Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, leadership and training, and changing systems to address barriers to health.[2] RWJF has been credited with helping to develop the 911 emergency system, reducing tobacco use among Americans, lowering rates of unwanted teenage pregnancies, and improving perceptions of hospice care.[2]
Abbreviation
RWJF
1936
Improving the health and well-being of all in America
- Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
National
Grantmaking and social change
~$500 million annually
$13 billion[1] (2020)
270
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: supports the development of programs that can be used in community-led initiatives or by government bodies;[3] funds research through surveys and polls;[4] and makes impact investments.[5] According to Pensions & Investments and Foundation Center, the foundation was the fifth-largest in the U.S. in investment assets, as of 2015.[6][7] As of 2020, the value of its endowment was $13 billion.[1]
Leadership[edit]
The foundation's first president was David E. Rogers, who served from 1972 until 1987.[12]
Leighton E. Cluff served as the foundation's president from 1986 until February 1990, when he was succeeded by Steven A. Schroeder. The foundation's board of trustees selected Schroeder to lead the foundation, knowing he wanted to take it "in the direction of working on substance abuse problems".[19][48]
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey was the first woman and African American to be the foundation's chief executive officer, a role she held between 2002 and 2017.[49][50] She was succeeded by Richard E. Besser, who was named president and CEO in April 2017. Besser previously worked as the medical editor for ABC News and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control.[51]