The Rockefeller Foundation deployed more than $350 million in 2025 and reached 731 million people worldwide, as it scaled investments in energy access, food systems, climate resilience and digital public goods amid a global decline in aid.
In its 2025 impact report, Big Bets, Real Results, the foundation said it issued funding through 235 grants and program-related investments to 204 partners and helped mobilize $32 billion in total capital, including $3 billion in direct mobilization and $29 billion in additional capital leveraged through partner ecosystems.
The foundation said its programmes enabled 731 million people to access supported products and services in 2025, while 3 million people recorded measurable gains from direct interventions.
It estimated its work helped avoid, reduce or sequester 84 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and contributed to the protection or restoration of 23 million hectares of land.
“Disruption changes how we work, but not who we work for,” said Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, adding that declining global aid had intensified pressure on vulnerable communities while reinforcing the need for scaled philanthropic action.
The foundation channelled more than $133 million to Africa, $93 million to Asia and Oceania, $59 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, and $49 million to North America.
It advanced work across three priority areas: frontier technology, community-driven models and decisive data.
Through its energy portfolio, the foundation backed projects under the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, supporting battery storage deployment in India, solar-powered systems in Zambia and microgrid expansion in Haiti. It said more than 100,000 people gained access to reliable electricity in parts of India, while 21,000 people in Haiti received new electricity connections through solar systems.
The alliance’s wider pipeline is projected to reach 91 million people with improved energy access and prevent about 296 million tonnes of carbon emissions over time.
In agriculture and nutrition, the foundation expanded regenerative school meal programmes and partnerships with the World Food Programme across countries including Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, India and Benin.
In South Africa, it supported the rollout of an AI-enabled civic participation platform in Cape Town that allows residents to engage with local government in multiple languages and has reached about 100,000 people.
“As The Rockefeller Foundation marks 60 years of its Africa Regional Office, it reflects a broader shift in development,” said William Asiko, who heads the office, citing increased emphasis on African-led solutions in health, education and energy amid tightening global fiscal conditions and climate shocks.
The foundation said it is prioritising locally driven models as geopolitical tensions, climate impacts and aid contractions reshape global development financing.