Starting in July, 100 Resilient Cities will no longer have dedicated staff. Its work, which has been supported by $164 million from Rockefeller in six years of existence, will be directed to other “pathways,” according to a statement by 100 Resilient Cities President Michael Berkowitz. A new resilience office within the Rockefeller Foundation will be tasked in part with honoring existing commitments to member cities; some $12 million in funding will  provide severance and job-placement assistance to the roughly 85 employees of 100 Resilient Cities. 

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Why 100 Resilient Cities is winding down now isn’t completely clear. Some news reports have attributed the move to a new set of priorities from the Rockefeller Foundation’s president, Raj Shah, who replaced Judith Rodin in 2017. Herrick insisted that Rockefeller is continuing its commitment to urban resilience, and said that the program’s “transition” was a sign that the organization “had reached a certain level of accomplishment.” And the program was never designed to last indefinitely. But sources close to the foundation dispute that the program had fulfilled its mission, indicating that the foundation had promised another large injection of funding earlier this year.

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