Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Davis & Rock, venture capitalist
FUNDING AREAS: Education, legal rights, arts and culture, San Francisco community
OVERVIEW: Arthur Rock and his wife Toni Rembe Rock do their grantmaking through the Rock Foundation, which was established in the late 1960s. These days, the foundation grants about $2 million annually. Grantmaking spans education, arts and culture, civic engagement initiatives and the San Francisco Bay Area. The couple founded the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, and the Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. The couple also prioritizes K-12 education reform.
BACKGROUND: Arthur Rock received his bachelors from Syracuse University, served in the army and later attended Harvard Business School. He had an early career on Wall Street, but moved to California in 1961 and founded investment firm Davis & Rock with the late Tommy Davis. Rock became a driving force in the emergence of Silicon Valley and was one of America's first tech venture capitalists. His early investment in Intel in 1968 made him a billionaire, though he's not on the Forbes billionaire list these days. Rock played a key role in launching Fairchild Semiconductor, Teledyne and Apple and other big names in technology. Toni Rembe Rock is a retired partner of the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and has demonstrated interested in legal aid organizations.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: The Rocks’ education grantmaking supports both higher education and K-12 initiatives. In 2006, a $10 million grant from the couple went to Stanford Law School to create the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. At that time, Rock said, "Innovation and new ventures fuel the global economy but the spark comes from investment. Investment is about trust. It's about knowing that the people investors entrust with their money are running ethical, transparent and effective businesses. Stanford Law School has a demonstrated track record of leadership in the field of corporate governance. We are pleased to support their efforts." The couple also gave $25 million to establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School. Other higher education grantees include Syracuse University and the University of Washington Law School — which is home to the Toni Rembe Dean & Professor of Law.
The Rocks’ K-12 funding has focused on education reform in both public and charter schools. The couple ranks among top level donors to Teach for America, where Arthur is a lifetime director on the National Board. Arthur is also co-founder and president emeritus of the BASIC Fund (Bay Area Scholarships for Inner-City Children), which provides scholarships to inner-city children in the Bay Area -- the couple continues to support the BASIC Fund through their foundation. Other recent grantees in the K-12 arena include the Alliance for College Ready Public Schools, the New School of San Francisco, the Noble Network of Charter Schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco.
ARTS & CULTURE: The Rocks have ramped up their arts and culture giving over the past several years, prioritizing organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants have gone to the San Francisco Ballet, the Magic Theatre, Northern California Public Broadcasting, the Gritty City Repertory Youth Theatre, the Museum of the African Diaspora and the American Conservatory Theatre. Outside of the Bay Area, the couple has given to New York’s Theatre Communications Group.
LEGAL RIGHTS: Toni Rembe Rock is a retired partner in the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and was one of the first women to be named partner at a major law firm in California. In addition to her philanthropy through the Rock Foundation, she has been president of the van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation since the 1990s. The van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation promotes "social justice in Northern California by means of legal services and advocacy." A component of the Rock Foundation's grantmaking also involves these issues and past grants have supported organizations such as the American Bar Foundation, Anti-Defamation League, American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, Bay Area Legal Aid, East Bay Community Law Center, Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Legal Services for Children. Support has also supported human services organizations such as Salvation Army.
SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY: Grants supported public radio station KQED, as well as to environmental organizations such as San Francisco Parks Alliance. The couple has also funded the UCSF Mission Bay Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Hall.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the Rock Foundation to continue to prioritize education and arts and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area.
CONTACT:
The Rock Foundation
1 Maritime Plz., Ste. 1220
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 981-3921
