A history of social justice

A historical photo of a crowd marching on a hill with a cloudy sky above them.

Across eight decades, the Ford Foundation has invested in innovative ideas, visionary individuals, and frontline institutions advancing human dignity around the world.

Learn more about our work in civil rights, education, arts and culture, human rights, poverty reduction and urban development and see some of our key foundation milestones below.

Henry Ford (R) talking with his son, Edsel Ford. Photo by William Vandivert

1936 

Founded

The Ford Foundation is chartered in Michigan by Edsel Ford, with an initial gift of $25,000 to be used “all for the public welfare.”

1947 

Growth and opportunity

After his father and grandfather pass away, Henry Ford II, Edsel’s eldest son, assumes foundation leadership. Their bequests turn Ford into the world’s largest foundation. 

After his father and grandfather pass away, Henry Ford II, Edsel’s eldest son, assumes foundation leadership. Their bequests turn Ford into the world’s largest foundation.
A blue-ribbon panel, commissioned by Henry Ford II and led by H. Rowan Gaither advises the foundation to become an international philanthropy dedicated to advancing human welfare by reducing poverty and promoting democratic values, peace, and educational opportunity.

1950 

Gaither Report

A blue-ribbon panel, commissioned by Henry Ford II and led by H. Rowan Gaither advises the foundation to become an international philanthropy dedicated to advancing human welfare by reducing poverty and promoting democratic values, peace, and educational opportunity.

1952

International offices

The foundation opened its first international non-US office in India. In subsequent years, the foundation opened offices in Indonesia (1953), Nigeria (1958), Egypt (1959), Brazil (1962), Kenya (1962), Mexico (1962), China (1988), South Africa (1993), and Colombia (2016). 

A black and white photo of Indian women speaking together. The foundation opened its first international non-US office in India in 1952.
A black and white photo of an Indian man standing next to a water pump that is releasing water on the ground near some crops that are growing. Another Indian man and a young Indian boy are walking amongst the crops in the background.

1964 

The Green Revolution

The foundation funds agricultural development programs on three continents. Later, Ford and the Rockefeller Foundation establish research centers in Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria, and the Philippines, laying the groundwork for the Green Revolution.

1967

A center for social justice

The foundation’s landmark building in New York City opened as an innovative urban space that captured the aspirations of Ford’s social justice mission. In 2018, after an extensive renovation, the foundation’s headquarters reopens as the verdant, vibrant Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.

Two male construction workers are shown building part of the original Ford Foundation headquarters in New York in 1967.
A student photographed for coverage of the United Negro College Fund’s activities, 1968

1968 

Equal under the law

Foundation president McGeorge Bundy increases funding for civil rights groups—from 2.5% of annual giving in 1960 to 36.5%. The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) receives significant support for civil rights litigation. 

1970

Neighborhood safety

Ford supports organizations that research, monitor, and improve law enforcement, including the Police Foundation and the Vera Institute of Justice.

Two white male metropolitan policemen receiving information by car phone while on duty in the 1970s.

1973

A new kind of bank

The foundation finances the creation of what is now ShoreBank Corporation, one of the U.S.’s first community development banks serving businesses, individuals, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations located in low-income communities. 

Gloria Steinem, feminist leader and founder of 'Ms.' magazine, at her desk. Photo by Mel Finkelstein/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

1976 

A movement for gender equity

After two decades of supporting gender equity efforts, Ford funds the National Organization for Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund and the International Women’s Health Coalition.

1979

Human rights

The foundation provides capacity building support to international human rights groups, including Human Rights First, Global Rights, and Human Rights Watch.

Andrei Sakharov is mobbed at a Moscow station as he arrives home from exile. On 19 Dec 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev released Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky. He was arrested in 1980, following a public protests against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and sent into exile.

1982

Community colleges

The foundation launches the Urban Community College Transfer Opportunities Program, helping 71 community colleges prepare students for higher education.

1983

Public radio

Ford supports National Public Radio to distribute music, drama, and public affairs programming to 283 public radio stations across the country.

1987

Workplace equality

The foundation supports the Working Women Education Fund, the Coal Employment Project, the Women’s Equity Action League, and the Center for Women Policy Studies to further promote workplace gender equality.

A group of people working at a desk together with charts and signs in the background

1988 

Government innovation

Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government administers the foundation’s Innovations in State and Local Government Awards Program, honoring creative approaches to important social and economic problems at the state and local levels. In 2001, Ford’s $50 million endowment grant establishes the Kennedy School’s Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

1990

Native American art and culture rights

To bolster its commitment to Native American art and culture, Ford supports the Smithsonian Institution’s newly established National Museum of the American Indian. 

Ford supports the Smithsonian Institution’s newly established National Museum of the American Indian.
An adult male member and young boy of the Awa Tribe, carrying a tortoise, walk in the Amazon Rainforest.

1992 

Community forestry

The foundation’s innovative forestry initiatives engage rural communities and forestry agencies to improve forest land management and create economic opportunities for rural households. 

