Objectives: Established in 1936 by the President of the Ford Motor Company, the Ford Foundation is one of the largest and most influential private foundations in the world. In 2011, the Ford Foundation granted more than $400 million to organisations implementing projects towards poverty reduction, the promotion of democracy and the advancement of knowledge worldwide.
Areas of Funding: The Foundation supports a great variety of projects in the fields of education, capacity building, human rights promotions, gender equality and sustainability. Details about each of these programmes can be found below.
Geographic Focus: The Foundation supports organisations working in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. Within these regions the Foundation selects focal areas, which receive priority funding under certain schemes. For a complete list of the areas in which the foundation is active and a list of project currently funded, look here.
Programs or Prizes: There are 8 main programmes through which funding could be obtained.
1) Democratic and Accountable Government supports activities willing to increase civic and political participation, to promote electoral reform, to promote accountability and transparency, to reform global financial governance and to strengthen the role of civil society actors in supporting democratic processes.
2) Economic Fairness supports activities such as technical trainings or practical knowledge sharing with the aim of creating job opportunities or enhancing the possibilities of job seekers especially in deprived areas. This programme also funds activities to improve access to services especially for poor households and to promote strategies to support young people when looking for their first employment.
3) Educational Opportunity and Scholarship supports educational activities promoting social justice and reforms to the secondary schools system (USA only).
4) Freedom of Expression supports initiatives willing to strengthen media rights and access to media, to advance public service media, and to support diverse art spaces.
5) Human Rights supports initiatives advancing LGBT rights, to raise awareness about minority rights and racial abuse, to protect women rights and to reduce HIV/AIDS discrimination.
6) Metropolitan Opportunities seeks projects enabling better connection between people living in big cities and also activities raising awareness about the right to housing and quality housing (USA only).
7) Sexual and Reproductive Health supports educational projects about reproductive rights and the rights to sexual health – projects targeting a young audience are especially welcome.
8) Sustainable Development supports activities raising awareness about climate change and the usage of natural resources. Projects implementing strategies to strengthen rural communities are also eligible.
How to Apply Information: There are no submission deadlines; applications are considered throughout the year. Initially, you will be asked to submit an online grant enquiry providing basic information about the applicant, description of the organisation, description of the purpose of the project, timeframe and estimated budget. Only selected applicants will be asked to submit a full project proposal for funding. It is worth considering that, due to the high number of applications, only 1 proposal every 100 is successful. The online grant enquiry can be found here.
