In 1978, the Ford Foundation, which had been RFF's only source of support since our founding in 1952, made a $7 million challenge grant for the establishment of an endowment to ensure RFF's financial independence. We met Ford's challenge with grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Richard Kind Mellon Foundation, William S. Paley Foundation, General Motors Corporation, and Ford Motor Company. Today, RFF's endowment provides over 50% of our annual budget.

Endowment funds allow us to maintain our independence, objectivity, and ultimately, our value as an institution and as an honest broker of knowledge. The financial security the endowment provides allows us to embark on long-term projects without fear that the work will outlast the money.  It helps us attract and keep the scholars of distinction who are, literally, the best in their fields. It provides the discretionary funds needed for researchers to respond quickly to timely issues. And it allows us to take the risks inherent to the untried approaches to questions and untested methods of study that are the hallmarks of RFF research.

Many commemorative opportunities are available through endowment contributions. Investment income generated by an endowed fund can be used to establish named chairs for pre-eminent scholars, offer post-doctoral fellowships and sabbaticals for outstanding academics, acquire reference material for the RFF library, sponsor our RFF Seminar Series or a special lecture series, or underwrite on-going communications and public education activities. Endowed funds begin at the $100,000 level.

For more information on endowing research and public education at RFF, please contact Barbara Bush, Director of Major Gifts, at 202-328-5030 or bush@rff.org.