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The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions around the world. We were founded to advance human welfare, and all of our work flows from this fundamental commitment.

Mission

Our goals for more than half a century have been to:

• Strengthen democratic values
• Reduce poverty and injustice
• Promote international cooperation
• Advance human achievement

Quick Facts

• Chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford
• More than $15.6 billion distributed worldwide
• Fiscal year 2008 assets valued at $11 billion
• Annually, some 40,000 proposals received, 2,000 grants made

For more than 70 years, the Ford Foundation has been delivering on a promise to improve lives and create opportunity. Learn more about the history of our work.

Our Approach to Grant Making

A fundamental challenge facing every society is to create political, economic and social systems that promote peace, human welfare and the sustainability of the environment on which life depends.

We believe that finding solutions to the world's most complex problems requires engaging the people and the communities closest to them, including men and women from diverse backgrounds and all levels of society.

We work mainly by making grants or loans that build knowledge and strengthen organizations and networks. These methods of problem-solving reflect our mission and the diverse ways we support grantees. They also describe a model of philanthropy that the foundation has pursued for more than 70 years: To be a long-term and flexible partner with innovative leaders of thought and action.

We make grants from our New York headquarters and our regional offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Russia.

Core Issues

Our programs will address eight significant social justice issues. These issues are grounded in our mission and history and will be familiar to our partners.

Access to Education

Education is increasingly essential for individual well-being and national prosperity. Our work seeks to provide young people with the education necessary to succeed in the workforce and contribute as citizens. We do this by supporting a range of efforts to ensure that all students have access to high-quality schooling.

Democratic and Accountable Government

An active, knowledgeable citizenry is essential to strengthening democratic practice and securing social justice. We support efforts that help people become participants in the decisions that have an impact on their lives. We do this primarily by supporting robust and inclusive civic organizations that bring diverse people together and give them a voice in the democratic process.

Economic Fairness and Opportunity

Our efforts seek ways to make markets and public systems and policies work better for low-income families and help them access the opportunities and tools they need to climb out of poverty and achieve economic security. We do this by providing the resources necessary to help low-income people expand their livelihood options, get and keep good jobs, obtain quality financial services, increase their access to opportunities in metropolitan regions and benefit from improved social protection systems.

Freedom of Expression

Free expression is central to all other freedoms. As change in our communities becomes more constant and as ideas, technologies and people are moving more rapidly within and among countries, our work promotes the right of all people to connect more deeply with others and find meaningful ways to participate. We do this by investing in creative and intellectual capital.

Human Rights

Fundamental human rights are required for people to achieve their full potential and contribute to society. We support efforts to help vulnerable populations gain access to the social, political and cultural institutions that govern their rights. We do this by strengthening the organizations and mechanisms that enforce human rights and by monitoring the policies and practices of institutions that affect the well-being of individual citizens.

Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

We support the development of natural resource policies and programs that give poor communities more control over these resources and a stronger voice in decision making on land use and development.

Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights

In some societies around the world, discussion of human sexuality and reproductive health and rights has often been considered too sensitive or too personal for serious exploration. At the same time, governments implement laws and programs that have direct or unanticipated impacts on these basic human freedoms, with little or no input from those most affected. As a result, healthy development and the exercise of personal decision making in these areas have often been compromised. Our work is directed toward strengthening sexual and reproductive health rights and encouraging comprehensive sexuality education and evidence-based public discourse on sexuality.

Social Justice Philanthropy

Despite philanthropy's potential to address barriers to opportunity and fairness, only 11 percent of funders in the United States support work on social justice and globally the figure is considerably lower. Lasting social change requires mobilizing significant resources worldwide to address economic, political and social disparities that prevent people from realizing their full potential. We are committed to increasing the amount and effectiveness of philanthropic resources devoted to supporting work aimed at changing unjust structures and unfair practices.

About Our Support

Each year the Ford Foundation receives about 44,000 proposals and makes some 2,000 grants. Types of support include grants, recoverable grants, loans and loan guarantees. Requests range from a few thousand to millions of dollars and are accepted in categories such as project planning and support; general support; and endowments. Grant applications are reviewed at our New York headquarters and in our regional offices. Please check the locations of our regional offices to determine if we operate in your country of interest.

Grants

A grant is a commitment by the foundation to make payments to an organization or an individual over a set period of time to further one of the interest areas in which we work. The foundation gives the grantee autonomy over management of the funds, but all grantees must sign a letter agreeing to abide by the terms and conditions of the grant. Grants administrators ensure that the grant-making process—from preparation of the grant recommendation to the closing of the file—conforms to the foundation's procedures and standards. Here are the types of grants we make:

• General/core support
• Project
• Planning
• Competition
• Matching
• Recoverable
• Individual
• Endowment
• Foundation-administered project

Program-Related Investments (PRIs)

These investments are usually loans made at below-market interest rates. PRIs can be made to both nonprofit and for-profit businesses as long as the money is used to further a charitable purpose. PRIs are helpful to businesses and social enterprises whose access to the market banking system is limited because of a lack of credit history or uncertainty about the eventual success of a project. When using a PRI, a program officer can also grant loan guarantees, equity investments or deposits in banks to help grantee organizations gain access to capital. Sometimes a grant can be coupled to a PRI to provide technical assistance or other support to guarantee the success of a PRI.

The Ford Foundation pioneered the use of PRIs in 1968. By 2007, we had committed $400 million for social investments, and thousands of donors now use PRIs to advance philanthropic work. PRI support is generally restricted to existing grantees of the foundation.