Faqs
Applicants should submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) using our online application system. Click here for instructions on how to submit an LOI.
Online letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time.
The RFF has three program areas: Democracy, Economic Justice for Women, and the Environment. The guidelines for these program areas appear on their specific pages, along with lists of sample grants made in each area.
This is an in-house determination staff will make. If there is programmatic overlap, our staff will decide which program area is most appropriate.
No. The Rockefeller Family Fund does not offer scholarships, fellowships, tuition assistance, internships, student loans, or any other form of personal financial aid.
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.
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 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 museums, hospitals, or endowed institutions.
With limited exception, the Rockefeller Family Fund does not make grants to international programs or domestic programs dealing with international issues. Grants are made to nonprofit organizations in any state within the United States.
We have three funding meetings a year: March, June and November. We don't publicize the meeting dates.
The staff makes recommendations to the board at the funding meetings. The board of trustees, or the executive committee acting on its behalf, makes all grant decisions.
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.
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.