Village journalist women work together on their special report on violence against women. Photo Credit & (c): Suzanne Lee.

Since our founding 85 years ago, we have believed justice begins where inequality ends. The Ford Foundation supports organizations that address the underlying drivers of inequality and align with our programmatic work around the world. The limited number of programs or projects that are open to funding requests can be found on our grant opportunities page.

Avoiding scams: Individuals using the foundation’s name without authorization have contacted people to suggest that funds are forthcoming if they pay a fee. These messages are fraudulent. Please note that the foundation never charges a fee in connection with its grants. 

Past grants

Until recently, the foundation’s grantmaking took the form of 30 initiatives. In our database, you can explore those grants, which reflect the long-standing mission on which our new work will continue to build.

Explore the Grants Database Download all grants since 2006

Grantmaking 101

How does an endowment work? Why make grants in the first place? How can funding help fuel social change? These videos break down some grantmaking fundamentals and explain how the foundation operates.

Learn more about grantmaking

Building Institutions and Networks

As an essential part of our strategy to reduce inequality, we have dedicated $2 billion of our grantmaking budget since 2015 toward strengthening social justice institutions. We call this effort BUILD.

Learn more about BUILD

Other resources

Browse a list of organizations that offer information about and insight into philanthropy and that may help fund your work or connect you to other potential sources of support.

Learn more about philanthropy