The Rockefeller Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation Activities

NASI Innovation Awards:
Strengthening Social Security for Vulnerable Groups
July 23, 2008; Press release
Twelve policy scholars win grants; The project aims to generate Social Security policy options for the benefit of groups of the population such as low-paid workers, elderly widows, disabled workers, those over eighty years of age and others. more

Rockefeller Foundation/TIME Survey Reveals Americans’ Concern over Finances has Doubled in the Last Year
July 17, 2008; Press release
Results indicate an overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned about their financial situations, economic futures, and calling our for more government help. The survey showed that 80% of Americans think they should be responsible for carrying their own financial burdens, but are looking for policies and programs that create jobs, improve energy efficiency and provide more access to quality health care. more

Replenishing the Food Basket: Food and Philanthropy
July 9, 2008; Mainstream Media Project

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This MMP radio discussion examines a new 'Green Revolution,' and the 'Blue Revolution,' two major foundation-supported initiatives to address two troubling food production trends: low productivity amid growing populations in Africa, and over fishing amid diminishing fish stocks worldwide. Among other participants are Gary Toenniessen and Joe Devries of the RF.

Foundation Supports New York City Waterfalls Exhibition
June 26, 2008; Press release
The dramatic New York City Waterfalls exhibition, designed by acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson, opened today along the waterfront in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Governors Island. The Foundation’s funding for the Waterfalls highlights its strong commitment to New York City, its home for nearly 100 years. more

US, AGRA to Provide Africa’s Farmers Technologies, Roads and Resources
June 11, 2008; Press release; coverage
...a groundbreaking collaboration combines the strengths and expertise of the United States government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. The plan was signed by the MCC’s CEO Ambassador John Danilovich and former Secretary-General of the United Nations and AGRA’s Chairman, Kofi A. Annan. more

The Healthcare Trap
June 10, 2008, guardian.co.uk; By Richard Smith
Why do rich countries spend so much on health, when evidence shows it doesn't make much difference to life expectancy? Ariel Pablos-Mendez from the Rockefeller Foundation rather stunned the audience at a conference on global health in Geneva by showing a graph that related expenditure on health per head to gross domestic product per head for all countries. Go to article

Philanthropy's Role in Improving U.S. Infrastructure
June 8, 2008; Judith Rodin Interview on NPR

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Rising gasoline prices have forced people to rely more heavily on public transportation, but Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, doesn't think that's necessarily a bad thing. In her opinion, it's an opportunity to rethink the nation's system of transportation, looking especially at economic and environmental concerns. NPR interview

A Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Conference:
Making the eHealth Connection:
Global Partnerships, Local Solutions
June 2, 2008; Press release

Making the eHealth Connection will focus on how deploying information and communications technology in health systems can improve the access, efficiency and quality of health services, particularly in developing countries where health infrastructure and capacity challenges loom large. more; PDF; Conference Web site

A Bold, 21st Century Infrastructure Agenda
Judith Rodin Addresses the America 2050 Forum
May 9, 2008

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In the short term, we must make 'fix it first' the rule not the exception. This means dedicating transportation money to repairing and rebuilding, rather than expanding or widening roadways – a political challenge we must meet. It will contain our carbon footprint and set a ripple effect through local economies...Over the long run, transportation systems must be rebuilt to include affordable, accessible, and environmentally sustainable options. --Judith Rodin America 2050

A Transportation Crossroads
May 8, 2008; The Washinton Post
Opinion by Judith Rodin
...we must expand affordable, accessible and environmentally sustainable transportation options: high-speed and light rail, rapid and mass transit, and walkable, bikeable streets. Washington must provide new incentives for states and cities to promote greener land use, cleaner cars and decreased automotive dependence. more | Washington Post; coverage: The Atlantic

Peggy Shepard, Alexie Torres-Fleming
Awarded 2008 Jane Jacobs Medals
May 5, 2008

Peggy Shepard, the executive director and co-founder of West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT), is cited for Lifetime Leadership. Alexie Torres-Fleming, founder of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ) and other South Bronx organizations, is recognized for New Ideas and Activism. The Medals will be awarded on September 8th at the Morgan Library. more

Oil & Water: Adapting to Scarcity
Judith Rodin Addresses the Regional Plan Association
April 18, 2008

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We must invest in infrastructure on a major scale – and do so in a way that’s mindful of new imperatives, foremost of which, for us, are climate change, economic growth, and equity. —Judith Rodin. Regional Plan Association press release; RPA
PLUS: Speaker of the House Pelosi's Remarks at the RPA Event

'Over the last 95 years, the Rockefeller Foundation helped to eradicate disease…alleviate poverty by modernizing agriculture to feed millions…established arts and education institutions... Today, the Rockefeller Foundation has lent its power to no less significant a cause: rebuilding and renewing America.'

