Rockefeller Brothers Fund

“It is time for a new vision of America’s role in the world based on an understanding that what is good for the world is good for us.” In his recently published report, A LOGIC FOR THE FUTURE RBF President and CEO Stephen Heintz imagines new ways for the United States to embrace its ideals of freedom, liberty, and democracy as a collaborative global leader. Heintz envisions a future where the United States leverages “strategic empathy,” coordination with multilateral entities, and ethical leadership to champion the global response to the age of turbulence. https://lnkd.in/gmn6iQTY

The RBF’s Democratic Practice-Global Challenges program has always emphasized bottom-up empowerment, not just top-down institutional change, to address shared challenges. In a world facing multiple and simultaneous economic, social, political, and climate crises, the new program guidelines affirm this approach and meet the moment with a revised goal that more clearly emphasizes the program’s commitment to social and environmental justice.

“Politicians now have the duty to further unlock Europe from fossil fuels, scrap the ISDS parallel justice system that lets industry sue states over public interest policies in many other trade and investment deals, and accelerate the clean energy transition.” In April, the EU withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty, which insulated fossil fuel companies through an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism that allows companies to sue governments for any measure that can affect profits. RBF grantees began work to highlight the ISDS threat to climate action in 2015, and a coalition of trade campaigners, climate campaigners, and researchers spurred the campaign to eliminate the ECT. Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Corporate Europe Observatory, GRAIN, Transnational Institute, Friends of the Earth Europe, the OPEN (Online Progressive Engagement Network), Climate Action Network International, and others provided a constant and growing stream of information to the public, policymakers, and the scientific community that illuminated the harms of ECT and sustained pressure to exit the treaty. https://lnkd.in/eG5BYpEY

The RBF’s Democratic Practice-Global Challenges program has always emphasized bottom-up empowerment, not just top-down institutional change, to address shared challenges. In a world facing multiple and simultaneous economic, social, political, and climate crises, the new program guidelines affirm this approach and meet the moment with a revised goal that more clearly emphasizes the program’s commitment to social and environmental justice.

"It's the greatest borough in the city, and these are things we want to bring to the forefront of what we teach the kids: that the Bronx in and of itself is important." Christopher Gomez, Bronx Children's Museum The Bronx has an incredibly vibrant and rich cultural fabric, despite long being among the most underfunded counties in the United States. Recognizing the Bronx’s outstanding contributions to the New York arts & culture scene and exponential potential for growth, the RBF announced a series of grants to Bronx-based organizations including Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, Bronx Children's Museum, BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance,Literary Freedom Project, and DreamYard Project. These community-based organizations embody the power of arts and culture to transform lives. ---- Photo 1: Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education Photo 2: Bronx Children's Museum Photo 3: The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance Photo 4: Literary Freedom Project Photo 5: DreamYard Project

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not turbulence itself; rather, it is ‘acting with yesterday’s logic.'” The Rockefeller Brothers Fund released a new report by president and CEO Stephen Heintz, A LOGIC FOR THE FUTURE: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE AGE OF TURBULENCE, proposing a reformed international system that better meets the global challenges of this century. Written during his time as a Richard von Weizsaecker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy, Heintz examines the origins of today’s system and imagines not merely what can be, but what might be. https://lnkd.in/gmn6iQTY

“We need a hope and a vision for democracy that is larger than our politics—and more robust than our political imaginations currently allow." -Kristen Cambell Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) launched the Democracy Futures Project to expand the capacity of funders to think longer-term about American Democracy. A collaborative effort for philanthropy to prepare for and imagine a better future, the initiative will offer workshops, learning sessions, and other resources to identify durable democratic strategies in the face of uncertainty. https://lnkd.in/gTYgm_i6

Though she is little known today, Janet Scudder (1869-1940) was one of the most famous American sculptors of her time. Her work was exhibited in numerous World’s Fairs and solo exhibitions, and is still on display at dozens of museums and historic houses including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kykuit. Scudder worked tirelessly to break down barriers for women, both in the arts and in public life. As more women entered the arts profession, she advocated for an end to exhibitions segregated by sex. She joined the Paris-based feminist thinkers circle that included Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and children’s author Marion B Cochren, who became Scudder’s partner during the last decade of her life. Scudder was also an active member of the Women’s Suffrage movement. In 1912, Scudder completed a bronze statue of Pan, the Greek god of the wild. In ancient Greece, holy sites dedicated to Pan were rarely man-made temples but natural caves. Pan’s installation at Kykuit followed that tradition. “We stood a long time before the rustic grotto where my seated Pan appeared very happily installed,“ Scutter recalled in her 1925 autobiography. “In fact, he looked as though he had been there for ages.” Photo 1: Janet Scudder, Pan, 1912, bronze. Photo by Larry Lederman, 2015 Photo 2: Janet Scudder, ca. 1910-15, Bain News Service. Image courtesy Library of Congress Photo 3: Pan fountain at Kykuit, 2007 #SculpturesofPocantico #Pocantico #Kykuit #westchestercounty #JanetScudder

Mia Vukojević, the program director for the Fund’s Pivotal Place: Western Balkans spoke to the Journalism Funders Forum sharing lessons learned from her time in philanthropy. "I think it’s the importance of long-term support. Not expecting that things will change overnight, not expecting that investigative journalism will yield results in changing the system and making it more accountable immediately. The need for funders to stay for the longer term and be flexible is very important. Journalists need to be able to work on stories, however long it takes. They need to be able to own the stories and be responsive. If we are truly good practice funders, we should fund them that way: flexible, long-term. This brings the best results."

On World Day for International Justice we lift up and honor the courageous people building a more equitable future for us all