Rockefeller Foundation winds down funding for 100 Resilient Cities

The $164 million grant that funds 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) will end this year. The Rockefeller Foundation says it will shift some of its resilience funding to a new $30 million grant at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience at the Atlantic Council.

A statement said: “The grant begins a new phase of The Rockefeller Foundation’s well-established leadership on climate and resilience and establishes a new platform for this important work to evolve and continue.”

The Foundation also announced a separate $12 million grant to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) – the fiscal sponsor of 100 Resilient Cities “to allow continued support and transition time to the 100 Resilient Cities network through much of 2019”.

A spokeperson for The Rockefeller Foundation told Bloomberg the 100RC programme is "transitioning," rather than shutting down. 

The rise of the Chief Resilience Officer

The 100 Resilient Cities programme was launched in 2013 to help US cities and cities abroad to prepare for climate change and its impacts. Member cities include Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York, as well as Chennai, India; Seoul, South Korea; Christchurch, New Zealand and Glasgow, UK.

Under the 100RC initiative, more than 80 cities have hired Chief Resilience Officers and most cities in the network will have resilience strategies in place by the end of 2019. To date, 2,600 projects and initiatives have been proposed in member cities with more than $3 billion leveraged to implement them.

To date, 2,600 projects and initiatives have been proposed in member cities with more than $3 billion leveraged to implement them.

“The Rockefeller Foundation remains committed to the work of resilience and commitments for funded work, including Chief Resilience Officers and Resilience Strategies through 100RC, will continue as planned,” the statement said.

Michael Berkowitz, President of 100RC, said 100RC’s work was far from over and that further plans would be shared soon.

“Our work will continue in new ways and we look forward to being part of this important movement for years to come,” Berkowitz said.

100RC has also confirmed that its 86 staff will be laid off from July, with severance.

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