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RF Catalytic Capital Inc

Annual Giving
$128.0M
Grant Range
$1000K - $7.4M

RF Catalytic Capital Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $127.9 million (2023)
  • Success Rate: Not applicable (no public application process)
  • Decision Time: Not applicable (project-based partnerships)
  • Grant Range: Varies by project ($1M - $7M+ documented)
  • Geographic Focus: Global (with concentration in U.S., Africa, Asia)
  • Total Assets: $284.3 million (2023)

Contact Details

Address: 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2729

Website: https://rfcatalytic.org

Contact: Available through website contact form at https://rfcatalytic.org/work-with-us/

Overview

RF Catalytic Capital Inc (RFCC) was established in September 2020 as a charitable offshoot of The Rockefeller Foundation. With assets of $284.3 million and annual grant distributions of $127.9 million (2023), RFCC operates as a collaborative funding mechanism that enables foundations, impact investors, governments, and businesses to pool resources for shared initiatives. Unlike traditional grant makers, RFCC functions primarily as a fiscal sponsor and project incubator, providing comprehensive infrastructure support including legal counsel, IT systems, financial management, and grants administration. The organization has scaled solutions across four strategic areas: Food Systems, Health, Power & Climate, and Reframing the Global Financial System. RFCC's innovative model supports projects through their full lifecycle—from initial aggregation of capital through incubation and eventual spin-off as independent organizations.

Funding Priorities

Operational Model

RFCC operates through three primary functions rather than traditional grant programs:

  • Aggregate: Mobilizes and combines investment and grant capital from multiple funders for shared initiatives
  • Incubate: Accelerates projects through streamlined operations, providing full infrastructure support to enable innovators to focus on implementation
  • Spin Off: Transitions successful projects to independent organizations once they achieve scale and sustainability

Priority Areas

RFCC concentrates its efforts across four strategic domains:

Power & Climate

  • Energy access in developing nations (GEAPP has deployed close to $500M in investments, reaching 1.29 million people)
  • Clean energy economy development in the U.S. (Invest in Our Future has awarded $100M in grants as of November 2024)
  • Just energy transition initiatives
  • Mission 300 activities to electrify 300 million people in Africa

Food Systems

  • Periodic Table of Food Initiative (American Heart Association received $5.4M in 2021)
  • Food is Medicine programs for vulnerable U.S. populations
  • Mapping food quality and biodiversity

Health

  • COVID-19 response (Johns Hopkins University Partnership to Scale COVID-19 Testing received $1.1M in 2021)
  • Climate and health financing for vulnerable nations
  • Expanding healthcare access

Financial Systems

  • Economic Opportunity Coalition (raised over $1 billion in deposit commitments to CDFIs and MDIs)
  • Bretton Woods Initiative at 80
  • Catalyzing capital for underserved communities

Current Major Initiatives

  • Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP): Mobilizing resources for clean energy in Brazil, DRC, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Vietnam (80+ countries in network)
  • Invest in Our Future (IOF): Pooled philanthropic fund for equitable clean energy transition across America
  • Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC): Aligning private and federal investments to address economic disparities in U.S. underserved communities
  • Mission 300: Supporting activities to expand energy access across Africa

What They Don't Fund

RFCC does not operate as a traditional grant maker providing direct funding to applicant organizations. They do not accept unsolicited grant proposals from individual nonprofits seeking project funding. Their model requires organizations to participate in larger collaborative initiatives or partner on project development.

Governance and Leadership

Board Composition

The RFCC Board comprises five members, including three Rockefeller Foundation staff serving parallel roles and two independent directors:

Leadership:

  • Natalye Paquin — President and Board Chair (also Chief Operating Officer of The Rockefeller Foundation; previously President and CEO of Points of Light Foundation)
  • Erica Guyer — Secretary
  • Keith Olson — Treasurer

Directors:

  • Robert (Rob) Hillman — Director
  • Laura Sparks — Director

Organizational Philosophy

RFCC emphasizes its role as an infrastructure provider that enables "social innovators, impact investors, and governments to combine their financing toward shared ventures and projects." The organization describes its purpose as channeling "funding to places and people in a faster and more efficient manner," transforming challenges into "collaborative opportunities."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

RF Catalytic Capital does not have a public grant application process. The organization operates through partnership-based project development rather than accepting grant applications from individual organizations.

