Ford Foundation

Overview: The Ford Foundation was created in 1936 through gifts and bequests of Ford Motor Company stock from Henry Ford and his son Edsel, although it no longer owns stock in the company. Its history, the extent of its programs, its commitment to empowerment and social justice, its ability to identify high-potential trends and organizations, its leadership on major domestic and international issues, and its development of new foundation leaders are the primary reasons why the Ford Foundation is one of the best known in the world.

During the recent financial crisis the Foundation lost almost 1/3 of its assets. As a result it closed offices in Vietnam and Russia, and is increasing the percentage of its endowment that it pays out to continue to support its causes. Additionally, while the Ford Foundation still works within the same mission, its specific program areas have been tweaked. See the eight new giving areas below.

Mission Statement: The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. The Foundation’s goals are to: Strengthen democratic values, Reduce poverty and injustice, Promote international cooperation, and Advance human achievement.

1.Human Rights

Fulfilling the rights that belong to all people by virtue of their being human depends upon an engaged populace and public officials and institutions committed to the inherent dignity and worth of every person. Our work supports efforts to secure equal rights and opportunity for all.

2.Democratic and Accountable Government

Effective public institutions are essential for societies to be safe, free and prosperous. Our work explores ways to make the process of governing more transparent, accountable and inclusive—and more effective in achieving fairness and equity.

3.Access to Education

Addressing economic, social and political inequality requires measures that account for the critical role of education in society. Our work supports education reform that improves the life chances of young people from marginalized groups by expanding access, improving quality and boosting student outcomes.

4.Economic Fairness and Opportunity

Expanding opportunities and providing fair and equitable ways for all people to earn a decent living and build economic resources is essential to creating prosperous societies. Our work helps low-income people build assets and gain economic security.


5.Metropolitan Opprotunity

The program works to develop an integrated approach to housing, land use and environmental planning, public transportation, and workforce opportunity by supporting efforts across the United States to connect local residents with opportunities in the broader metropolitan economy. The program has three initiatives: Expanding Access to Quality Housing, Promoting Metropolitan Land-Use Innovation, and Connecting People to Opportunity.

6.Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

Many of the world's poorest families rely on natural resources—forests, grasslands and other natural assets—for their basic livelihoods, yet they have limited rights over these resources. We believe that promoting greater access among the poor to natural resources is critical to achieving two interrelated goals: reducing global poverty and sustaining the quality of our environment.

7.Freedom of Expression

The free flow of information and ideas is essential to healthy societies. Our work offers space for creative expression, helps all people access opportunities for expression and supports efforts to ensure that media systems and policies are open and equitable.


8.Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights

Sexuality and the right to reproductive health are fundamental to the human experience. We support those working to ensure that all women and men are able to exercise these rights free from coercion and violence and that young people have access to the information and services they need.

9.Social Justice Philanthropy

By virtue of its independence, philanthropy is uniquely positioned to advance social change by seeding and supporting the work of civil society organizations that address complex and enduring problems. Our work focuses on strengthening the role and effectiveness of philanthropy around the world on issues of fairness, equity and justice.

The Ford Foundation's Unique Portfolio System

Organizationally, the Foundation maintains its portfolio system -- allowing its staff members in broad interest areas great latitude to develop long-term relationships with selected nonprofit organizations; and then allowing them to work proactively with these organizations to develop funding proposal which best meet the needs of the Foundation, the organization, and the community to be served.

The portfolio system requires much more time and energy than most foundation procedures, but the results are much better proposals and much more influence over the field of interest.

Successful Ford grantees find and develop long-term relationships with their Ford program officers and take the time to create an in-depth plan that suits the needs of the Foundation (or at least the program officer) and their organization.

• Advocacy:
• Africa:
• Agriculture:
• Arts & Culture:
• Arts & Culture, Film & Video:
• Childcare:
• Civil Rights General:
• Civil Society:
• Community Development:
• Crime, Justice & Public Safety:
• Crime/violence prevention:
• Economic Development:
• Economic Justice:
• Education:
• Education, K-12:
• Education, Literacy & Reading:
• Employment:
• Employment, Workforce Development:
• Environment:
• Family Services, Parenting:
• Government/Public Administration:
• Health, Public Health:
• Housing/Shelter, Affordable Housing:
• Human Rights:
• Immigrants/refugees:
• International Affairs, Development:
• International Affairs, Human Rights:
• Latin America:
• Law & Justice:
• Libraries:
• Libraries, specialty or academic:
• Media/Communications:
• Minorities/immigrants, centers/services:
• Museums:
• Nonprofit management:
• Peace & Justice:
• Performing Arts:
• Philanthropy & Voluntarism:
• Poverty:
• Public Policy:
• Public Policy, Health and Social Programs:
• Religion:
• Reproductive Health, Sexual Health:
• Reproductive Health, Sexuality Education:
• Rural Community Development:
• Women & Girls:
• Women & Minority Business Development & Opportunities:
• Youth:

