Bellagio Center Residency Program

‍This opportunity is intended for leaders with a proven track record of accomplishment and influence in their field, and for whom a Bellagio residency will accelerate progress on an important project.  

Strong applicants will be forward-looking with a history of advancing breakthrough ideas or actions. They should be curious, collegial, and collaborative—open to giving and receiving feedback from fellow residents.  

We recommend reviewing the residency program Expression of Interest and application before you take the pre-application questionnaire to familiarize yourself with the questions and better understand what is required of applicants.

For additional information, see the Application Rules & Guidelines and the Evaluation Rubric.

Eligibility criteria are set forth in Section 2.A of the Residency Program Terms & Conditions. They include that officials of the United States government as defined by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, individuals who have had a residency at the Bellagio Center within the last five years, individuals who have had two prior residencies at the Bellagio Center, and related parties of The Rockefeller Foundation are not eligible to apply.  

Individuals who have applied in the past but were not selected for a residency may apply again. For more information on eligibility, please see the Application Rules & Guidelines and Residency Program Terms & Conditions.

Officials of the United States government are not eligible for a residency. Former employees of the United States government may be eligible, subject to review by the Rockefeller Foundation's legal team. Non-U.S. citizens employed by a foreign government may be eligible, subject to review by the Rockefeller Foundation’s legal team.  

All residency projects must satisfy the requirements for charitability set by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which include such things as provision of relief to the poor, advancement of education or science, preservation of the natural environment, or promotion of social welfare.

Guidance around charitable purpose is provided in Section 4 of Application Rules & Guidelines and on the Residency Program Terms & Conditions. When presenting your project, please be sure to clearly articulate your project’s charitable purpose, including who will benefit from the project and how that benefit will be accomplished through your work.  

Depending on your responses to the pre-application questionnaire, you may receive a results screen with an invitation to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the residency. Please save the results screen at the end of the questionnaire for reference (print to PDF) and also bookmark the URL you receive.

We recommend reviewing the residency program Expression of Interest and application before you take the pre-application questionnaire to fully understand what is required of those who are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest, and those who are invited to submit a full application.

For all EOI-related questions, please email bellagioapplicant@rockfound.org and note: Access to the Expression of Interest form should not be shared with other potential applicants – only those who are deemed eligible through the pre-application questionnaire are allowed to complete the EOI.

If you do not receive an invitation to submit an EOI, your responses indicated you are not a good fit for the program at this time.  

Expressions of Interest (EOI) will be evaluated according to the following four core criteria: (1) Expertise and Influence, (2) Clarity, (3) Thematic and Strategic Alignment with The Rockefeller Foundation, (4) Impact.

The Rockefeller Foundation will review EOIs and a selection of candidates will be invited to submit a full application. Applications will undergo an administrative review for completeness and compliance with the application requirements. Applications that pass administrative review will move to our Expert Panel for evaluation.  

We strongly recommend reviewing the Evaluation Rubric before you apply. The Expert Panel will evaluate your application on the following criteria: (1) Impact; (2) Clarity; (3) Expertise; and (4) Influence.

Based on the results of the expert panel review, a subset of applicants will be invited to interview with The Rockefeller Foundation staff and will be given instructions on how to collect references from the two individuals identified in their application. The expert panel will conduct their work over the summer and we anticipate sending interview requests in September 2025. Interviews will be conducted through a video conference call.

All applicants will receive an update on the status of their application in the fall. Applicants who are selected for a residency will be notified before the end of the year.

Please review the Timeline for more information.