Commonwealth Fund - Founding and Early Program History

Founding and Early Program History

The Commonwealth Fund, one of the first foundations to be established by a woman, was founded in 1918 with an endowment of almost $10 million by Anna M. Harkness. The widow of Stephen V. Harkness, a principal investor in Standard Oil, Mrs. Harkness wanted to “do something for the welfare of mankind.” Anna’s son, Edward Stephen Harkness, became the Commonwealth Fund’s first president and hired a staff of people to help him build the foundation. Edward Harkness possessed a "passionate commitment to social reform" and was "determined to improve health and health services for Americans." Through additional gifts and bequests between 1918 and 1959, the Harkness family's total contribution to the Fund's endowment amounted to more than $53 million. Today, the Commonwealth Fund’s endowment stands at almost $700 million.

According to the Rockefeller Archive Center, The Commonwealth Fund’s “early grants supported a variety of programs while generally promoting welfare, especially child welfare.” Over the years, it has given support to medical schools and to the building of hospitals and clinics. In New York City, the Commonwealth Fund was a major contributor to the building of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University in 1922. By the mid-1920s the chief interest of the foundation had become public health, including mental hygiene, community health, rural hospitals, medical research, and medical education. Other grant areas included war relief, educational and legal research, and international medical fellowships.

In 1925, the Commonwealth Fund launched its international program of fellowships called The Commonwealth Fund Fellowships (now the Harkness Fellowships). Until the 1990s, the fellowship was open to scholars of all academic disciplines, and included many who went on to excel in science, the arts and business.

From the late 1920s through the 1940s, the Commonwealth Fund supported the construction of rural hospitals, paving the way for the Hill-Burton Act in 1946. Following World War II, the foundation supported the development of new medical schools in the United States in an effort to address doctor shortages and meet the needs of communities lacking health care services. Other achievements include the Rochester Regional Hospital Council and the development of the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant professions.

Dr. Georgios Papanikolaou’s Commonwealth Fund-supported research in the 1940s pioneered the Pap test as the basic technique for detecting cervical cancer. Refinement of cardiac catheterization into routine treatment resulted in a 1956 Nobel Prize for the Fund-supported researchers.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the organization focused on developing urban health care systems, and in the late 1970s, worked to improve medical school curricula. In the 1980s, the Commonwealth Fund played a prominent role in the development of the patient-centered care movement and helped draw attention to the needs of older Americans.

While The Commonwealth Fund does not typically accept donations, several gifts to the foundation have increased the endowment and expanded the scope of the Commonwealth Fund’s projects and programs:

In 1986, Jean and Harvey Picker merged $15 million in assets of the James Picker Foundation with those of The Commonwealth Fund.
In 1996, The Commonwealth Fund received $1.7 million from the Health Services Improvement Fund with a mandate to use the funds to improve health care coverage, access, and quality in the New York City greater metropolitan region.
In 1999, Floriana Hogan left $100,000 to the Fund, and Frances Cooke Macgregor contributed $3.1 million to the endowment in 2002.

Notable Early Grantees and Years Funded
American Board of Pediatrics, 1972–1975 American Red Cross, (Emergency Relief) 1919–1920, 1922, 1928 1937, 1955, 1960 American Museum of Natural History, 1969–1970, 1979–1983 Boy Scouts of America, 1919, 1921, 1928 Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1974–1987 Columbia University, 1920–1982, 1979–1991 Food Packages for Austria, 1946–1950 Food Packages for England, 1947–1948 Guttmacher Institute, 1977–1983 Harkness Community and Medical Center, 1967–1975 Harvard University, 1920–1987 International Women's Health Coalition, 1984–1986 Johns Hopkins University, 1919–1984, 1977–1981 Juilliard School, 1972–1981 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 1957–1966 Museum of the City of New York, 1971–1974 New York Botanical Garden, 1946–1958, 1968–1969, 1975–1980 Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc., 1967–1980, 1982–1986 Royal Society of Medicine, 1969–1981 University of Saint Andrews, 1960–1961 The Urban Institute, 1981–1986 Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, 1981–1988 War Relief and Related Purposes, 1939–1949 Yale University, 1921–1982

Notable Early Grantees and Years Funded

American Board of Pediatrics, 1972–1975
American Red Cross, (Emergency Relief) 1919–1920, 1922, 1928 1937, 1955, 1960
American Museum of Natural History, 1969–1970, 1979–1983
Boy Scouts of America, 1919, 1921, 1928
Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1974–1987
Columbia University, 1920–1982, 1979–1991
Food Packages for Austria, 1946–1950
Food Packages for England, 1947–1948
Guttmacher Institute, 1977–1983
Harkness Community and Medical Center, 1967–1975
Harvard University, 1920–1987
International Women's Health Coalition, 1984–1986
Johns Hopkins University, 1919–1984, 1977–1981
Juilliard School, 1972–1981
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 1957–1966
Museum of the City of New York, 1971–1974
New York Botanical Garden, 1946–1958, 1968–1969, 1975–1980
Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc., 1967–1980, 1982–1986
Royal Society of Medicine, 1969–1981
University of Saint Andrews, 1960–1961
The Urban Institute, 1981–1986
Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, 1981–1988
War Relief and Related Purposes, 1939–1949
Yale University, 1921–1982

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