Rockefeller Brothers Fund
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The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...
. It was founded in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothers:
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
,
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
,
Laurance Laurance is a surname or given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * John Laurance (1750–1810), American lawyer and politician from New York * William F. Laurance (born 1957), American-Australian biology professor *Bill Laurance ( ...
, Winthrop and
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. It is distinct from the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
. The Rockefellers are an industrial, political and banking family that made one of the world's largest fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Fund's stated mission is to "advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world." The current president of RBF is Stephen Heintz, who was appointed to the post in 2000. Valerie Rockefeller serves as RBF's chairwoman. She succeeded
Richard Rockefeller Richard Gilder Rockefeller (January 20, 1949 – June 13, 2014)
'' ...
, the fifth child of David Rockefeller, who served as RBF's chairman until 2013. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is part of the Steering Group of the
Foundations Platform F20 Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cau ...
, an international network of foundations and philanthropic organizations.


History

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund was established in 1940 by the five sons of
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
The five Rockefeller brothers served as the Fund's first five trustees. In 1951, the Fund grew substantially when it received a $58 million endowment from John D. Rockefeller Jr. As the RBF's founding generation passed on, new family members joined the board, moving the Fund's giving further to the
political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
. In 1999, the Fund merged with the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation. In November 2006,
David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...
pledged $225 million to the Fund that would create the David Rockefeller Global Development Fund after his death. In September 2014, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced that it planned to divest its assets from fossil fuels. On disinvesting from fossil fuels, the president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Stephen Heintz, said: "We see this as both a moral imperative and an economic opportunity" (30 September 2014). The Rockefeller Family Fund and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund are independent, distinct institutions.


Special Studies Project

From 1956 to 1960, the Fund financed a study conceived by its then president,
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
, to analyze the challenges facing the United States.
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
was recruited to direct the project. Seven panels were constituted that looked at issues including military strategy, foreign policy, international economic strategy, governmental reorganization, and the nuclear arms race. The military subpanel's report was rush-released about two months after the USSR launched
Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
in October 1957. Rockefeller urged the Republican Party to adopt the finding of the Special Studies Project as its platform. The findings of the project formed the framework of Nelson Rockefeller's 1960 presidential election platform. The project was published in its entirety in 1961 as ''Prospect for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports''. The archival study papers are stored in the ''Rockefeller Archive Center'' at the family estate.


Presidents

*
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
(1956-1958) *
Laurance Rockefeller Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. As ...
(1958-1968) *Dana S. Creel (1968-1975) *William M. Dietel (1975-1987) *
Colin G. Campbell Colin Goetze Campbell (born November 3, 1935) is an American who served as the thirteenth president of Wesleyan University and the President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Early life He is the son of Jos ...
(1987-2000) *
Stephen B. Heintz Stephen B. Heintz is an American nonprofit executive and public policy expert. Since 2001, he has served as president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a family foundation with an endowment of approximately $1.2 billion that advances social change ...
(2001–present)


Further reading

*Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson, ''The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988. *Nielsen, Waldemar, ''The Big Foundations'', New York: Cambridge University Press, 1973. *Rockefeller, David, ''Memoirs'', New York: Random House, 2002.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Institutions founded by the Rockefeller family Political and economic research foundations in the United States Pocantico Hills, New York