The Ford Foundation is a private foundation based in New York City and created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford. It was funded originally by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford but by 1947 after the death of the two founders, the foundation owned 90 percent of the non-voting shares of the Ford Motor Company. (The Ford family kept the voting shares to themselves.) The foundation sold its Ford holdings and now plays no role in the automobile company. For years, the foundation was the largest and one of the two or three most influential foundations in the world, with a global reach and special interests in education, the arts, and Third World development.
The foundation makes grants through its headquarters and ten international field offices. For fiscal year 2011, it reported assets of US$10.0 billion and approved US$413 million in grants. The grants support projects that focus on reducing poverty and injustice; promoting democratic values; and advancing human knowledge, creativity and achievement.
Read more about Ford Foundation: History, Support of The African Gender Institute, Ford Foundation Building, Controversy, Presidents
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