Methodology
The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to measuring our impact, learning from our and our partners’ successes and challenges, and transparently sharing insights that inform action. In 2025, the Foundation partnered with more than 200 partners — far too many to recognize fully in a single report. Our intent in this report is to capture as concisely as possible the essence of our impact that year — spotlighting projects with meaningful achievements, concrete evidence, and valuable lessons.
An internal working group involving our Strategic Learning and Impact and Strategic Communications teams led the development of this report, with ongoing guidance and input from our Executive and Program teams. With the help of a custom AI agent, we pulled data from approximately 7,000 pages of material — roughly equivalent to 25–30 books’ worth of content — from grantee and investee reports, third-party evaluation and learning partner analyses, internal reviews, and public-facing knowledge products. Through a collaborative process with Foundation teams, we identified compelling storylines to feature and conducted site visits and interviews with a number of grantees and partners worldwide. Foundation teams reviewed and verified content through an iterative process. We are grateful to all of these collaborators for their thoughtful contributions to the report.
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Red's Best Seafood, a Community Servings vendor
As summarized in the “By the Numbers” section of the report, we aggregate results that the Foundation and its partners have helped unlock across three priority areas: people, planet, and capital. While we strive to report impact as rigorously and transparently as possible, the results presented may both under‑ and over‑state the Foundation’s true catalytic contribution. Key notes on our approach include:
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- Results are self‑reported by partners and not independently verified. We continue to strengthen data integrity by assessing RF’s contribution and providing tools and guidance, though confidence in data quality varies by indicator and portfolio.
- Results are aggregated only where indicators are deemed sufficiently comparable in construct and measurement, in line with our aggregation criteria.
- Not all grants or program‑related investments report against all three priority areas — only where indicators are relevant and projects have been active long enough to generate results. As such, these metrics capture only a partial view of the depth and broader, indirect impacts of our work.
- Given that direct attribution is often not feasible or appropriate, we typically report total project‑level outcomes rather than pro‑rating results to the Foundation’s share of funding.
- Many reported results are several steps removed from the Foundation’s direct control. As a catalytic organization, we tend to contribute through mechanisms such as demonstration, ecosystem‑building, and technical assistance — making attribution infeasible in many cases. Accordingly, results reflect varying levels of confidence in the Foundation’s contribution.
By the Numbers
Impact unlocked by the Foundation and its partners.
People
5.5M
Enablers Engaged
People engaged by Foundation grantees or partners to spur downstream impacts for end-users
731M
End-users Reached
People from target communities accessing or using a product or service
3M
People Impacted
People experiencing a clear, measurable outcome or impact from an intervention
By the Numbers
Planet
23M
Hectares Covered
Area of land and water affected by biodiversity conservation, protection, and/or restoration
84M
Tonnes of Emissions Reduced
Carbon dioxide equivalent avoided, reduced, or sequestered
By the Numbers
Capital
$3B
Direct Mobilization
USD resources mobilized into Foundation-created or Foundation-supported organizations, funds, or solutions
$29B
Indirect Mobilization
USD Resources mobilized into a concept or model that the Foundation piloted, demonstrated, and/or helped to scale
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Download Snapshot
Check out our executive summary to explore the stories, data, and impact behind this year's report.
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