The David Rockefeller Fund (DRF) is a family foundation inspired by the vision and generosity of David and Peggy Rockefeller, expanding and reimagining their legacy of philanthropy with a collaborative spirit. Our team and board recently undertook a strategy development process centered on a guiding question: What kind of organization do we want to be? Those discussions led us to identify three principles that guide our work
. This post explores the third principle–Caring for the People
Creating a culture of ‘caring for the people’
What does it look like to care for the people doing the work through our grantmaking? It means investing in the skills, support, and rest needed by those who dedicate their careers to advancing social good. Though just a team of four, at the DRF we practice what we call “pantry cooking philanthropy,” leveraging our reee partners whose success is inseparable from our own
In philanthropy, we often articulate lofty goals, bold visions, and interconnected missions. Yet, the work of achieving them is carried out through our partners. As grantmakers, we have a responsibility to care not only about organizational outcomes and impact but also about the well-being of the leaders and staff who make that impact possible.
We began this journey with a simple acknowledgement: Nonprofit workers often bear a significant personal cost in service of their work. Passionate leaders experience burnout, and leadership transitions put successors in impossible positions, requiring them to prove themselves while also carrying the demands of fundraising, organizational leadership, and program delivery. That’s why we’ve prioritized creating a culture of care—a philanthropic culture that sees them, uplifts them, and allocates our resources in ways they identify as most helpful.
Simplifying requirements, building capacity, and funding well-being
In 2025, we began experimenting with ways to support staff well-being. We tested ideas, learned from our mistakes, and continually refined our approach. We ultimately focused our efforts in three areas: grantmaking processes, capacity-building support, and dedicated funding for well-being
Grantmaking processes: On the process side, we awarded five-year grants wherever possible, recognizing that century-old challenges cannot be meaningfully addressed through one-year funding cycles. We also eliminated most formal reporting requirements that rarely justified the time grantees spent fulfilling. Now, we invite partners to share updates in whatever format works best for them, whether through newsletters, annual reports, phone calls, or informal conversations. Similarly, we streamlined our application process by accepting materials organizations had already prepared for other funders and requesting only the documentation legally necessary for our due diligence.
Capacity-building support: We invested in opportunities such as somatic healing workshops and coaching sessions, community safety and security trainings, and campaign strategy workshops. We supplemented these offerings with a regularly updated list of re
Direct funding for staff well-being: We distributed $2,000 wellness stipends to all partners without requiring applications; supported sabbaticals for leaders seeking time for renewal; funded collaborative grants that allowed peers to connect and workshop strategies without expectations of specific deliverables; and invested in succession planning efforts to help navigate leadership transitions and build organizational resilience
Responding to feedback to better support well-being
In May 2026, we surveyed 56 partners to get feedback on these offerings. We learned two important lessons. First, while partners appreciated workshops and trainings, many struggled to find the time to participate
As a result, we shifted much of our Caring for the People budget toward Team Wellbeing Grants: flexible funding for strategy, rest, retreats, and team development. Recognizing each organization’s needs would be different—some might engage consultants; others might invest in staff retreats or team building—we chose to provide reeficial
Second, our partners wanted tools to help them grow their fundraising and revenue-generation efforts amid an increasingly challenging funding environment. Through a long-standing partnership with Progressive Multiplier, we helped develop a repository of fundraising resources, trainings, and tools to strengthen organizations’ long-term financial sustainability. We’re now exploring ways to expand access to these resources, along with dedicated coaching support, to peer funders, former grantees, and other nonprofits in our network.
Creating the conditions for nonprofit leaders and staff to thrive
This work requires constant iteration and flexibility—something philanthropy is not always designed to accommodate. Yet, the results have reinforced our conviction that caring for the people behind the work is not separate from achieving impact; it is essential to it. When nonprofit leaders and staff are exhausted, isolated, or operating without adequate support, their organizations and movements are inevitably affected. To sustain the long-term work of social change, they need the space and resources to rest, reflect, learn, and plan for the future.
Our experience has also reminded us that caring for the people doesn’t require large initiatives or highly structured programs. Many of our most meaningful interventions were relatively modest investments, informed by listening and accompanied by trust. As funders, we don’t need to have all the answers. We simply need to foster the conditions for nonprofit leaders and their teams to thrive
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