Stories

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.

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.

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.

Around the world, Black feminists are leading intersectional movements for social justice—but they are drastically underfunded. The new Black Feminist Fund will support this powerful global community long overlooked by philanthropy. The fund’s three founders outline why now is the time to back Black feminists.

At Ford, we’re no strangers to the heat. But we know what we’re fighting for—a democracy that fulfills the American founding ideal of representation. Inclusion is patriotic, and together, we can build a truly equal society that extends the promise of America to all.

A son of the South, Darren Walker reflects on the US South, both past and present, and its role in catalyzing social justice movements that have shaped the region—and America at large.

The Always Essential campaign brings together a broad, game-changing coalition of activists, organizations, and working people to advance economic justice, and improve wages, working conditions and bargaining power for essential workers. Pandemic or no pandemic, working people are Always Essential.

Care work makes all other work possible, but it’s not treated that way. For years, advocates have called to redefine care in America and reimagine an economy that works for everyone, especially essential workers. A new fund, seeded by Ford, builds on those efforts to support a future grounded in care.

How can employers help curb the pandemic? By valuing workers. Darren Walker and Chuck Robbins lay out how safety measures like paid sick leave and protective equipment are not only key to fighting COVID-19, but are also part of a larger movement demanding equitable conditions for workers.

An enterprising kid, Ford Fellow Adriana Barbosa helped her family make ends meet by selling her great-grandmother’s food. Today, she’s founded a game-changing platform for Black entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive across Latin America.

From COVID-19 to the workplace, Black people face injustice on multiple fronts. Tanya Wallace-Gobern knows what’s at stake and is ready to respond. As the first executive director of the National Black Worker Center Project, she’s demonstrating the expansive power of Black leadership to bring justice.

Who better to fight for migrant women than the daughter of farmworkers? Lawyer Monica Ramirez hasn’t stopped advocating for the Latino community since she was 14. Name a challenge migrant women workers face and she is probably tackling it—from sexual harassment to equal pay to COVID-19.

Restaurant workers have long faced inequality, even before COVID-19 devastated the industry and hit them hard. But Sekou Siby, a former kitchen worker, is cutting through the hurdles they face with the precision of a chef’s knife, taking on wage theft, paid sick leave and more.

​As America faces a pandemic of pandemics, the very idea of democracy is being tested. As the country mourns and works to move forward, President Darren Walker makes the case for moral leadership to reimagine a future grounded in equality and justice for all.

Low-wage workers have borne the brunt of COVID-19, but the US economy was broken long before the pandemic. Our grantees teamed up with workers across the country to reimagine a future of work that works for everyone.

To shape a future of work that offers opportunity, security, and prosperity for all people and communities, we’ll need to think outside the box.

The renewed building will be a unique asset for champions of social justice across sectors and geographies—a vibrant, fully accessible hub with 54,000 square feet of meeting space for use by people and organizations advancing change in the US and globally.

Addressing the future of work is central to our mission, and also essential to the stability and success of our democracy.

Many in philanthropy are investing in opportunities to help build the Public Interest Tech field. Here are some of the opportunities available right now.

Follow a sci-fi fan’s journey into the field of public interest technology.

The Ford and Sloan foundations have come together to support a new wave of research exploring the economics, sustainability, and maintenance of digital infrastructure.