Ford Foundation Grants

The Ford Foundation is one of the oldest and largest U.S. private foundations, founded in 1936 by Edsel and Henry Ford. Its modern mission is to disrupt inequality in all its forms, with annual grantmaking of roughly $700 million across the U.S. and 10 international regional offices (including Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Andean Region).

Ford organizes its work into themes that have evolved over time. The current focus areas:

• Civic Engagement and Government — voting rights, civic participation, government accountability
• Cities and States — urban development, local democracy, narrative power
• Creativity and Free Expression — supporting socially engaged arts, journalism, film, and storytelling. Includes the Ford Foundation–funded JustFilms.
• Future of Work(ers) — labor rights, technology and inequality, the gig economy
• Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice
• International Cooperation and Global Governance
• Mission Investments — program-related and mission-related investments alongside grants
• Natural Resources and Climate Change
• Technology and Society — tech equity, public interest tech, internet freedom

Ford's signature initiative is BUILD (Building Institutions and Networks), a long-term general operating support program that gives grantees 5 years of unrestricted funding plus organizational strengthening support — designed to build stronger, more durable social justice organizations.

1. Read fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/grantmaking-process to understand Ford's by-invitation model.
2. Get on the radar. The realistic path to a first Ford grant is: publish your work, attend convenings in your field, get cited by other Ford grantees, connect with the regional or thematic program officer responsible for your area.
3. Submit a Grant Inquiry through the Ford Foundation portal — but understand that the foundation reads inquiries selectively and the response rate is low.
4. If invited, you'll work with a program officer to develop a full proposal. Ford proposals are highly tailored to the specific opportunity and include: project narrative, theory of change, organizational capacity, learning plan, budget, and (for BUILD) a multi-year strategic plan.
5. Decisions are made by program staff and approved by the President; large grants go to the Board of Trustees. Timelines are 6–12 months from inquiry to decision.