Eileen Rockefeller Growald is the great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., the founder of Standard Oil Company. She co-founded the Growald Family Fund and has been involved with a number of other left-of-center nonprofit organizations.

Family

Growald’s great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was the founder of Standard Oil Company and became America’s first billionaire. ¹ Growald’s father, David Rockefeller, controlled Chase Manhattan bank for more than ten years and was the last surviving grandson of Rockefeller, Sr. before his death in 2017. ¹

Career

Growald attended Middlebury College and earned a B.A. in 1974 and a M.A. from Lesley College in 1976. ² In 2013, Growald published Being a Rockefeller, Becoming Myself, a memoir of her experience growing up within a prominent family. In 2017, she published Space Between: Selected Poems, a collection of original poems. ³

Philanthropy

In 1981, Growald founded the Institute for the Advancement of Health, an organization focused on the mind and body interactions related to health. ⁴ She also co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)⁵ in 1994. ⁶

Growald was also a founding chair of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a charitable advisory organization for left-leaning grantmakers founded in 2000. ² Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ 2018 tax returns show that the organization received more than $199 million in contributions and grants. The organization also contributed more than $106 million in grants to a number of left-of-center organizations including $500,000 to Planned Parenthood, $450,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and more than $7 million to New Venture Fund. ⁷

In 2007, Growald, along with her husband, Paul Growald, founded the Growald Family Fund, which advances a left-of-center environmentalist agenda by investing in environmentalist energy sources. ⁸ According to the organization’s 2018 tax returns, the Growald Family Fund received more than $11 million in contributions and grants. The organization also distributed more than $10,000 in grants to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and $100,000 to the World Wildlife Fund. ⁹

Political Activity

Politically, Growald has contributed to a number of left-of-center candidates and PACs including Swing Left, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM). ¹⁰

1. Kandell, Jonathan. “David Rockefeller, Philanthropist and Head of Chase Manhattan, Dies at 101.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 20, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/business/david-rockefeller-dead-chase-manhattan-banker.html.

2. “About.” Eileen Rockefeller. Accessed April 1, 2020. https://eileenrockefeller.com/about/.
3. “Books & Reviews.” Eileen Rockefeller. Accessed Aril 2, 2020. https://eileenrockefeller.com/books/.
4. “About.” Eileen Rockefeller. Accessed March 31, 2020. https://eileenrockefeller.com/about/.
5. “Casel.” Philanthropy News Digest (PND), February 6, 2007. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/npo-spotlight/casel.
6. “About.” Eileen Rockefeller. Accessed April 3, 2020. https://eileenrockefeller.com/about/.
7. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/133/615/2018-133615533-112ecacc-9.pdf
8. “About Us.” About Us – Growald Family Fund. Accessed March 31, 2020. https://growaldfamilyfund.org/about-us/.
9. Growald Family Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/464/209/2018-464209325-10b1ae8a-F.pdf
10. “Browse Individual Contributions Eileen Rockefeller Growald.” FEC.gov. Accessed April 3, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Eileen+Rockefeller+Growald&two_year_transaction_period=2012.