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Major Introductory Resources:

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Rockefeller Family Fund
By Martin Wooster
January 2005

The Price of Doing Business (pdf)
By Bonner Cohen
July 2006

437 Madison Avenue
37th Floor
New York, NY
10022

Phone :212-812-4200
Email :info@rbf.org
URL :http://www.rbf.org/

Assets: $815,561,407 (2005)
Grants Received: $113,500 (2005)
Grants Awarded: $22,707,842 (2005)

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) was incorporated in New York in 1940 as a vehicle through which the five sons (John D. 3rd, Winthrop, Laurance, David, and Nelson) and one daughter (Abby) of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. could combine their philanthropic efforts for greater effect. RBF's endowment came mostly from a substantial gift by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1951, and from a large bequest from his estate in 1960. On July 1, 1999, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation of Stamford, Connecticut merged with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, increasing RBF's assets to about $670 million at the time.

The current Chairman of RBF is Steven C. Rockefeller, who drafted the Earth Charter for the Earth Charter Commission and Earth Council. Blaming capitalism for many of the world's environmental, social, and economic ills, this document laments that "the dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive extinction of species.” "The benefits of development are not shared equitably," adds the Charter, "and the gap between rich and poor is widening."

The President of RBF is Stephen B. Heintz, who is also the former Chief of Staff to Senator Joseph Lieberman. Other current and recent Trustees are third-, fourth-, and fifth-generation family members -- David Rockefeller, Jr., Richard Rockefeller, Valerie B. Rockefeller, Laurence S. Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, and Catharine O'Broderick.

RBF presently concentrates its “cross-programmatic grantmaking attention” on four “pivotal places” whose “future will have disproportionate significance for the future of a surrounding region, an ecosystem, or, indeed, the globe.” These locations are New York City, South Africa, Serbia/Montenegro, and southern China.

RBF's grant-making is divided into four major categories:

(a) Peace and Security Program: Seeking to foster "greater understanding between Muslim and Western Societies," this program states: "The tensions that currently characterize this relationship [between Islam and the West] seem to be rooted, at least in part, in profound misunderstanding and lack of communication." RBF places responsibility for this disharmony largely on the United States: "At the start of the 21st century and in the wake of September 11, 2001, there exists a pressing need to examine the content, style, and tone of U.S. global engagement and to ensure that they reflect an understanding of the reality and implications of increasing global interdependence. ... U.S. missteps or inaction can hinder, halt, or reverse international progress on numerous threats to security and well-being.” According to RBF, America must increase its “efforts to ensure that [its] policies and behaviors reflect an understanding of the complexity and diversity of Muslim societies and contribute to mutually respectful, productive relations with those societies.”

No mention is made of Muslim nations' responsibility to reciprocate in kind; nor is there any reference to the radical Islamic movements that have declared open war against the West.

(b) Human Advancement Program (HAP): Reasoning from the premise that America is a nation in need of dramatic reform, this program is committed to fostering “systemic social change” that will "enhance the lives and promote the well-being of individuals and ... conserve ecosystems.” Through its Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color, HAP "assists outstanding students of color ... to pursue graduate studies and begin teaching in public schools." HAP also seeks to eradicate infectious diseases from its target areas, most notably the AIDS/HIV pandemic in South Africa.

(c) Sustainable Development Program: Alleging that human industrial activity causes global warming, the depletion of essential resources, the loss of biodiversity, and the "degradation of Earth's life support systems," this program supports "environmental stewardship that is ecologically based, economically sound, socially just, culturally appropriate, and consistent with intergenerational equity." Its funding is directed toward a host of environmentalist organizations that view capitalism as inherently harmful to the natural world, and that seek to curtail or cripple such industries as logging, mining, fishing, and farming.

(d) Democratic Practice Program: According to this program, the United States is plagued by "a decline in many forms of traditional civic engagement, including youth civic engagement; reduced participation in the formal institutions of democracy, including but not limited to voting; and declining trust in all institutions, especially institutions of government." Moreover, says the program, "American society is becoming increasingly polarized. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening and residential patterns reinforce separation along economic lines. … [T]he negative impacts of these democratic deficits and social divisions are particularly acute among young people, especially low-income youth and youth of color.”

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is heavily involved in financing anti-globalization efforts to eliminate free trade and subvert the free-market, private enterprise system. “The global spread of multinational corporations," says RBF, "further challenges the ability of nations to protect their common wealth and their citizens from the negative consequences of irresponsible corporate behavior."

RBF is a member organization of the Peace and Security Funders Group, an unincorporated association of foundations that support anti-war and environmentalist causes

Among the organizations funded by RBF are: the Tides Foundation; the Tides Center; SeaWeb; Greenpeace; the Environmental Media Services; the National Environmental Trust; Human Rights Watch; the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Friends of the Earth; the David Suzuki Foundation; the Natural Resources Defense Council; the Environmental Defense Fund; the Ocean Conservancy; the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment; Alliance for Justice; the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund; the Council on Foundations; the American Oceans Campaign; the Sierra Club; the Rainforest Action Network; the World Resources Institute; the Earth Island Institute; the Environmental Working Group; the World Wildlife Fund; the Urban Institute; the Izaak Walton League of America; the Open Space Institute; the Conservation Law Foundation; the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund; the Wilderness Society; the Worldwatch Institute; the Union of Concerned Scientists; Ozone Action; the Pacific Rivers Council; the Rainforest Alliance; the National Wildlife Federation; Clean Water Action; Action Against Crime and Violence Education Fund; the Pesticide Action Network; the Community Action Project; the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity; the International Forum on Globalization; Redefining Progress; Environmental Advocates; Public Citizen; Conservation International; the Earth Day Network; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Forest Ethics; the Biodiversity Action Network; Consumers Union; the Center for Health, Environment and Justice; the Public Media Center; the Environmental Research Foundation; the Environmental Justice Alliance; the League of Conservation Voters; Oxfam America; the Waterkeeper Alliance; the Resource Renewal Institute; the Foundation on Economic Trends; the Environmental Grantmakers Association; the Center for Science in the Public Interest; the Center for a New American Dream; Green Seal; the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides; the New America Foundation; Friends of the Constitution; the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); the American Conservation Association; the American Council for Renewable Energy; the Aspen Institute; the Brookings Institution; the National Black Child Development Institute; the Center for Clean Air Policy; the Center for Economic and Policy Research; the Center for Media and Public Affairs; the Center for Policy Alternatives; Earth Share; EarthRights International; the Wildlife Conservation Society; the Brennan Center for Justice; the World Social Forum; the Women's Project and Production; Ecologists Linked for Organizing Grassroots Initiatives and Action; Environmental Aboriginal Guardianship Through Law and Education; the Forest Trends Association; the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security; Global Justice, Inc.; the Institute for Policy Studies; the Institute for Sustainable Communities; the Gay Men's Health Crisis; Planned Parenthood; the Sentencing Project; the Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights; Public Broadcasting Service; the International Peace Academy; the Jewish Fund for Justice; the Meridian Institute; the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; Amnesty International; National Public Radio; the Nature Conservancy; the Organizing Support Center; the New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy; the Wild Salmon Center; the Pacific Environment and Resources Center; the Parks Council; the Pinchot Institute for Conservation; the Ploughshares Fund; Project Underground; the Rockefeller Family Fund; TechRocks; the Third World Network; and the United Nations Foundation.

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