Ford Foundation’s $700 million plan includes a racial justice fund and a lot of adjectives
A foundation rebrands its mission with a mix of idealism and corporate jargon.
The story
The Ford Foundation is overhauling its strategy to focus on 'preconditions for thriving democracies,' with $700 million in grants expected in 2027. The shift includes new funding areas and long-term support for grantees.
Source: fortune.com
Our reading
The Ford Foundation is handing out $700 million in 2027 to fight autocracy, but it’s not exactly a war chest for revolutionaries. It’s more like a corporate rebrand with a mission statement that sounds urgent but feels like a PowerPoint slide from a 2008 board meeting. The foundation’s new strategy includes a ‘racial justice fund’ and expanding gender equality to include reproductive health care—both of which are noble, but also the kind of thing that would make a 1950s boardroom full of men squirm. The foundation is phasing out some programs, but they promise to ‘wind them down with respect and grace and care and support.’ That’s a lot of adjectives for a process that probably involves a lot of awkward emails.
