Giving Like a Rockefeller, Even if You’re Not Super-Rich

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/your-money/david-rockefeller-philanthropy.html

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David Rockefeller, who died last week at 101, was a giant among American philanthropists. He continued the tradition of giving that ran from his grandfather, John D., the founder of Standard Oil; through his father, John Jr.; and his oldest brother, John III.

In his lifetime, Mr. Rockefeller gave away an estimated $2 billion to organizations, from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities to a “Living Pyramid” made of wild grass and flowers in Queens. “No individual has contributed more to the commercial and civic life of New York City over a longer period of time than David Rockefeller,” Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, said in a statement.

But along with the immensity of his largess, Mr. Rockefeller used his charitable gifts to instill in his children and grandchildren a sense of the family’s philosophy of giving. In doing so, he also transmitted family values — including humility, responsibility and engagement — to a group that now numbers 40, including spouses.

“What I’m standing here in appreciation of, with my grandfather having just passed, is the gift of inheriting a philanthropic tradition while being empowered to make it my own,” said Michael Quattrone, Mr. Rockefeller’s grandson and chairman of the David Rockefeller Fund, one of four family philanthropic vehicles that Mr. Rockefeller was involved with.

Few families, of course, are as wealthy as the Rockefellers. But their example offers lessons for families without famous last names, philanthropic resources and numerous plaques in their honor.

One of the top lessons is a sense of gratitude.

“Among the values David passed down to his children was his profound gratitude,” said Lukas Haynes, executive director of the David Rockefeller Fund. “He expressed gratitude for what he inherited from his father and grandfather and his opportunity to carry it forward.”

(That is different from using the family name as leverage. Mr. Haynes said the various foundations appreciated the value of being linked to the Rockefellers when it comes to getting things done and persuading others to pitch in.)

In an interview, Mr. Quattrone spoke of the gratitude he had for his family’s legacy. “I feel proud and grateful to have witnessed and to have been touched by my grandfather’s extraordinary life,” he said.

In an article, Adam Growald, another grandson, summed up what he learned from Mr. Rockefeller in eight lessons. All of them involved some form of being gracious or expressing gratitude, from the dinnertime toasts Mr. Rockefeller gave to his personal relationships with people from all walks of life.

“He never lost touch with the simplest joys of the moment — tasting his food, connecting with the people he loved, and recognizing the common humanity in everyone,” Mr. Growald wrote. “I am grateful to him for all of his living lessons.”

But the flip side of being grateful — or, really, being expected to be grateful — could be the feeling of being burdened.

Family members are not required to participate in philanthropy in rigid ways, however. “You can rotate onto the board or you can skip a rotation if you’re getting married or having a baby,” Mr. Quattrone said. “You can get on a committee. You can represent the fund at another organization’s event. There’s a broad range of participation.”

The family bonded through traveling. Mr. Rockefeller’s oldest son, David Rockefeller Jr., said that on trips to France his father would talk about the importance of preserving cultural icons like Versailles, which the family helped to restore.

And in the Tetons in Wyoming, “We were riding on horseback and he told the story of his father, my grandfather, buying up the land and helping to create Grand Teton National Park,” David Rockefeller Jr. said. “We learned by example.”

David Rockefeller Jr. has, in turn, done the same with his children. “My two daughters, who have traveled with me a lot, have taken in some of my interests, particularly in the environment when we’ve been on sailing expeditions,” he said in an interview. “My passion for protecting the environment has gotten through to them.”

Mr. Quattrone said he learned from the philanthropy of his mother, Peggy Dulany, Mr. Rockefeller’s fourth child. She started the Synergos Institute to help address poverty in the developing world.

“She took to heart my grandfather’s emphasis on broad relationships and bringing stakeholders to the table,” he said.

Four philanthropic vehicles are linked to Mr. Rockefeller through his lineage. The Rockefeller Foundation was endowed by John D. Rockefeller Sr. and run at one point by David Rockefeller’s father, John Jr.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund was set up in 1940 by the five sons of John Jr. The Rockefeller Family Fund was set up in 1967 to give the brothers’ children — known collectively as the cousins — a chance to learn the art of philanthropy.

Mr. Rockefeller started the David Rockefeller Fund in 1989 with the more modest goal of being a vehicle to give to local charities where the family had homes: in New York City, Westchester County and coastal Maine.

David Rockefeller Jr., who has been the chairman of all four family-named institutions, said the different branches of his family — descended from John Jr. — had had the opportunity to come together through the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Rockefeller Family Fund.

Just as Mr. Rockefeller’s own siblings and extended family had varying degrees of involvement with philanthropy, he allowed his own children and grandchildren the same freedom of choice.

With the David Rockefeller Fund, which allows spouses to be involved as full board members just like blood relatives, money is set aside for so-called discretionary grants. Family members can give fund money to a charity of their choice — even if it is outside normal giving areas.

“There’s been a great respect for not imposing your own fund-raising on the others,” said Marnie Pillsbury, Mr. Rockefeller’s philanthropic adviser. “They meet and learn that Michael is interested in theater for the disabled or David Kaiser is interested in physical abuse in the prison system.”

Letting children follow their own passions has been a key to keeping the family philanthropically engaged. It would seem an obvious thing to do, but many family foundations, and more broadly families, try to steer children in a particular direction.

Last year, the David Rockefeller Fund divested itself of investments in fossil fuels, which some other family giving vehicles have also done. Its endowment is now being invested with environmental, social and governance guidelines. This change was pushed by two of the younger trustees, who made their case to the larger board.

“We took our time to do the due diligence on the financial practicality and wisdom of doing this,” Mr. Haynes said. “It was a unanimous decision after six months of due diligence.”

The lesson here was for an older generation to listen to its younger members but also for the younger generation to come prepared to make its case in economic as well as moral terms.

“There were older people who talked about the fiduciary responsibility and maintaining a balance,” Ms. Pillsbury said. “It took some dialogue. It was a learning process for everyone. But it came out of the family and not out of some consultant.”

After all, the Rockefeller fortune was built on those very fossil fuels. Yet overseeing this transition of thought was something Mr. Rockefeller relished.

He “attended all of our board meetings right through December at 101,” Mr. Haynes said. “He took enormous pleasure in attending under the board leadership of his grandson.”