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Size: 520 cubic feet
Contents: The collection includes correspondence, reports, memorabilia, grant actions, and other material documents the philanthropic work of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in six series:
1. Accounting (closed)
2. Administration (closed)
3. Project files, 1951-1989
4. Special Studies, 1956-1960
5. West Africa Program, 1953-1977
6. Office of the President
Material in series 3-6 more than ten years old is open for research. Portions of series 4 are restricted. Series 1 and 2 are closed.
Series 3. Project Files, 1951-1989. Material more than ten years old is open for research. An inventory is available although this material is currently being processed.
Series 3 includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, and background material relating to grant applications and grant administration. Subjects include civic improvement, cultural advancement, education, health, religion, welfare, international relations and understanding, conservation, population, and racial equality in the U.S. and abroad.
Series 4. Special Studies Project Records, 1956-1960. Portions are restricted. The material is arranged in ten subseries:
International Objectives and Strategy
International Security: Military Aspect
International Economic and Social Objectives and Strategy
U.S. Economic & Social Policy
Utilization of Human Resources
U.S. Democratic Process
The Moral Framework of National Purpose
Joint Report Writing Committee
Overall Panel
Office Reference and Report Publication Files
The Special Studies Project was inspired by Nelson A. Rockefeller, who served as president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund during the period 1956-1960. Its purposes were to "define the major problems and opportunities" facing the U.S. in the late 1950s, to "clarify national purposes and objectives," and to develop principles which could serve as the basis of national policy.
Harvard professor Henry Kissinger was chosen to serve as the director for the project, and he coordinated the solicitation, criticism, and editing of papers from a host of specialists. Many of these papers were used, in some measure, as the basis of discussion by the panels. The papers and discussion sessions resulted in the final reports by each panel, which were published as Prospect for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports (1961).
The collection constitutes a rich source for the intellectual history of American domestic and foreign policy from 1945 to approximately 1960. Papers and criticisms of papers were contributed by leading academic and government authorities.
Series 5. West Africa Program Records, 1953-(1957-63)-1977.
The material is arranged in three subseries:
General files, 1957-1963
Projects, 1953-(1958-1965)
Feasibility Studies, 1959-1963
Between 1957 and 1962 the Rockefeller Brothers Fund undertook a West Africa Program to provide technical assistance to Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. Its major function was to contract for feasibility studies designed to provide realistic frameworks for economic or industrial development in those nations at their request. The program's main office in Lagos, Nigeria was a distribution point for these studies. Its director, Robert I. Fleming, acted as a liaison between the African governments and groups of American investors and arranged their contracts with governmental personnel.
The records include correspondence from the New York and Lagos offices, memoranda, reports, administrative and financial material, personnel correspondence, and a complete set of feasibility studies. Subjects include cable and wire manufacturing, ceramics, cigar industry, coal mining, coffee harvesting, concrete masonry, cotton textile industry, the drug trade, economic development projects, fisheries, flour mills, forest products, glass manufacturing, grain milling, gravel industry, housing, lumber industry, plastics, and water storage and supply.
Photograph Collection: Yes
Organizational History: The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) was established in 1940 by John D. 3rd, Nelson A., Laurance S., Winthrop, and David Rockefeller. The RBF makes grants to local, national, and international philanthropic organizations that depend on the general public for funds. As a general rule, contributions are made to agencies whose activities reach a large number of people.
The RBF's program also includes support for, and in some instances direct operation of, experimental or new undertakings.
Available Finding Aids:
Series 3. Project Files, 1951 - 1989
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