Organized as a privately supported citizen's board, the Commission came into being through the efforts of John D. Rockefeller III, Wilbur D. Mills, George P. Shultz, and William E. Simon.
An advisory panel of more than 100 specialists in the disciplines of economics, sociology, and law, together with advocates from the non-profit sector, directed the Commission's research focus.
In the span of two years, the Commission directed more than 86 research projects concerning philanthropy and the role of the private nonprofit sector in the United States.
Conducted in specific areas such as arts and culture, health, education, taxation and regulation, foreign practices, and foundations in general, the studies provided the background information necessary to make sound decisions about the role of philanthropy in both the public and private sectors.
After two years of holding meeting sessions and conducting research projects, the Commission issued its findings in its final report, Giving in America: Toward a Stronger Voluntary Sector, and closed its work in 1975.