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Person

Michael Quattrone

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Poet, Songwriter, Philanthropist

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Michael Quattrone is a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family who is a poet, singer-songwriter, and nonprofit consultant, board member, and founder. He has personally funded Democratic candidates and used his position in philanthropy to fund left-of-center organizations.

He is a grandson to David Rockefeller and recently become more involved with the family’s nonprofits.

Background

Michael Quattrone is a poet and songwriter living in Tarrytown, New York who is on the board at several Rockefeller-family nonprofits. He is a grandson of David Rockefeller, longtime CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank. 1 Quattrone is a board member of the David Rockefeller Fund, board member of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, board member of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and board member of arts nonprofit A Blade of Grass. 2 Quattrone has made political donations to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and the Democratic Senate Majority PAC. 3

Since 2011, Quattrone and his wife, Kala Smith Quattrone, have run the nonprofit Hearthfire, which provides nature, music, art, and spiritual retreats in New York. 4 Quattrone released an original music album, “One River,” in 2018. 5 Quattrone is a published poet and serves on the advisory committee of the Hudson Valley Writers Center’s poetry publishing company Slapering Hol Press. 6 Quattrone has a B.A. in theater and english literature from Northwestern University and MFA in creative writing from The New School. 7

Nonprofit Work

Since 2009, Quattrone has been on the board of the David Rockefeller Fund (DRF). 8 DRF focuses on justice, arts, and climate matters; criminal justice reform; and using art for social change. 9 Quattrone has written that systemic oppression of black and brown Americans persists through cash bail, felon disenfranchisement, and racially disproportionate mass incarceration. 10 DRF has given over $175,000 to Mass Liberation Project, an organization calling for the elimination of prisons and defunding the police. 11 DRF has funded the Bail Project, a group that opposes cash bail and will pay bail for those in jail. 12 DRF has given to other left-wing criminal justice organizations including Urban Justice Center, Vera Institute of Justice, Detention Watch Network, and W. Haywood Burns Institute. 13

The David Rockefeller Fund seeks to use art to amplify left-of-center social movements and left-progressive power building efforts. 14 DRF’s climate focus examines the nexus between climate, gender, and racial justice inequities. 15 Many grants in these categories are intertwined. DRF has funded Hip Hop Caucus, a left-wing group seeking to nationalize local elections, end conventional energy drilling, establish a climate fund to pay for new energy sources, and prohibit police from using surplus military equipment. 16 DRF has funded The YEARS Project, an organization that produces content and stories to prove global warming and climate change exists. 17 Other left-of-center recipients of DRF money include New Venture Fund, Brave New Films, Georgia Alliance for Progress, U.S. Climate Action Network, and Climate Chores, a podcast about climate change. 18

Since 2018, Quattrone has been a trustee at Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF). 19 RBF focuses on sustainable energy, democratic practice, peacebuilding, and the arts. 20 Since Quattrone has been a trustee, RBF has made grants to left-of-center groups Congressional Progressive Caucus, New Venture Fund, Democracy Works, Common Cause Education Fund, Green Corps, Public Citizen Foundation, Center for Community Change, Jobs With Justice Education Fund, We the People MI, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice. 21

Quattrone has been on the board of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) since 2017. 22 RPA provides guidance and strategy, resources, staff, and knowledge to other nonprofits to manage or implement programs. 23 Since 2019, Quattrone has been on the board at A Blade of Grass, a nonprofit that brings artists, writers, and activists together for left-of-center advocacy. 24

References

  1. Sullivan, Paul. “Giving Like a Rockefeller, Even if You’re Not Super-Rich.” New York Times. March 31, 2017. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/your-money/david-rockefeller-philanthropy.html; Dwyer, Colin. “David Rockefeller – Philanthropist, Banker and Collector – Dies at 101.” National Public Radio. March 20, 2017. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/20/520841767/david-rockefeller-philanthropist-banker-and-collector-dies-at-101
  2. “Michael Quattrone.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quattrone-5678761b6/.
  3. “Donor Lookup: Michael Quattrone.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Michael+quattrone.
  4. Hearthfire. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://hearthfire.org.
  5. “One River.” Wolfe Island Records. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://wolfeislandrecords.com/oneriver/.
  6. Hudson Valley Writers Center. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.writerscenter.org/aboutshp/.
  7. “Michael Quattrone.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quattrone-5678761b6/.
  8. “Michael Quattrone.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quattrone-5678761b6/.
  9. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org.
  10. Quattrone, Michael. “History, Democracy, and Justice: Reflecting on a Trustee Trip to the American South.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. March 18, 2020. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.rbf.org/news/history-democracy-and-justice-reflecting-trustee-trip-american-south.
  11. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/criminal-justice/; Mass Liberation Project. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.masslibproject.org.
  12. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/criminal-justice/; The Bail Project. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://bailproject.org.
  13. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/criminal-justice/.
  14. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/arts/.
  15. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/environment/.
  16. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/arts/; Hip Hop Caucus. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://hiphopcaucus.org.
  17. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/arts/; The YEARS Project website. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://theyearsproject.com.
  18. David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed February 25, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/arts/.
  19. [1] “Michael Quattrone.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quattrone-5678761b6/.
  20. Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.rbf.org.
  21. Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.rbf.org.
  22. [1] “Michael Quattrone.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quattrone-5678761b6/.
  23. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.rockpa.org/what-we-do/.
  24. A Blade of Grass. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://abladeofgrass.org/about/.
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