Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of Programs
Two years ago, Ford launched our social bond to provide relief to nonprofits during the pandemic. Here’s what we learned and how philanthropy must continue to ensure grantees’ resilience.
Darren Walker, President
The Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade is a giant step backward for reproductive justice and gender equality. We remain in steadfast support of the advocates, experts, and organizers who are advancing reproductive justice across the United States.
Ford Foundation
Two years ago, we launched our social bond to provide relief to nonprofits during the pandemic. We check in with some of these organizations, now thriving as they continue their fight for workers’ rights, racial justice, vaccine equity and more.
Darren Walker, President
For Juneteenth, Darren Walker spoke at Monticello—home of Thomas Jefferson—about America’s greatest ideals and the paradoxical, enduring legacy of slavery in America.
Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of Programs
For centuries, cultures across the world have recognized the fluidity of gender and celebrated gender nonconformity. To advance justice and truly achieve equality, we need to understand the systems and structures throughout history that have boxed people into false binaries and expand our definition of gender.
Sabrina Fong, Program Associate
The disability community is a powerful ally in the fight for voting rights, but its needs are often overlooked at polling places. When disabled voters partner with the civil rights movement and have the accessibility they need at the polls, they can become an even more powerful force to advance justice and democracy.
Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of Programs
BUILD started as an experiment to reimagine philanthropy and has become our most impactful grantmaking to date. Our hypothesis that nonprofits would thrive with longer, larger, and more flexible grants had not only been proven—it defied our expectations. We share what we've learned so far in a new report.
Sahar Driver, co-director of Color Congress
Sonya Childress, co-director of Color Congress
For years, filmmakers of color have provided mentorship and mutual support to support the next generation. JustFilms grantee Color Congress is furthering this legacy. It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to build a strong, vibrant and diverse ecosystem of documentary organizations so these films can become a more powerful force for social change.
Anna Shireen Wadia, Senior Program Officer, Future of Work(ers)
Economic justice organizations are always subject to volatility due to the economy’s cyclical nature. But when faced with a pandemic, they have struggled to survive. Thanks to BUILD’s unique approach to funding, they have become armed to take on today’s challenges and build a worker-led economy.
Darren Walker, President
As Russia escalates its attacks on Ukraine, we are being confronted once again with the defining conflict of our time: the great contest between authoritarian rule and democratic values. Ukraine holds a warning for the world over and we must act now to protect the future of global democracy.
Javier H. Valdés, Director, Civic Engagement and Government
As part of our efforts to advance a more just, multiracial democracy, we are merging our Cities and States program with our Civic Engagement and Government work in the U.S. to become a single, expanded area of impactful grantmaking.
Darren Walker, President
In 1979, Franklin Thomas became the first Black president of the Ford Foundation, taking the helm of the philanthropy at its most perilous hour. Over the next 17 years, he would transform the foundation, establishing himself as an iconic figure not just in Ford’s history but around the world through his efforts to drive human progress and advance justice.