Sample Grants
$ 200,000 to A Territory Resource , Seattle , WA
$ 125,000 to Action Alliance for Virginia's Children & Youth , Richmond , VA Increase Virginia's commitment to working poor families and to engage parents in shaping policies and programs responsive to their needs
$ 54,000 to Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society , Washington , DC
$ 30,000 to Alliance for Nuclear Acountability , Seattle , WA
$ 100,000 to Alliance for Regional Stewardship , Denver , CO
$ 75,000 to Alliance for the Revitalization of Camden City , Camden , NJ
$ 300,000 to Amazon Alliance for Indigenous & Traditional Peoples of the Amazon Basin , Washington , DC
$ 160,000 to American Composers Forum , St. Paul , MN
$ 35,000 to American Council of Learned Societies , New York , NY
$ 100,000 to American Friends Service Committee , Philadelphia , PA
$ 50,000 to American Friends of the Medem Library , New York , NY To help Medem Library in Paris to develop collection on Bund movement (spread of Nazi ideas in Europe in the 1930s), interwar Polish-Yiddish periodicals, and memorial books
$ 225,000 to American Indian Institute , Bozeman , MT
$ 100,000 to American Institute of Indian Studies , Chicago , IL To complete digitization of library holdings and publication of Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture
$ 80,000 to American Library Association , Washington , DC
$ 100,000 to Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) , Dearborn , MI
$ 150,000 to Ashoka: Innovators for the Public , Arlington , VA
$ 500,000 to Associated Press Managing Editors Association , McLean , VA
$ 140,000 to Association on American Indian Affairs , Sisseton , SD For work in Albuquerque, NM to build Sacred Lands Protection Coalition, undertake legal and advocacy work as to state agency management and preservation of sacred places and ensure Native Americans access to sacred sites
$ 150,000 to BBB Wise Giving Alliance , Arlington , VA
$ 200,000 to Bangladesh Freedom Foundation , DhakaBangladesh
$ 200,000 to Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies , DhakaBangladesh For regional collaborative research initiative on Human Security in South Asia: Discourse, Practice and Policy Proposition
$ 100,000 to Brooklyn Public Library , New York , NY
$ 20,300 to Brown University , Providence , RI For collaboration to help preserve and expand archival heritage of civil rights movement and develop new media to make this history more accessible
$ 100,000 to Camden Churches Organized for People , Camden , NJ
$ 100,000 to Catholic Relief Services , Baltimore , MD
$ 250,000 to Center for Fathers, Families and Work Force Development , Baltimore , MD 50/50 Parenting Demonstration Project, counseling model for fragile families
$ 15,305 to Center for Health & Gender Equity (CHANGE) , Takoma Park , MD
$ 300,000 to Center for International Theatre Development , Baltimore , MD
$ 300,000 to Center for National Independence in Politics (CNIP) , Philipsburg , MT
$ 20,000 to Center for the Creative Community , Keswick , VA
$ 300,000 to Centre for Policy Dialogue , DhakaBangladesh For core support to build interstate cooperation in South Asia
$ 40,000 to China Business Forum , Washington , DC Small Library Of World Trade Organization And International Trade Law Materials At Department Of Treaties And Laws Of Chinese Ministry Of Foreign Trade And Economic
$ 100,000 to Colorado Children's Campaign , Denver , CO
$ 50,000 to Colored Girl Productions , Rydal , PA
$ 100,000 to Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA) , Glassboro , NJ
$ 100,000 to Communities Committee , Columbia Falls , MT
$ 50,000 to Community Loan Technologies , Minneapolis , MN
$ 50,000 to Concerned Black Clergy of the City of Camden , Camden , NJ
$ 180,000 to Creative Communications , Boise , ID
$ 708,000 to Delaware Valley Community Reinvestment Fund , Philadelphia , PA
$ 100,000 to Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice , Detroit , MI
$ 140,000 to Effective Communities Project , Minneapolis , MN
$ 48,000 to Family Promise , Summit , NJ
$ 120,000 to Fannie Lou Hamer Project , Kalamazoo , MI
$ 100,000 to Feminist Majority Foundation , Arlington , VA
$ 150,000 to First Nations Oweesta Corporation , Fredericksburg , VA For net asset grant for loan fund to provide loans to Native American institutions engaged in financing housing, small business and land acquisition
$ 35,000 to First Peoples Fund , Rapid City , SD To plan and host meeting of intermediaries and artists participating in foundations Individual Artists initiative
$ 454,000 to Focus: Hope , Detroit , MI
$ 500,000 to FutureWorks Company , Belmont , MA
$ 100,000 to Gaston and Porter Health Improvement Center , Potomac , MD To develop, implement and test curriculum providing information to help African-American women make lifestyle changes to improve their health and life prospects
$ 50,000 to Gaza Library Project , LondonEngland
$ 140,400 to Ghana Book Trust , AccraGhana
$ 100,000 to Grist Magazine , Seattle , WA
$ 200,000 to Hampshire College , Amherst , MA For core support for Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program for reproductive rights training, education, organizing, outreach and movement-building work with young women and men across country
$ 60,000 to Hands Along the Nile Development Services (HANDS) , Arlington , VA
$ 100,000 to Housing Partnership Network , Boston , MA
$ 375,000 to Idaho Educational Public Broadcasting Foundation , Boise , ID
$ 105,000 to Immigrant Workers Citizenship Projet , Las Vegas , NV
$ 30,000 to Independent Colleges of Indiana , Indianapolis , IN
$ 350,000 to Indian Law Resource Center , Helena , MT
