The David Rockefeller Fund was established in 1989 by David Rockefeller and his wife Peggy to carry out their annual charitable giving in communities where they had homes outside New York City. In 2001, David Rockefeller expanded the Fund and invited his children and grandchildren and their spouses to take a more active role in the Fund with the idea of transferring to them the family’s philanthropic tradition. The Fund’s work provides a learning environment where family members are able to engage in dialogue and grant-making around shared topics of interest.
“Our family continues to be united in the belief that those who have benefited the most from our nation’s economic system have a special responsibility to give back to our society in meaningful ways.” – David Rockefeller
Mission
We invest in catalytic ideas, people, efforts, and institutions working strategically toward ecological regeneration, justice system transformation, and art for social impact.
Vision
The David Rockefeller Fund is a family foundation inspired by the vision and generosity of our founders, David and Peggy Rockefeller, to foster and embody a more just, creative, and flourishing world.
The Fund currently has three primary program areas: Arts, Justice, and Climate. The Arts Program focuses on cultivating, showcasing and disseminating the stories of innovative art for social change; Justice supports bold new ideas and policy initiatives for transforming U.S. detention and incarceration policy; and Climate supports new ideas, initiatives and policy breakthroughs in support of bipartisan U.S. climate leadership.
In addition to the program areas outlined above, the Fund underwrites a number of initiatives designed to encourage trustees’ individual charitable giving.