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The Commission on Foundations and Private Philanthropy was formed by John D. Rockefeller, III, in 1969, and chaired by Peter Peterson, to objectively investigate foundations and their role in society. The Peterson Commission, as it was known, was designed to be influenced by neither the government nor the foundations they investigated. An objective appraisal of foundation activities was necessary to give the Commission the credibility it needed to influence Congress' decisions on foundation activities. By researching the roles of foundations in society, the members hoped to construct policy recommendations that made foundations more accountable while allowing them to maintain their independence from outside interference. This collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, speeches, the House of Representatives and Senate Hearings on the Tax Reform Law, and the foundation research collected by the commission that includes annual reports, surveys, articles, and correspondence.