Perspectives on Funding Climate Change Programs
April 11.2008 NYRAG discussion memo
Climate change is perceived as an environmental issue when in reality it impacts every dimension of society. Funders who perceive it that way will never break out of the box. —Maria Blair more; NYRAG

The Role of Science in Addressing Global Warming
April 1, 2008; Transcript of contribution from Maria Blair
Conversations on Sciences's Transforming Impact(CRDF)

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What does rising temperature mean for poor and vulnerable people for their livelihoods, for where they live, for how they survive, for their health? ...What does the increase in temperature mean for an increase of storm severity and frequency, the spread of disease, increased droughts, or heat waves? more

Judith Rodin speaking at the AAAS Meeting; used with permission: Colellaphoto.com for AAAS

Climate Change Adaptation:
The Next Great Challenge for the Developing World
February 15, 2008; speech-Judith Rodin

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...communities around the world need better weapons – new tools, techniques, and strategies – if they hope to tame the three-headed hydra of climate risk, poverty, and precipitous urbanization...Since it may be too late to stop the global warming that’s already occurred, we also must figure out how to survive it...there is far less attention paid to adaptation, what needs to be done to help people and environments cope with what’s already occurred and with what’s coming. --Judith Rodin

RF President Rodin Interviewed on Bloomberg TV
Broadcast March 7, 2008; Interviewed by Judy Woodruff
...in the 20th century, foundations operated more as aid institutions...in the 21st century, foundations are looking to take on big thorny problems, find partners who are willing to work on those problems with them, and often now the partners are in the private sector. --Judith Rodin
video; transcript

Winners: What if New York...
A Competition to Design Post-Disaster Urban Housing
February 6, 2008

The New York City Office of Emergency Management, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, held a competition for innovative urban housing designs that would function as provisional housing for New Yorkers who lost homes as the result of a catastrophic coastal storm.
Winning designs | Jury Report | Press release

Public Health: Bellagio Call for Action
February 4, 2008

Representatives from infectious disease surveillance networks all over the world met in December at Bellagio to share best practices and lessons learned and recommend action to advance the global capacity for public health surveillance... Call for Action | UPI story | more

News

Available positions at the Foundation
ALERT: Scam Emails Purport to be from Foundation

eHealth blog entries
Boosting Healthcare Via the Internet
July 23, 2008
From Bellagio, Italy, AllAfrica's Boakai Fofana blogs on a Rockefeller Foundation conference on how to use information technology to improve access to health care. more

If You Have a Problem, Ask Everyone
July 22, 2008; New York Times; EXCERPT
One critical element is encouraging organizations to take novel innovation approaches in the first place. That was the task that drew the Rockefeller Foundation to InnoCentive. more

Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt
July 20, 2008; New York Times; EXCERPT
Years of spending more than they earn have left a record number of Americans standing at the financial precipice. Today, Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, up 22 percent since 2000. more

National Governors Association Focuses on Infrastructure
July 15, 2008; Coverage
The National Governors Association considered improving the nation’s crumbling bridges, roads and sewage systems; a $1.6 trillion problem that governors intend to address in the next year. more

An Africa Like Iowa
June 7, 2008; NationalJournal.com
Iowa benefited from decades of investment in rural infrastructure, agricultural extension services, university research, and nutrition assistance efforts such as food stamps...Africa would benefit, too. more; NationalJournal.com article

Africa in Spotlight at UN Food Summit
June 4, 2008; Agence France-Presse
AGRA Chairman Kofi Annan spearheaded an initiative to help small-scale farmers in Africa, signing a partnership agreement with the United Nations' three food agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme. The alliance will 'focus on the small-scale farmer.' more