How RFCC Works:

  • Partners combine financing toward shared initiatives that RFCC then fiscally sponsors and provides infrastructure for
  • Foundations, impact investors, and governments approach RFCC to collaborate on specific projects aligned with RFCC's strategic focus areas
  • According to their website, their process "starts with a conversation"
  • Organizations interested in working with RFCC should contact them through their website to explore partnership opportunities

Grant Distribution Model: Rather than making grants to applicants, RFCC receives funding from major foundations (including The Rockefeller Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and others) and then manages the distribution of those pooled funds to organizations implementing specific initiatives.

For example, under the Invest in Our Future initiative, RFCC serves as fiscal sponsor for a pooled fund that has distributed $100 million to grassroots organizations working on clean energy transition—but IOF's leadership team determines grant recipients, not organizations applying directly to RFCC.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable due to partnership-based model. Project timelines vary based on initiative scope and complexity. Projects may be incubated for multiple years before spinning off as independent organizations.

Getting on Their Radar

This section is intentionally omitted as specific, actionable intelligence about relationship-building with this funder was not found. Organizations interested in RFCC should contact them directly through their website.

Recent Grant Activity

2023 Grant Distribution

  • Total Grants Made: $127,958,044 across 49 awards
  • Organizational Assets: $284.3 million
  • Total Revenue: $289.0 million (98.2% from contributions)

Notable Grants Made (2021-2024)

  • American Heart Association (Periodic Table of Food Initiative): $5.4 million (2021)
  • Johns Hopkins University (Partnership to Scale COVID-19 Testing): $1.1 million (2021)
  • Various COVID-19 testing organizations including Yale University, Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation, and Testing for America (2021)
  • Invest in Our Future Fund: Multiple grants totaling $100 million distributed (through November 2024)
  • Mission 300 activities and Africa Energy Summit support (ongoing)

Major Funding Received by RFCC

RFCC aggregates funding from multiple major foundations:

  • The Rockefeller Foundation: $7.384 million (2024-2025 for Mission 300)
  • MacArthur Foundation: $19.88 million total (2023-2025 across multiple grants)
  • Gates Foundation: $548,899 (November 2024 for Global Policy and Advocacy)
  • Hewlett Foundation: Multiple grants for Invest in Our Future

Application Success Factors

Understanding the Model: RFCC is not a traditional grant maker—it's a collaborative infrastructure provider. Success requires:

Alignment with Strategic Priorities:

  • Projects must address urgent challenges in RFCC's four focus areas: Food Systems, Health, Power & Climate, or Financial Systems Reform
  • Emphasis on scalable solutions with measurable impact
  • Priority given to initiatives serving vulnerable populations and historically underserved communities

Partnership Approach:

  • RFCC works with established organizations and major funders to pool resources
  • Projects typically involve multiple stakeholders across sectors (foundations, investors, governments)
  • Organizations participating in RFCC-supported initiatives are usually identified through the initiative's leadership team (e.g., IOF team identifies grantees) rather than applying to RFCC directly

Project Characteristics RFCC Supports:

  • Place-based strategies with deep community knowledge and engagement (as seen in Invest in Our Future)
  • Collaborative initiatives that aggregate capital from multiple sources
  • Scalable solutions that can transition from incubation to independent operation
  • Projects requiring infrastructure support including grants management, legal counsel, financial systems, and donor relations

Demonstrated Capacity: Organizations funded through RFCC initiatives typically demonstrate:

  • Proven track record in their sector
  • Capacity to manage significant funding and deliver measurable outcomes
  • Deep connections to communities they serve
  • Ability to leverage additional resources (particularly federal funding in U.S. programs)

Geographic Focus:

  • Global South energy access (particularly Africa and Asia)
  • Underserved U.S. communities (rural, minority, low-income areas)
  • Emerging economies and developing nations

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • RFCC is not a direct grant maker for individual applicants—they aggregate and manage funds for collaborative initiatives led by major foundations and partners
  • Contact RFCC about partnership opportunities if your organization can help lead or participate in large-scale collaborative solutions aligned with their four focus areas
  • Look for RFCC-supported initiatives (like Invest in Our Future, GEAPP) that may have their own application processes for implementation partners
  • RFCC prioritizes scalable solutions that address systemic challenges rather than individual project funding
  • Focus on measurable impact across energy access, food systems, health equity, or financial inclusion for underserved populations
  • The organization provides comprehensive infrastructure support making them valuable partners for complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives
  • Spin-off model means successful projects can become independent organizations (example: Periodic Table of Food Initiative)

References

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