$ 200,000 to Indiana Humanities Council , Indianapolis , IN To organize National Summit on the State of Public Humanities in the United States
$ 75,000 to Indigenous Environmental Network , Bemidji , MN
$ 75,000 to Ingrid Washinawatok El-Issa Flying Eagle Woman Fund for Peace , New York , NY To plan creation of archive and research center documenting struggles of Native Americans in the U.S. to regain their rights and preserve their cultures and lands
$ 200,000 to Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development , Takoma Park , MD
$ 91,000 to Innovative Housing Institute , Baltimore , MD
$ 110,000 to Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy , Minneapolis , MN
$ 50,000 to Institute for Research on Unlimited Love , Cleveland , OH
$ 120,000 to International Association for Feminist Economics , Lewisburg , PA
$ 5,000 to Ivy Tech State College-Wabash Valley , Terre Haute , IN
$ 1,500,000 to Japanese American National Museum , CA
$ 75,000 to Jobs for the Future , Boston , MA
$ 50,000 to Juvenile Resource Center , Camden , NJ
$ 250,000 to Kensington Welfare Rights Union , Philadelphia , PA
$ 280,000 to KnowledgeWorks Foundation , Cincinnatie , OH
$ 400,000 to Lakota Fund , Kyle , SD To strengthen management and governance, develop more effective lending programs and create new programs to enhance economic opportunities on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
$ 460,000 to Learning Communities Network , Cleveland , OH
$ 28,000 to Library of Congress , Washington , DC
$ 300,000 to Lower East Side Tenement Museum , New York , NY
$ 86,000 to Makah Tribal Council , Neah Bay , WA
$ 125,000 to Managing Capacity Building for Results , Adelphi , MD
$ 200,000 to Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations , Baltimore , MD
$ 75,000 to Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum , Chicago , IL
$ 100,000 to Michigan League for Human Services , Lansing , MI
$ 1,750,000 to Mint Museum of Art , Charlotte , NC
$ 200,000 to Ms. Foundation for Women , New York , NY
$ 140,000 to Mubarak Public Library , Giza , Egypt
$ 100,000 to National Alliance for Choice in Giving , Portland , ME
$ 55,000 to National Association of Audio-Visual Archives , MoscowRussia
$ 200,000 to National Civic League , Denver , CO
$ 100,000 to National Community Capital Association , Philadelphia , PA
$ 200,000 to National Council of Negro Women , Washington , DC General support to develop leadership among African-American women, champion women's rights & civil rights, strengthen the African-American family & empower African American & other women of color
$ 150,000 to National Forest Foundation , Missoula , MT
$ 40,500 to National Library of Vietnam , HanoiVietnam
$ 53,586 to National Network of Forest Practitioners , Providence , RI
$ 200,000 to National Security Archive Fund , Washington , DC
$ 200,000 to National Video Resources , New York , NY
$ 230,000 to Native Action , Lame Deer , MT
$ 215,000 to Native American Community Board , Lake Andes , SD For core support for Native American Womens Health Education Resource Center to pursue comprehensive indigenous womens reproductive health agenda
$ 230,000 to Native Arts Circle , Minneapolis , MN
$ 50,000 to Neighborhood Progress , Cleveland , OH
$ 250,000 to New Hampshire Community Loan Fund , Concord , NH
$ 50,000 to New Urban Learning , East Lansing , MI
$ 50,000 to New York Public Library , New York , NY
$ 192,000 to Oxfam America, Inc. , Boston , MA
$ 50,000 to Pay Rent, Build Credit , Annapolis , MD
$ 12,400 to Philanthropy Northwest , Seattle , WA
$ 38,325 to Phoenix Color Corporation , Hagerstown , MD To publish three-volume book entitled, The Microfinance Revolution: Sustainable Finance for the Poor
$ 440,000 to Physicians for Human Rights , Boston , MA
$ 200,000 to Research Libraries Group , Mountain View , CA
$ 200,000 to Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace , Yorba Linda , CA
$ 150,000 to Rural Action , Trimble , OH
$ 999,800 to Rural School & Community Trust , Washington , DC
$ 259,100 to Smith College , Northampton , MA For archival preservation of collected works of Gloria Steinem and for oral history project on feminism and related collection development
$ 250,000 to Social Science Research Council , New York , NY
$ 100,000 to Social and Economic Rights Action Center , Takoma Park , MD
$ 350,000 to Training Resources Group , Alexandria , VA
$ 150,000 to U.S. Foundation for the Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology (U.S. FIRST) , Manchester , NH
$ 100,000 to United Nations Children’s Fund
$ 100,000 to United Nations Commission for Africa/Ethiopia , New York , NY
$ 200,000 to United Nations Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean , New York , NY To evaluate existing regional financial arrangements and their potential role in international monetary system
$ 250,000 to United Nations Youth Fund , New York , NY
$ 40,000 to University of Idaho , Moscow , ID
$ 285,000 to University of Nevada at Las Vegas , Las Vegas , NV
$ 430,000 to University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT
$ 200,000 to Urban League of Baltimore , Baltimore , MD
$ 300,000 to Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights , CO
$ 100,000 to Virginia Organizing Project , Charlottesville , VA
$ 60,000 to Whites Residential and Family Services , Wabash , IN
$ 150,000 to Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development (WIIAD) , Arlington , VA
$ 30,000 to Women's Educational and Industrial Union , Boston , MA
$ 100,000 to Women's Leadership Fund , New York , NY
$ 150,000 to Women's Learning Partnership , Bethesda , MD
$ 100,000 to World Library Partnership , Durham , NC
$ 250,000 to YouthBuild USA , Somerville , MA

