Press Releases

Disaster Distilled: Lessons for Philanthropy from 9/11

New York, N.Y.-– March 31, 2003. With the risk of terrorism on the rise in the United States, leaders of several major New York-based philanthropies have urged communities across the country to consider lessons learned from the philanthropic response to the September 11th attacks. In an advertisement that appeared on the New York Times op-ed page, the group recommended four steps to help ensure effective philanthropic action and stimulate community planning and preparedness. The lessons address how to prepare in advance, move fast in such an emergency, seek out need in affected communities and convey effectively to the public the role charities are playing in recovery efforts. “With the now increased risks of terrorism, cities around the U.S. may be helped by the reflection on lessons learned in New York, particularly those that could inform future philanthropic action,” said Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. The ad was signed by: Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation; Stanley Litow, president of IBM International Foundation; Jack Rosenthal, president of the New York Times Company Foundation; Lorie Slutsky, president of the New York Community Trust; Stephen Solender, CEO of 9/11 United Services Group; and Franklin Thomas, chairman of the September 11th Fund. For more information on the recommendations, go to www.9-11usg.org. For the advertisement itself, please click here.

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The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.