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The Rockefeller Foundation Launches RF Catalytic Capital Inc.

Builds on a History of Innovation and Partnerships to Address the World’s Most Pressing Needs

NEW YORK | September 22, 2020 – With the cost of helping the world equitably recover from the Covid-19 pandemic reaching into the trillions–far exceeding the individual reach of both traditional philanthropies and most government–The Rockefeller Foundation today announced the launch of RF Catalytic Capital Inc. (RFCC) to help scale up funding for solutions. Operating as a public charity, RFCC offers a new innovative way for foundations, impact investors, businesses, and governments to combine their resources to address this funding gap and bring about transformational change.

“Covid-19 has exposed and accelerated unprecedented global inequities,” said Dr. Rajiv. J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, “As the newest tool in the Foundation’s innovative-financing toolbox, RFCC marks the next chapter in the institution’s 107-year history”

The Foundation is known for convening unlikely partnerships and sparking innovations for transformative change that lift up hundreds of millions of poor and vulnerable children and families. RFCC builds on the Foundation’s long history of leveraging internal expertise and resources to marshal capital from outside organizations and investors to improve the lives of vulnerable families around the world. It also joins a series of landmark initiatives sparked over the last three years that include:

  • Harnessing innovative financing mechanisms to scale distributed renewables globally;
  • Co-founding the philanthropic collaborative Co-Impact, a model for collaborative philanthropy and social change at scale;
  • Launching the Zero Gap Fund, to channel private investment to help tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change; and
  • Supporting Impact Shares to create the groundbreaking NAACP Minority Empowerment ETF, YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF, and Sustainable Development Goals Global Equity ETF.

“RFCC offers a path forward for foundations, impact investors, and governments to combine their resources to pool resources and bring about the transformational change required to solve the world’s most intractable problems,” said General Counsel and Corporate Secretary María Santos Valentin. “Not only will it help aggregate impact investment and grant capital for the Foundation’s existing and new initiatives, but RFCC will also manage and oversee these projects in a streamlined, cost-effective, flexible manner, and expand our ability to advocate for policy reforms to enhance their impact.”


About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, policy, and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power, and economic mobility. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas, and conversations. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @RockefellerFdn.

Media Contact

Ashley Chang
+1 (917) 373-9530
achang@rockfound.org