The problems of the disadvantaged, primarily in the poverty enclaves of big cities but increasingly in their rural counterparts as well, have been a major Foundation concern since 1960. The Foundation programs to which they gave rise—Great Cities, Gray Areas, Community Development—each became for a time the centerpiece of the Foundation's domestic agenda. Impressive sums of money have been spent, over $25 million for Great Cities and Gray Areas and over $50 million thus far on Community Development. Equally important, this sequence of programs has been largely responsible for the public's perception of the Ford Foundation as an "up front" social welfare institution, characterized by

• An action-oriented rather than a research-oriented style, with emphasis on local demonstration projects

• A willingness to test the outer edges of advocacy and citizen participation

• A conviction that effective philanthropy requires a direct and continuing interaction between staff and grantee

In other words, the Foundation's programs for the disadvantaged have not only helped reshape public policies regarding the city and the poor, but have also been an important force in reshaping the Foundation.

Among the things that the staff has learned in supporting these programs are that all parties must be willing and able to make midcourse corrections and that it is essential to be patient about results.

Program Origins

The "disadvantaged" programs had their roots in the late 1950s. One root was in the educational crisis, the realization by the school superintendents of large cities that America's proud public-education