back
- New York Times article
Note: NY Times Web pages are often not accessible without a subscription - When the Levees Broke
- 'Levies' Curriculum
Rockefeller Foundation Moving to Break Mold: NY Times
January 15, 2007
Source: The New York Times
A New York Times article by Stephanie Strom dated January 14, 2007 and entitled 'Charities Try to Keep Up With the Gateses,' included the following commentary:
...the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockefeller Foundation are...hoping to get more impact for their money, increase their influence and extend their legacies by changing the way they have operated for years. They are pushing to streamline their operations by eliminating internal fiefs and to improve their efficiency by increasing collaboration among staff members...“We have learned that impact is what really, really matters,” said Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation. “We aren’t going to be remembered for how big we are, how smart we are, how hard we tried or even how much we cared. We’re going to be remembered for what we accomplish.”
Dr. Rodin said, “...we’re looking for ways to be more flexible and faster, to take a big idea and really run with it when it’s right and to be more receptive to ideas coming in to us.”
To that end, the foundation’s Web site asks for ideas that the institution can turn into projects. “We seek high-impact ideas that have the potential to make a difference in the lives of large numbers of poor or vulnerable people, and we require some results from such ideas to be measurable within three to five years,” the site says.
One program Dr. Rodin pointed to as an example of the shift at the foundation was its status as an underwriter of Spike Lee’s documentary on New Orleans, 'When the Levees Broke.' The foundation has used the film to create 20- to 30-minute DVDs on poverty in America, part of a curriculum developed by Teachers College at Columbia to teach high school and college students.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
top of the page