Ford Foundation Annual Report 2005

Ford Foundation Annual Report 2005 our mission Strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. mission statement The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Our goals are to: strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. This has been our purpose for more than half a century. A fundamental challenge facing every society is to create political, economic and social systems that promote peace, human welfare and the sustainability of the environment on which life depends. We believe that the best way to meet this challenge is to encourage initiatives by those living and working closest to where problems are locat- ed; to promote collaboration among the nonprofit, government and business sectors; and to ensure participation by men and women from diverse communities and at all levels of society. In our experience, such activities help build common understand- ing, enhance excellence, enable people to improve their lives and reinforce their commitment to society. The Ford Foundation is one source of support for these activities. We work mainly by making grants or loans that build knowledge and strengthen organizations and networks. Since our financial resources are modest in comparison to societal needs, we focus on a limited number of problem areas and program strategies within our broad goals. Founded in 1936, the foundation operated as a local philanthropy in the state of Michigan until 1950, when it expanded to become a national and international foundation. Since its inception it has been an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization. It has provided more than $13 billion for grants, projects and loans. These funds derive from an investment portfolio that began with gifts and bequests of Ford Motor Company stock by Henry and Edsel Ford. The foundation no longer owns Ford Motor Company stock, and its diversified portfolio is managed to provide a perpetual source of support for the foundation’s programs and operations. The trustees of the foundation set policy and delegate authority to the president and senior staff for the foundation’s grant making and operations. Program officers in the United States, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Russia explore opportunities to pursue the foundation’s goals, formulate strategies and recommend proposals for funding. ford foundation 320 East 43rd Street New York, NY 10017 USA 212-573-5000 www.fordfound.org our mission Strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. contents 1 Mission Statement 2 Message from the Chair 3 Trustees and Officers 4 Message from the President 6 Year In Review 24 Grant Making A Global Presence How We Work GrantCraft International Fellowships Program Grants in 2005 34 Asset Building and Community Development 68 Peace and Social Justice 110 Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom 141 Other Grant Actions 146 Governance and Financials Governance Our History Financial Review 170 Our Staff Worldwide 177 Index 196 Learn More message from the chair kathryn s. fuller “a resource for innovative people world in a year in which catastrophe shook millions of people around the world, the Ford Foundation was one among many philanthropies con- fronting the urgent question of how best to contribute. As we have for more than 50 years, we turned to our mission for guidance. First in response to the tsunami, then with Hurricane Katrina, and finally with the Pakistan earthquake, the Ford Foundation’s mission shaped long-term initiatives that will give people not only improved access to basic services but improved access to the decision-making processes that will affect their futures. The millions of dollars in grants we made in response to last year’s disasters reflect the same fundamental commitment of all our grant making: to create opportunities for people to live freer, better, more prosperous lives. All of us who serve on the board of trustees are proud of the foundation’s ability to move quickly to help meet emergency needs within the framework of our long-term mission and vision. In the past year, Wilma Mankiller completed her term as a member of the board of trustees and Deval Patrick left the board to return to public service. The foundation benefited greatly from Wilma’s generous and courageous spirit and her unwavering dedication to those around the world whom societies have marginalized. Deval contributed the benefit of his broad experience in the worlds of government and business, as well as a deep personal devotion to the foundation’s values. I am grateful to them both for the wisdom, integrity and commitment they brought to the foundation during their years as trustees. I am pleased to report that the board also elected two new trustees in 2005: Irene Y. Hirano, who has headed the Japanese American National Museum since 1988 and also serves as President and CEO of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, an affiliate of the museum; and J. Clifford Hudson, Chairman of the Board of Sonic Corp., one of the largest restaurant companies in the United States, based in Oklahoma City, where he also serves as chair of the city school board. Their experience, professionalism and passion have already strengthened the board. As trustees of this remarkable institution, we are proud of what has been achieved by our grantees and staff in 2005 in the United States and in countries around the world—wherever innovative people are striving for positive, lasting change. 2 ford foundation annual report 2005 trustees and officers wide” board of trustees officers Kathryn S. Fuller Wilmot G. James Susan V. Berresford Chair of the Board Chief Executive President Washington, D.C. Africa Genome Education Institute Barron M. Tenny Susan V. Berresford Cape Town, South Africa Executive Vice President, President Secretary and General Counsel The Ford Foundation Yolanda Kakabadse New York, New York Executive President Barry D. Gaberman Fundación Futuro Senior Vice President Afsaneh M. Beschloss Latinoamericano Marta L. Tellado President and Quito, Ecuador Chief Executive Officer Vice President, The Rock Creek Group Wilma P. Mankiller Communications Washington, D.C. Former Principal Chief Linda B. Strumpf Cherokee Nation Anke A. Ehrhardt Vice President and Park Hill, Oklahoma Chief Investment Officer Director (term ended Jan. ’06) HIV Center for Clinical and Alison R. Bernstein Behavioral Studies at New York Richard Moe Vice President, Knowledge, State Psychiatric Institute President Creativity and Freedom and Columbia University; National Trust for Professor of Medical Psychology Historic Preservation Pablo J. Farias Dept. of Psychiatry Washington, D.C. Vice President, Asset Building Columbia University and Community Development New York, New York Yolanda T. Moses Vice Provost, Conflict Nicholas M. Gabriel Julia V. Garcia Resolution and Professor Treasurer, Comptroller and President of Anthropology Director of Financial Services The University of Texas University of California at Brownsville and at Riverside David Chiel Texas Southmost College Riverside, California Deputy Vice President, Brownsville, Texas Program Management Ratan N. Tata Irene Y. Hirano Chairman Jacob Gayle President and Tata Industries Limited Deputy Vice President, Chief Executive Officer Mumbai, India Special Initiative on HIV/AIDS Japanese American Carl B. Weisbrod Nancy P. Feller National Museum Assistant Secretary and Los Angeles, California President, Real Estate Division Trinity Church Associate General Counsel J. Clifford Hudson New York, New York Chairman, CEO and President Sonic Corporation W. Richard West, Jr. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Director National Museum of the American Indian Washington, D.C. ford foundation annual report 2005 3 message from the president susan v. berresford “to improve people’s lives” this annual report presents the nearly 2,000 grants made by the Ford Foundation in 2005 across many fields of human endeavor. As wide- spread and diverse as our grantees are, they all support the four broad goals on the cover of this report. For more than 50 years, these goals have been at the heart of the foundation’s mission. They embody ambitions of people around the globe, but their fulfillment remains far from universal and their realization will require sustained effort and resolve. The foundation’s board of trustees has continually reaffirmed that we must manage the foundation with a long-term perspective. The endow- ment is therefore invested to provide a “perpetual source of support” for the courageous individuals and institutions around the world who share the values underlying our mission. This past year, that support continued major lines of work such as the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, a $40 million commitment by the foundation to strengthen universities in seven African countries by providing high-speed data connections and supporting opportunities for a new generation of young leaders in economics, science and development. Ford also invested in the vital work of the International Center for Transitional Justice, which helps communities and governments heal the wounds of armed conflict and human rights abuse and transition to enduring democratic systems. In the United States, the foundation is building financial security in America’s most disadvantaged communities by working with financial institutions that have changed bank lending practices across the country and made it possible for families to invest in homes, enterprises and their children’s future. And it provided more than $10 million to a new national organization that will support individual artists, whose work makes an invaluable contribution to civic life by help- ing us better understand ourselves and our times. Each of these initiatives, as with all of our grant making this past year, aims to fulfill the broad mission of human well-being set forth by our founders. The photographs which follow suggest the myriad ways the foundation and its grantee partners seek to transform those high ideals into everyday reality.

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