Ford Foundation

Ford Foundation philanthropic institution, established (1936) in Michigan by Henry Ford and his son, Edsel, for the general purpose of advancing human welfare. Until 1950 the foundation was involved in local philanthropic activities, mainly aiding the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and the Edison Institute of Dearborn. Since 1950, after receiving the bulk of the estates of Henry Ford, his wife, and Edsel, the foundation has engaged in broad philanthropic work from its New York City headquarters. It is one of the largest philanthropic trusts in the world. By 1998 it had assets of about $9.5 billion, and disbursed approximately $517 million in grants. The foundation's stated goals are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. The Ford Foundation's involvement in controversial programs, such as its establishment (1951) of the civil rights and civil liberties oriented Fund for the Republic, drew criticism from conservatives and led to a congressional investigation. In attempting to maintain flexibility in its operations, the foundation concentrates on aiding efforts for the initial attack on problems, leaving the follow-up action to other institutions.

Bibliography: See D. Macdonald, The Ford Foundation (1956 repr. 1988); study by R. Magat (1979).

Ford Foundation, created (1936) by Henry Ford and his son Edsel, after their deaths became the world's largest philanthropic endowment, with assets of over $6 billion. The diverse programs it has supported are mostly in the fields of world law and peace, advancement of basic democratic principles, improvement of the world's economic conditions, strengthening of education, and scientific study of forces affecting humanity.

Ford Foundation. Through most of its modern history beginning in 1950, the Ford Foundation was the nation's largest philanthropic foundation. In 1999, its assets, $11.4 billion, were surpassed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($17.1 billion) and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation ($13.0 billion). In 1998 the Ford Foundation made grants totaling $453.4 million, aimed at strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation, and advancing human achievement.

The foundation was established in 1936, in part to save the Ford family from having to sell the Ford Motor Company to pay taxes on the estates of Henry Ford and his son Edsel. It was transformed from a small Michigan philanthropy in 1950 when it inherited 88 percent of the company's stock from their estates. Paul G. Hoffman, former head of the Marshall Plan, was president from 1951 to 1953. By 1976 the foundation no longer held Ford company stock and no family members remained on the Board of Trustees. The greatly enlarged foundation spun off the Fund for the Advancement of Education, the Fund for Adult Education (a pioneer in educational television), and the controversial Fund for the Republic. It was a leader in promoting public interest law, civil rights, ballet and repertory theater, Third World agricultural development, and environmental protection.

The foundation's New York headquarters, a twelve‐story structure near the United Nations completed in 1967, has been designated a historical landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The foundation also has fourteen offices in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Russia. Susan V. Berresford, who joined the foundation in 1970 as a program assistant, became its seventh president in 1996, succeeding Franklin A. Thomas, who had held the post for seventeen years.
See also Philanthropy and Philanthropic Foundations.

Bibliography

Richard Magat , The Ford Foundation at Work: Philanthropic Choices, Methods, and Styles, Plenum Publishing 1979.
Francis X. Sutton , The Ford Foundation: The Early Years, Daedalus 116, no. 1 (Winter 1987): 41–91.

Richard Magat