Stories

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.

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.

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.

What does it take to advance justice around the world? Leaders unafraid to take on the challenges ahead. More than a year into the Ford Global Fellowship, we reflect on what we’ve learned from our Ford Global Fellows on how to help leaders survive—and thrive—during this historical moment.

The intersecting crises of climate change and inequality threaten to make an outmoded vision of perpetuity, at best, obsolete—and, at worst, destructive. We must join together, with urgency and purpose, to ensure the work of justice lives on in perpetuity, as does the planet on which our very survival depends.

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.

In the midst of one of history’s most tumultuous years, president Darren Walker sat down with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl to talk about the challenges facing the world and how we must reimagine philanthropy to answer the call for justice.

We talk to Giselle Leung from the Global Impact Investing Network, about how investors are playing a key role in the response to COVID-19, and promoting equity in the process.

Technology is changing the world at a blistering pace. Organizations can’t just keep up, they need to work with public interest technologists to shape the spread of tech as a tool for change. We talk to Mozilla Foundation’s Vice President about how our joint fellowship is meeting this moment.

​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.

Black philanthropy is rooted in the traditions of Black and Pan-African communities globally. Today, a growing movement to demonstrate the power of community-based philanthropy is uniting a network of more than 17 million to mark Black Philanthropy Month each August.Their efforts are taking root, and aim, at racial injustice globally.​

In the wake of recent killings of black and brown people at the hands of police during COVID-19, Ford’s Tanya Coke and Nicolette Naylor pay tribute to two important holidays this week that symbolize the global movements of black resistance across the diaspora, the progress made globally and the work that still remains in the fight for racial equality.

The world has been confronted with a confluence of crises, but the economic realities brought on by COVID-19 threaten the very survival of the organizations on the frontlines, the nonprofits fighting for justice and tirelessly working toward a just, equitable recovery. Reflecting on this unprecedented moment, President Darren Walker explains why extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, starting with a bold step from philanthropy.

COVID-19 has presented the world with an unparalleled situation.

The challenges we face as a world require a new kind of leader. Hilary Pennington shares what we’ve learned from 80 years of investing in individuals and introduces the Ford Global Fellows, our big bet to build the next generation of change agents.

By using their gender as a lens and their work to amplify women’s voices, issues and perspectives, these 13 artists, writers and filmmakers are changing society’s perceptions of women and forcing the world to rethink the very definition of the arts.

Hilary Pennington announces the philanthropy pledge, a partnership with the Ford Foundation and more than 40 organizations to urge philanthropies everywhere to commit to more flexible funding to support nonprofits navigate the impacts of COVID-19.

President Darren Walker talks about the sacrifice, struggle and the need to embrace urgency to move forward in 2020 and bring the world closer to justice.

We were excited to bring a delegation of disabled activists to the the 62nd session of the Commission for the Status of Women in New York City—and surprised by some of the challenges involved.

Advances in emerging media are swiftly reshaping the landscape of storytelling, at a level and pace unseen since the invention of the moving image.

We’re spreading the word about Public Interest Tech, an exciting field that’s eager for fresh ideas and skills.

CGAP and the Ford Foundation commissioned case studies in Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, and India exploring the Graduation Approach.

The Ford Foundation has a rich history of supporting scholarships and fellowships that have a focus on social justice, including our International Fellowships Program.

Access to the Internet is critical for freedom of expression in modern societies and for enjoying cultural, social, and economic rights. Government's role in protecting this human right includes not blocking free speech, but also providing the disenfranchised with a voice.

While millennials are concerned about what’s going on in the world today, somehow HIV/AIDS, a disease that intersects with issues like LGBT rights, mass incarceration, gender equality, and war, has fallen off their radar.

Reflecting on the International AIDS Conference in Durban, Delane Kalembo speaks to the role that religious leaders and faith-based organizations play in turning the tide on HIV in Africa.

The global inequality of opportunity is what's driving the current migration crisis.

Habitat III—the United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urban development—will take place in Quito, Ecuador this October.

There is a close link between child marriage and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Yet the interventions designed to respond to these two issues are often not integrated. 

Just and inclusive cities put people first, and put equity and social justice at the center of policy and design.

an excerpt from The Shrinking Space for Civil Society: Philanthropic Perspectives From Across the Globe, a new report from the European Foundation Centre (EFC)

Unlike traditional scholarships based primarily on academic achievement, social justice fellowships use non-traditional ways to recruit talented individuals and extend higher education opportunities to leaders from marginalized communities.

The Ford Foundation and the OECD recently brought together 21 mayors from around the world to discuss what cities can do to tackle inequality and promote inclusive growth.

Landesa honored with Hilton Humanitarian Prize for "extraordinary contributions to alleviating human suffering"

With the announcement of our new programs, we know many of you have questions. We answer some of them here.

Today, the Ford Foundation’s two-year transition is over. Darren Walker explains the details of FordForward.

Good Pitch makes the filmmaking community stronger and builds a broader capacity for collaboration.

Ford partners are working with local communities, the private sector, and government to help residents secure rights over natural resources in the Turkana Basin.

Supporting INGOs that are based in the Global South, the Ford Foundation can contribute further to the realization of rights.

We are making some big changes—but what will never change is our commitment to supporting those closest to the problems, engaging collaboratively with every sector, and pursuing the cause of justice and dignity for all people.

"Radio listening groups" and digital resource centers throughout rural Kenya empower women.