Prominent Grants: Davison Fund was created to handle John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s annual, small-scale grants to his local New York City area.
Summary: The Davison Fund was established by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1930 to systematize his personal giving. It was created to handle what Mr. Rockefeller called his ‘citizenship giving’— annual, small-scale grants to social service and other charities in the communities where he lived[1]. In general, the program developed from two motivations: an interest in the social, cultural, educational, and health needs of New York City and its environs, and the recognition of the importance of “certain problems which cut across national and international boundaries and which invite the cooperation and support of thoughtful men everywhere.”
By the end of 1940, the Rockefeller brothers decided to set up a fund of their own — the Rockefeller Brothers Fund — and the Davison Fund was closed soon after.