Grants and Scholarships from Ford Foundation

Before a request is made for a grant or program-related investment, a brief letter of inquiry is advisable to determine whether the foundation’s present interests and funds permit consideration of the request.

The letter should include:
The purpose of the project for which funds are being requested
Problems and issues the proposed project will address
Information about the organization conducting the project
Estimated overall budget for the project
Period of time for which funds are requested
Qualifications of those who will be engaged in the project

After receiving the letter, foundation staff members may ask the grant seeker to submit a formal proposal. There is no grant application form.

The proposal should include:
The organization’s current budget
A description of the proposed work and how it will be conducted
The names and curricula vitae of those engaged in the project
A detailed project budget
Present means of support and status of applications to other funding sources
Legal and tax status

In some instances, the foundation requires the grantee organization to match the foundation’s grant with funds from other sources.

The foundation supports pluralism and equal opportunity in its grant making and in its internal policies. The opportunities that prospective grantee organizations provide for women and other disadvantaged groups are considered in evaluating proposals.

Applications are considered throughout the year. Normally applicants may expect to receive within six weeks an indication of whether their proposals are within the foundation’s program interests and budget limitations. If the proposal is being considered for a grant, the approval process is generally completed within three months. Activities supported by grants and program-related investments must be charitable, educational or scientific, as defined under the appropriate provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations.

The foundation monitors grants through regular financial and narrative reports submitted by the grantee. The foundation’s funds are limited in relation to the great number of worthwhile proposals received. For example, in 2004 the foundation received about 41,000 grant requests and made 2,091 grants. The foundation directs its support to activities that are within its current interests and are likely to have wide effect. Support is not normally given for routine operating costs of institutions or for religious activities. Except in rare cases, funding is not available for the construction or maintenance of buildings.

Requests in the United States should be e-mailed to: office-secretary@fordfound.org or mailed to:

Secretary

The Ford Foundation

320 East 43 Street

New York, N.Y. 10017 - USA

How does the foundation decide what to support?

Ford’s trustees and staff try to advance human welfare by making grants to develop new ideas or strengthen key organizations that address poverty and injustice, and also promote democratic values, international cooperation and human achievement. Within these broad aims, we focus our grants on fields within Asset Building & Community Development, Peace & Social Justice and Knowledge, Creativity & Freedom. We believe that if we scatter our funds over too many types of work, we will not be able to help the number and variety of people necessary to create lasting change in any one area. Working in these selected fields also enables us to link grantees in one part of the world with those working elsewhere for their mutual benefit, knowledge and inspiration. Since each overseas office of the foundation does not have enough money to make grants in all fields, staff and trustees select from the 12 fields, guided by national and community leaders’ sense of funding needs and opportunities for innovation.

Once the board approves work in a substantive or geographic area, program staff consult broadly with practitioners, researchers, policy makers and others to identify foundation initiatives that might contribute to progress, specific work grantees would undertake, benchmarks for change, and costs. When the program officer has completed this analysis, he or she presents the ideas in a memorandum reviewed by peers, a supervisor and at least two foundation officers. When approved, the program officer begins to make grants within the broad parameters of the approved memorandum and a two-year budget allocation. Grant-making staff are encouraged to make tentative plans for about 65 percent of their budget allocation and to leave 35 percent free for unanticipated proposals. Staff regularly provide reports to the board about grants made and ongoing lines of work.

(For detail in-depth, please visit: http://www.fordfound.org/about/guideline.cfm)

Archive | AT Inc. & Disclaimer | Testimonials | Write Us