Ford Foundation

Home > ... > Social Sciences and the Law > Economics, Business, and Labor > Private Foundations > ...

Ford Foundation

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

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).

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-FordFoun" title="Facts and information about Ford Foundation">Ford Foundation</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Ford Foundation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Ford Foundation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-FordFoun.html

"Ford Foundation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-FordFoun.html

Learn more about citation styles

Ford Foundation

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Literature 1995, originally published by Oxford University Press 1995. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

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.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O123-FordFoundation" title="Facts and information about Ford Foundation">Ford Foundation</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-FordFoundation.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-FordFoundation.html

Learn more about citation styles

Ford Foundation

The Oxford Companion to United States History | 2001 | | © The Oxford Companion to United States History 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

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

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O119-FordFoundation" title="Facts and information about Ford Foundation">Ford Foundation</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

Paul S. Boyer. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Paul S. Boyer. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-FordFoundation.html

Paul S. Boyer. "Ford Foundation." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-FordFoundation.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Analysis: Battle over anti-terrorism language in Rockefeller and Ford Foundations' grant agreements
Transcript from: NPR Weekend Edition - Sunday; 6/13/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...Rockefeller and Ford Foundations...agreements. The foundations say they're...case of the Ford Foundation, these 20 words...try to pressure foundations to cut off grants. BROOKS: The Ford Foundation added the new...with the major foundations. I think that...the ...
KnowledgeWorks and Ford Foundations Bringing Together Statewide Leaders to Focus on Educational Needs of 1.2 Million Ohio Workers.
PR Newswire; 9/9/2003; 700+ words ; ...Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Today KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Ford Foundation announce the formation of the Ohio Bridges to Opportunity...which is funded with a $280 thousand grant from Ford Foundation, and nearly $750,000 in grants and...
Nagin, Ford Foundations Help ADL Bring Anti-Bias Training Only a Mouse-Click Away
Magazine article from: ADL on the Frontline; 4/1/2006; ; 492 words ; With grants from the Ford Foundation and the Sylvia and Leon P. Nagin Family Foundation, ADL is breaking new ground in online learning...Online A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute. "The Ford Foundation planted the seeds," said National...
Ford Foundation President Featured in Alliance Magazine
News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 9/11/2008; 700+ words ; ...being different? Either in the Ford Foundation itself or in the foundation sector more widely? The ability to collaborate across foundations is a substantial difference. I can reach out to other foundation presidents for advice, for sharing...
Ford Foundation needs to remember its roots.(Opinion)
Magazine article from: Crain's Detroit Business; 6/9/2003; 700+ words ; ...Paul Allaire, chairman, The Ford Foundation, and former chairman and CEO...years. Anyway, because so few Ford Foundation dollars have found their way...don't understand that the "Ford Foundation'' has no connection to the...
Ford Foundation Gives Additional $20 Million to Support Partnership with New Israel Fund
Newspaper article from: U.S. Newswire; 9/6/2007; 683 words ; ...Contact: Fiona Guthrie of Ford Foundation Communications, +1...USNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation today announced a $20...president of the Ford Foundation. This grant is in keeping with the foundations worldwide program to...
FORD FOUNDATION STEPS IN TO HELP SYRACUSE; GRANT OF $350,000 AIMS AT FINDING NEW USES FOR BUILDINGS AROUND DOWNTOWN.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY); 6/9/2006; 700+ words ; ...Melinda Gates Foundation in size. It was founded by Edsel Ford, son of inventor...connection, the foundation and Ford Motor Co. have...national charitable foundations to support its...trustee for the foundation, Simpson said...
Politics is job #1; by providing major funding to radical groups, the Ford Foundation is attacking American democracy.
Magazine article from: National Review; 9/16/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...funding to radical groups, the Ford Foundation is attacking American democracy...individuals. "The Ford Foundation!" they answered, almost...explain that Ford and other foundations had been looking for Latino...590,000 from the Ford Foundation, $200,000 from the ...
Probe Demanded of Ford Foundation Funding
Newspaper article from: Forward; 10/24/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...investigative report on the Ford Foundation's funding of Palestinian...denies implications that Ford was responsible for...at Durban or that the foundation is negligent in over...organizations such as the Ford Foundation," states an AJCongress...
Reconstructing New Orleans: Ford Foundation Awards $3 Million to NHP Foundation.
PR Newswire; 3/8/2007; 700+ words ; ...reconstruction efforts. The Ford Foundation's contribution...NHP Foundation. "Foundations and charities can...president of the Ford Foundation. "Our support for...fordfound.org/ FORD FOUNDATION PROGRAM-RELATED...Since 1968, the Ford Foundation has ...

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Current Ford Foundation News: