The Economic Impact of Immigrant-Related Local Ordinances, focuses on 53 cities that passed either restrictive or non-restrictive city ordinances between 2006 and 2008, and which were still being enforced through 2009. 

Nearly 150 artists, professors, journalists, and other professionals from countries of the former Yugoslavia signed a letter in support of the establishment of RECOM, the regional commission to identify and disclose facts about war crimes that occurred in the Balkans during the 1990s. The letter was released at a press conference in Sarajevo on October 7, 2011.

Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, New York City program director, reviews an extraordinary summer of arts and culture, and looks ahead to an exciting fall season of programming. But, he argues, none of it would be possible without support from enthusiastic audiences made up of New York City residents and tourists, as well as private donors.

Alexandra Toma, executive director of the Connect U.S. Fund, was recognized as one of the top 99 most influential international professionals under the age of 33 by Diplomatic Courier, A Global Affairs Magazine. In the interview, Toma talks about the importance of stronger collaboration for more effective foreign policy.