The Boards represented in this series are the most important philanthropies that have been developed from the Rockefeller fortune: the Bureau of Social Hygiene; the China Medical Board of the Rockefeller Foundation and its successor, the China Medical Board, Inc.; the Davison Fund; the General Education Board; the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Rockefeller Foundation; the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now known as Rockefeller University); the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission; the Sealantic Fund; and the Spelman Fund of New York.

The Rockefeller Foundation maintained a vast collection of published pamphlets, academic papers, book manuscripts and program reports and summaries, or other booklets that reference the Foundation or members of the Rockefeller family or were created by RF leaders, employees, or grantees.

The Rockefeller Foundation Pamphlet Collection consists of 41 archival boxes and approximately 23 cu. ft. of records. The Rockefeller Foundation maintained a vast collection of published pamphlets, academic papers, book manuscripts, magazine articles, and other booklets that reference the Foundation or members of the Rockefeller family or were created by RF leaders, employees, or grantees. The pamphlets date from 1878 to 1988, with the majority containing dates between 1935 and 1975.

The bulk of this series is correspondence. Records also include minutes, evaluations, and supplementary material of a general nature about the Conflict in International Relations/International Relations program, as well as documentation of grants awarded and fellowship files. Many of the grant and fellowship files are enriched by supplementary material, which may be in the form of publications, papers, reports, agendas or minutes of conferences, books, or other printed material. The supplementary material often contains the fruit that has resulted from a grant or fellowship.