Application Procedures::
Before applying, make sure to review the Foundation's new giving focus areas. The foundation implemented these refocused lines of work in October 2009, the beginning of the foundation's 2010 fiscal year.

Grants and Program-Related Investments to Organizations

You may apply for a grant by visiting the Grants section of the Ford Foundation's website and submitting an online grant inquiry.

You will be asked to indicate the region where your work will be pursued. If your work benefits more than one geographic area outside the United States, you should apply for a global grant, which covers multiple regions. You will also be asked to provide basic information:

* Contact information for yourself and your organization
* Brief description of your organization
* List of those who would carry out the project
* Description of the purpose of the project and the issues/problems it is intended to address
* Estimated project budget and time frame

What Happens Next:
Every inquiry receives an automatic acknowledgment reply. If your submission falls within the general issue areas it will be numbered and a confirmation letter will be e-mailed to you. Each numbered inquiry is reviewed by the relevant program team. If your proposal work aligns with the foundation's priorities and budget limitations, a program officer will contact you to begin the process of developing a formal proposal.

As you develop a formal proposal, you will meet several times with the program officer to discuss the scope and budget of your proposed project. Then you will submit your formal proposal, and the foundation will do an administrative and legal review: it takes about three months from the time a formal proposal is submitted for a potential grant to be fully reviewed.

Funds are limited in relation to the large number of inquiries received. In a typical year, less than 1% of inquiries made to the Ford Foundation result in a grant.

Applications are considered throughout the year.

Grants Paid

2001 ($1,498,023,024 )

2002 ($529,000,000 )

2003 ($429,000,000 )

2004 ($520,632,190 )

2005 ($515,157,652 )

2006 ($580,680,000 )

2008 ($526,464,000 )

2009 ($476,641,075 )

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