Jonas Bendiksen
Globalization’s promises and perils do not only manifest themselves in nations around the world, but also in communities across North America.
The Rockefeller Foundation, therefore, works both at home and abroad to assure that more people can reach the benefits of progress and growth while strengthening resilience to new and evolving social, economic, health, and environmental challenges.
Local Action Yields Global Results
Many of our model programs start domestically, but yield global impact:
- Our successes in combating malaria began as pilot projects in Arkansas and Mississippi and later expanded to research centers in 25 locations in Latin America, Europe, the Near East and Asia.
- The vaccine to prevent yellow fever was developed in the Foundation’s New York laboratories in 1935. For this, Foundation scientist Max Theiler was later granted the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology.
- The Foundation launched the concept of improving public health through public health education with the endowment of the first school of public health at Johns Hopkins University in 1921. That was followed by the creation of two other schools at Harvard and the University of Michigan. These three served as the model for dozens of schools of public health that the Foundation endowed in cities from Athens to Zagreb.
- The Foundation also has a long tradition—that continues today—of supporting the arts and cultural development across the United States with fellowships to artists, writers, dancers, filmmakers, teachers and scholars whose creativity can influence social change around the world.
Some of Our Current Projects in the United States
Rebuilding New Orleans
Taking a long-term approach to rebuilding the city, the Foundation supported the successful process of developing the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP). Now in its final phase, the Rebuilding New Orleans initiative is working to implement UNOP ideas to build thriving and diverse neighborhoods. Read about the Final Phase.
Protecting American Workers’ Economic Security
Campaign for American Workers
Millions of American workers have been left financially insecure as the economy has contracted in the last two years.
Promoting Equitable, Sustainable Transportation
The United States can no longer afford to ignore its crumbling infrastructure. Failing levees in New Orleans, the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota, and an exploding steam pipe in Manhattan all underscore the urgency of attending to this challenge.
Sustainable Employment in a Green US Economy
We work to maximize the “green” growth areas of the economy, such as opportunities presented by the demand for home-energy retrofits, while benefiting low- and moderate-income workers.
NYC Cultural Innovation Fund
The Foundation’s New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, launched in 2007, supports creativity and the arts, with an emphasis on innovation.
Jane Jacobs Medal
In 2007, the year after the visionary urban activist Jane Jacobs died, the Rockefeller Foundation launched the Jane Jacobs annual award and medal to honor her work.
Opportunity NYC
The Rockefeller Foundation’s Opportunity NYC recognizes the day-to-day challenges faced by the poor: The mother who must choose between taking her child to a doctor or showing up at work so she can pay the monthly bills. Or the eighteen-year-old who is faced with the tough choice of finishing school or quitting to get a job.