Learning from Asia's 'Green Revolution'
May 28 2008; New York Times--Excerpt
'Our emphasis is on raising productivity of smaller farmers,' says Joe DeVries, director of the Rockefeller Foundation's program on Africa’s Seed Systems. 'It isn't anything that fancy about our program. We are really just trying to do the basics: breed new varieties of crops that are higher yielding and locally adapted.' more

Climate Change At Home:
A Time to Thrive
May 22 2008; Seattle Post-Intelligencer--editorial
The long-lived nature of the pollution means that part of the solution requires adapting to climate change's many effects. The need to thrive while working to reverse global warming was the smart focus of a gathering in Seattle. The Center for Clean Air Policy, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, brought together representatives from nine North American cities and counties to talk about climate adaptation. more; Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Rice: Coping With Climate Change
April-June 2008; Rice Today
Climate change threatens to affect rice production across the globe. What is known about the likely impact, and what can be done about it? more; Rice Today-the magazine of the International Rice Research Institute (April-June 2008)

Rockefeller Supports ‘Social’ Stock Market Study
March 22, 2008; FT.com; By Jonathan Guthrie
The Rockefeller Foundation is [supporting] a feasibility study for a 'social stock exchange' in which ethical investors can trade shares in worthy enterprises..the exchange would aim to combine profitable trading with social or environmental missions. more; Impact Investing homepage; news coverage

InnoCentive & the Rockefeller Foundation
Science by the Masses
By John Travis; Science Magazine; March 2008
Trying to understand why certain [InnoCentive Challenges] got solved, [Karim Lakhani of Harvard Business School] found that the more diverse the pool of solvers, the greater the odds of a solution. And...the further a challenge was from a person's field of interest, the more likely they were to solve it. Read the article; Innovation homepage

Rwanda's Kagame Meets Rockefeller Boss
March 13, 2008; By Felly Kimenyi; All Africa--excerpt
Judith Rodin & President Paul Kagame of Rwanda

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame met a delegation from the Rockefeller Foundation...'We mainly discussed agriculture and the progress...in rural development,' said Foundation President Rodin. more

For Good Measure
March 9, 2008; NY Times Sunday Magazine; By John Gertner
The first Green Revolution...is generally believed to have saved one billion lives over six decades, making it arguably the single-most-effective philanthropic initiative in human history. more

Tribeca Film Institute, Renew Media to Combine
March 3, 2008; Press release
Tribeca Film Institute, the not-for-profit organization founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and Renew Media, founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, will formally combine their organizations under the name of the Tribeca Film Institute. more; coverage

WHO Finds Highest Rates of MDR-TB to Date, Link to HIV
February 27, 2008; World Health Organization Press release
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been recorded at the highest rates ever, according to a new WHO Report published today. The report presents findings from the largest survey to date on the scale of drug resistance in tuberculosis...WHO estimates there are nearly half a million new cases of MDR-TB a year... more; Fact Sheet

Citing Opportunity NYC, UK PM Proposes 'Contract Out of Poverty'
January 22, 2008; UK coverage
Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes some of the novel elements of Opportunity NYC are worth exploring...the scheme is testing whether temporary cash payments that provide incentives for work, education and health activities can help to combat poverty. more; Opportunity NYC home

Reviving Depleted Soils in Africa
January 25, 2008; AGRA Press release

Determined to revive the grossly depleted soils of sub-Saharan Africa--an underlying cause of poverty and hunger--AGRA announced a program to restore African soil fertility. more | news coverage

Gates Foundation Commits $306m to Agriculture in the Developing World
January 25, 2008; Press release
The goal is to boost yields of millions of small farmers in Africa and other parts of the developing world so they can lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty. The largest grant in the package --with support from the Rockefeller Foundation--is to AGRA to establish a Soil Health Program that will complement its existing Seeds Program. more

An Old Mentor’s New Medium
January 20, 2008; The New York Times; Summary
...the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will begin recording “Mondays With Merce,” an online video program featuring weekly episodes of Mr. Cunningham’s Monday class, on its Web site, merce.org. The program is financed, in part, by a NYC Cultural Innovation Fund grant. more

Jane Jacobs & the Future of New York: An Exhibition
September 12, 2007
The Municipal Art Society of New York offers an interactive exhibit honoring Jane Jacobs at the Urban Center galleries in Manhattan. Order BLOCK BY BLOCK, a companion anthology. more