While the foundation's endowment portfolio has been affected by the uncertain economic climate, our highest priority is to ensure that our grantees have the resources necessary to continue the fight for social justice. This requires steady engagement and thoughtful adjustments. We try to invest and budget in ways that produce relatively smooth spending patterns, while preserving the value of the investment portfolio.
Report of Independent Auditors
To The Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation:
In our opinion, the accompanying statements of financial position and the related statements
of activities and cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the
Ford Foundation at September 30, 2008 and 2007, and the changes in its net assets and its cash
flows for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Ford
Foundation's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance
with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards
require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating
the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable
basis for our opinion.
December 10, 2008
New York, N.Y.