1994

Fighting violence

Research and advocacy grants in Brazil and the Philippines fight gender-based violence. In South Africa, the foundation supports the Women’s Development Foundation to establish a legal aid and advocacy clinic.

A woman in Kolkata, India, wrapped in a Sari, standing outside of a police station.
Immigrant children standing in front of a bank entrance with pamphlets in their hands on how to start new accounts. In the very front, a toddler girl holding a piggy bank in her hands, implying the application of early banking habits.

1996 

Toward economic security

The foundation initiates the American Dream Demonstration to assess if individual development accounts—matched savings accounts— help low-income people move out of poverty.

1998

Homeownership

The Center for Community Self-Help, Fannie Mae, and Ford develop the Self-Help Initiative, offering affordable mortgages to historically excluded home buyers.

An all-American styled home front yard and porch view with a young African American boy standing in front, wearing a blue shirt.
An African American woman wearing business attire and standing in front of an array of international flags in front of the United Nations building.

2000 

Global South scholars

With $280 million to the International Fellowships Program, the foundation’s largest grant supports thousands of graduate and postgraduate scholars from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The foundation also commits an additional $150 million for the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa. 

2005

International philanthropy

A $100 million initiative supports 18 emerging and established foundations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Eastern Europe. In 2006, the foundation helps establish TrustAfrica.

"Khabar Lahariya," a local weekly newspaper, is produced and distributed by newly-literate women in the Bundelkhand district of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. [Photo: AMI VITALE/NIRANTAR]
Mother Isamar holds her baby Saniel, 9 months, at their makeshift home. Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images

Recovery and resilience

After Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, Ford supports relief organizations and invests in equitable, long-term sustainable recovery efforts. The foundation later conducts similar recovery after hurricanes affect New York City and Puerto Rico in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

2007

Responding to economic distress

Ford commits $25 million to the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, helping revitalize the state’s struggling economy. In 2009, the foundation makes an $80 million investment to improve economic stability for U.S. workers nationwide.

2013

Bard Prison Initiative

The foundation supports an innovative program that enables incarcerated people to earn a college degree while serving their sentences. In 2017, Ford began its Bard Associates program to hire graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative and provide them with professional development opportunities. 

Young men shown sitting together, wearing graduation caps and gowns, in anticipation for their graduation ceremony.
A view of the Detroit Skyline from Lake St. Clair

2014 

Grand bargain

With a $125 million investment, Ford leads the philanthropic response to resolving Detroit’s bankruptcy and signals its interest in helping the city secure strengthened democracy and increased civic engagement for all. 

2015

BUILD

Ford launches BUILD, a five-year, $1 billion investment in the long-term capacity and sustainability of 300 social justice organizations addressing inequality around the world. The foundation renewed BUILD in 2021 with an additional $1 billion.

A group of six diverse individuals meeting together in a business setting.

Public interest tech

The foundation invests in building a robust, diverse field of technologists worldwide who apply a social justice lens to problems and programs. This is the emerging field of public interest technology.

An infographic of icons of a single-family home, an office building, and other buildings shown with arrows following a circular pattern around each item, indicating cyclical activity.

2017 

Mission-related investments

With a $1 billion commitment from its endowment, Ford makes a 10-year pledge to support the nascent field of mission-related investments, leading by example and encouraging other foundations and institutional investors to consider the promise and potential of impact investing.

Art for justice

Launched with a $100 million donation from philanthropist Agnes Gund, the Art for Justice Fund turns art into action, spotlighting mass incarceration in the United States. Ford also manages grants to strengthen education and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.

2020

Social justice bond

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford issued a $1 billion social bond, the first by a non-profit in the U.S. taxable corporate bond market. The social bond allows the foundation to double its grantmaking in 2020 and 2021 to help sustain essential non-profit organizations.

Various foodservice workers prepping meals and processing vegetables in a community kitchen
Group photo of Women With A Vision (WWAV), Louisiana’s pioneering and premier public health organization and a Ford grantee.

2021 

Gender equality

Pledging $420 million over five years to tackle gender inequality, Ford addresses the growing gender-based violence epidemic, reinforces the need for a care-based economy, increases workplace equality, and brings critical resources to feminist movements and women’s rights organizations.

America’s cultural treasures

In partnership with more than 40 funders, Ford launches an initiative to honor America’s cultural diversity of artistic expression and excellence and provide critical funding to organizations impacting the artistic landscape. This partnership generates over $276 million in new funding for arts organizations nationwide.

Performances and interactive events at the Alaska Native Heritage Center bring the state’s traditional culture to life © John Greim / LightRocket via Getty Images

Disability rights

After five years of integrating a disability-inclusive perspective across all its grantmaking globally, the foundation launches a dedicated program focused on advancing the rights of people with disabilities in the United States.

Two construction workers up on a barn rooftop, shingling tiles together.

2022 

Rural America

With more than $130 million in new funding, the foundation increases its support to communities in the rural Midwest and South. Grantees include Heartland Forward, a nonpartisan “think and do” tank and Appalachian Community Capital, which raises money for small businesses in 13 states across the Appalachian region.