Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Crane, Robert, Levy-Church, Kenneth, and Rockit Fund
- Extent:
- 3 cubic feet (3 record cartons)
- Language:
- Materials are in English .
- Preferred citation:
Rockit Fund Records, 2005-2009, IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Incorporated as a 501(c)4 social welfare organization in 2006, the Rockit Fund was established "to promote social welfare by organizing and advocating for certain public policy changes that benefit all Americans including (1) providing equal justice to all people involved in the criminal justice system; (2) ensuring that the United States abides by and supports international treaties and covenants to which it is a party or should become a party; (3) ensuring a fair and equitable electoral system for all Americans." Rockit supported lobbying and related activities, including direct lobbying and grasssroots campaigns on legislative issues. Robert Crane served as CEO, and directors included Susan Frunzi, Gara LaMarche of Atlantic Philanthropies, and Kenneth Levy-Church. Rockit was closely connected with the JEHT Foundation, sharing Robert Crane as CEO and Kenneth Levy-Church as director.
The arrest of Bernie Madoff for securities fraud on December 15, 2008 forced both the JEHT Foundation and the Rockit Fund to cease operations, as most of their capital had been invested with Madoff.
- Scope and Content:
The Rockit Fund records include primarily board meeting minutes and grant and program files. The collection is organized into five series: Board Meetings, Grant Files, Exploratory Projects, Consultants, and Right to Vote Project files.
The Exploratory Projects series includes the research of consultants and referrals from the JEHT Foundation; the Consultants series includes contracts, correspondence, and some project-related research; the Right to Vote Project files include feasibility studies, correspondence, grants, and other materials related to the push to allow ex-convicts the right to voite. The Board Meetings series is organized chronologically, while all of the others are arranged alphabetically.
- Acquisition information:
- Presented by the Rockit Fund in 2009. A2009/10-004.
- Rules or conventions:
- DACS-Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- General note:
Rights Statement: The text of this webpage is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
All restrictions expired in 2014. This collection is now open to the public without restriction.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright material.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Rockit Fund Records, 2005-2009, IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
- CAMPUS:
- IUPUI
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
University Library755 West Michigan StreetRoom 0133Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
- CAMPUS:
- IUPUI
- CONTACT:
-
speccoll@iupui.edu