Application Procedures

Before submitting a letter of inquiry, applicants should review the Frequently Asked Questions section. Applicants should then submit a letter of inquiry of no more than two pages summarizing the goals of the project, the strategy or plan for achieving the goals and the amount of funding requested. Letters of inquiry may be sent at any time. The Family Fund responds to all inquiries, and applicants should allow approximately four weeks for staff to review and answer a letter of inquiry. Those organizations that are invited to submit a full proposal will be provided with guidelines for material to include.

All grants are made by the board of trustees or by the executive committee acting on its behalf. The director does not have a discretionary fund. The board meets twice a year, and the executive committee usually meets two additional times.

Letters of inquiry may be mailed to the Rockefeller Family Fund, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 900, New York, NY, 10115. Letters of inquiry may also be sent to the Family Fund at the following e-mail address: RFFinfo@rffund.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF) provides support for advocacy efforts within its program areas that are action-oriented and likely to yield tangible public policy results

How do I apply?

Applicants should submit a letter of inquiry of no more than two pages summarizing 1) the goals of the project; 2) the strategy or plan for achieving the goals; and 3) the amount of funding requested. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, you will be provided with guidelines for material to include. The RFF responds to all inquiries. Applicants should allow approximately four weeks for staff to review and answer a letter of inquiry.

What are your deadlines?

Letters of inquiry may be sent at any time.

What are your program areas?

The RFF has four program areas: Citizen Participation and Government Accountability, Economic Justice for Women, the Environment, and Institutional Responsiveness. The guidelines for these program areas appear on their specific pages, along with lists of recent grants made in each area.

How do I know which program area my project fits into?

This is an in-house determination that we make. If there is programmatic overlap, our staff will decide which program area is most appropriate.

Do you fund individuals?

No. The Rockefeller Family Fund does not offer scholarships, fellowships, tuition assistance, internships, student loans, or any other form of personal financial aid.

Who is eligible for a grant?

The Rockefeller Family Fund supports tax-exempt organizations engaged in activities of national significance within its program areas. Thus, the Fund does not ordinarily consider projects which pertain to a single community, except in the rare instance where a project is unique, strategically placed to advance a national issue, or is likely to serve as a national model.

What organizations are NOT eligible?

The RFF does not make grants for direct service providers, or for social services or human services programs, and we do not fund local or community-specific projects. We do not make grants for academic or scholarly research or any kind of higher educational work. We do not fund film or video projects. We do not fund profit-making businesses, construction or restoration projects, or projects to reduce an organization's debt. Also, grants are rarely made to organizations which traditionally enjoy popular support, such as universities, museums, hospitals, or endowed institutions.

Are there any geographic restrictions for grants?

The Rockefeller Family Fund does not make grants to international programs or domestic programs dealing with international issues. Grants are only made to nonprofit organizations within the United States, in any state.

When are grants made?

We usually have four funding meetings a year: June and December, and in the spring and fall. We don't publicize the meeting dates.

How are grants decided?

The staff makes recommendations to the board at the funding meetings. The board of trustees, or the executive committee acting on their behalf, make all grant decisions.

What is the size of the grants awarded?

Grants are usually in the $25,000 to $30,000 range.

How long is a grant cycle?

Most grants are made for one year, although we make a limited number of multi-year grants for projects we think necessitate long term funding. Grants are normally made to the same organization for no more than two years at a time, and except in extraordinary cases, are not given for more than three or four consecutive years.

Are there any discretionary funds available?

No, there are no discretionary funds, and the director does not have any emergency funds available. All grants must go through the board of trustees at a funding meeting.