About Us/

Our History

From our very first grant—to the American Red Cross more than a century ago—through to today’s vast array of initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation has built a reputation for making big bets that identify breakthroughs in science and understanding and leverage unlikely partnerships to deliver transformative change. Our list of achievements is long.

 

Peking Union Medical College Nursery, Beijing (China)

We are adding to this legacy under the leadership of Foundation President Dr. Rajiv Shah, a longtime leader in promoting public health and addressing global challenges. The Foundation is focused on four core commitments: to end energy poverty, achieve health for all, nourish the world, and expand economic opportunity. We are pursuing these goals through innovative partnerships and through impact investments that find new ways to leverage private capital for social good.

The Rockefeller Foundation is among the most respected and deep-rooted of American philanthropies. And yet we have retained our fleet-footedness, as seen by The Foundation’s swift response to the Covid-19 crisis. As from its earliest days more than a century ago, The Rockefeller Foundation is serving as a crucial catalyst, convener, and innovator, helping the private sector and government do more to ease the pain of the pandemic.

All told, the Foundation has given more than $17 billion in current dollars to support thousands of organizations and individuals worldwide.

From our very first grant—to the American Red Cross more than a century ago—through to today’s vast array of initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation has built a reputation as a trailblazer that convenes unlikely partnerships and sparks innovations for transformative change. Our list of greatest achievements is long. We founded the modern field of public health, […]

A Closer Look Through The Years

All

2021
2021
man holding a solar panel.

Historic Alliance Launches at COP26 to Accelerate a Transition to Renewable Energy, Access to Energy for All, and Jobs

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet aims to unlock USD100 billion in public and private financing in order to reach 1 billion underserved people with reliable, renewable power; avoid and avert 4 billion tons of carbon emissions; and drive economic growth, with 150+ million jobs created, enabled, or improved.

2021
The Rockefeller Foundation Releases New Financing Roadmap to End Pandemic by End of 2022

The Rockefeller Foundation Releases New Financing Roadmap to End Pandemic by End of 2022

Calls for $44 billion in SDRs through IMF to achieve 70% vaccination rate in LMICs. Recommends an allocation of $650 billion in SDRs to catalyze a sustainable global recovery.

2020
2020
The Rockefeller Foundation Commits to Divesting from Fossil Fuels

The Rockefeller Foundation Commits to Divesting from Fossil Fuels

2020
The Rockefeller Foundation Commits USD1 billion to Catalyze a Green Recovery from Pandemic

The Rockefeller Foundation Commits USD1 billion to Catalyze a Green Recovery from Pandemic

This was the single largest commitment in the Foundation’s 108-year history, which has distributed more than $22 billion since its inception.

2020

The Rockefeller Foundation to Issue Taxable Bonds to Help End the Covid-19 Pandemic and Invest in Renewable Energy to Lift Millions Out of Poverty

Securing “Aaa/AAA” ratings for its $700 million of Series 2020 Taxable Bonds by Moody’s and S&P.

2020
health worker standing at a table with a man leaning over getting tested for Covid-19.

The Rockefeller Foundation Launches New Covid-19 Testing Strategy to Keep U.S. Economy Open

2020
People wearing masks walking down the street.

The Rockefeller Foundation Launches Covid-19 Action Plan to Reopen Workplaces, Protect Lives

2020

The Rockefeller Foundation commits $20 million in Covid-19 assistance to strengthen global pandemic preparedness and support vulnerable communities.

2020

The Rockefeller Foundation launches the $36.5 million U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative to transform economic stability and mobility for nearly 5 million low-wage workers in America and leverage over $1 billion in private capital by 2025.

2020

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and The Rockefeller Foundation announces data.org as a platform for partnerships that will continue to build the field of data science for social impact.

2019
2019
Tara Uja Minigrid Plant, Parsa, Bihar.

With Tata Power, TP Renewable Microgrid Ltd. is formed to provide clean power to nearly 5 million Indian households, directly impacting the lives of 25 million people over the next decade.

2019

The Food System Vision Prize invites organizations, universities, institutions, companies, cooperatives, and partnerships from around the world to create compelling and progressive visions of the world’s system by 2050. A Prize of $2 million will be distributed among 10 winners.

2019
Healthcare professional holding an iPad.

The Rockefeller Foundation and leading global health partners announce Precision Public Health, a $100 million initiative to empower community health systems and frontline health workers with the latest data science innovations and aims to prevent 6 million deaths in 10 countries by 2030.

2019

The Global Commission to End Energy Poverty (GCEEP) is formed to help drive a new agenda to provide electricity to hundreds of millions in pursuit of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 7.

2019
"Atlanta Made" painted on the exterior of a building.

The Rockefeller Foundation announces the Opportunity Zones Initiative, an effort to help U.S. cities attract responsible private investment in economically-distressed communities and ensure delivery of sustainable benefits for more than 30 million low-income Americans living in designated Opportunity Zones.

2019

MacArthur Foundation commits $150 million to help address critical social challenges, joining The Rockefeller Foundation and Omidyar Network in the new Catalytic Capital Consortium and calls for more flexible impact investments and collaboration.

2018
2018
CZI head-shot.

From Missoula to San Juan, 10 organizations receive $1 million each to expand their community-led approaches to improve economic opportunity in their neighborhoods and beyond.

2018

The Rockefeller Foundation announces the inaugural class of a new Fellowship, designed to support work on a range of projects across the fields of health, power, innovative finance, governance, economic opportunity, and the life sciences.

2017
2017

Leading philanthropists, including Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, Romesh and Kathy Wadhwani, and The Rockefeller Foundation announce Co-Impact, a global collaborative for systems change, with $500 million in planned initial funding for multi-year investments in health, education, and economic opportunity.

2017
Street of Puerto Rico.

The Rockefeller Foundation, the Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation commit $5 million to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria and to work with Puerto Rico’s philanthropic, business, government, and NGO sectors to rebuild as a stronger, more resilient island on a path to a sound future.