How We Meet This Moment: Report of the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees

The Ford Foundation's strategy to protect and strengthen the preconditions for thriving democracies.
Other Information
How We Meet This Moment:
I. More Flexible Funding, More Flexible Teams ~ Larger teams with more centralized funding, allowing room for pivots and surge funding.
II. Larger, Multiyear Grants Focused on General Operating Support ~ Expand general operating support; increase the share of multiyear grants; make larger grants; enhance support for partners' institutional strength; and preserve flexibility to move resources as circumstances change.
III. Innovation and Sector Investment ~ Impact investing, new capital-allocation tools, investment in sector infrastructure, and support for the regulatory environment.
The seven funding areas replace 19 defined programs and 28 lines of work. The renewed mission takes effect in January 2027.
Submitter's Note: This StratML rendition has been compiled from the source by Claude.ai I have reviewed and lightly edited it in the form at https://stratml.us/forms/Claude/Part1.html
Writing in the November 3, 2026, edition of Alliance magazine, Shafi Musaddique reports that the Ford Foundation intends to spend $700 million in 2027 in support of this plan.
https://www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/ford-foundation-to-spend-700-million-fighting-21st-century-authoritarianism/

🏢Ford Foundation

FF

Independent foundation with an $18 billion endowment and a 90-year history as a social justice grantmaker.

Stakeholders:
👥Women: People pushed to the margins whom the mission empowers to shape their own futures.
👥People of Color: People pushed to the margins whom the mission empowers to shape their own futures.
👥People with Disabilities: People pushed to the margins whom the mission empowers to shape their own futures.
👥LGBTQ+ People: People pushed to the margins whom the mission empowers to shape their own futures.
👥Rural Communities: People pushed to the margins whom the mission empowers to shape their own futures.

Source & Submitter

Source:https://www.fordfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10...

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Published:

👤

Given name:Owen

Surname:Ambur

Email:Owen.Ambur@verizon.net

Mission

To protect and strengthen the democratic values, fundamental freedoms, and inclusive economies that empower people to shape their own futures.

Values

Impact: Focus where the foundation can have the greatest impact, deploying all of its assets.
Continuity: Sustain long-standing ways of working, including support for human potential, the arts, free expression, and empathy.
Learning: Become a real-time learning foundation built for the age of AI, fragmented information, and social upheaval.
Global Reach: Preserve the foundation's legacy as a global foundation with deep local expertise and relationships, especially in the Global South.

Goal 1: Democratic Governance🔗

Protect democratic governance and the rule of law
Other Information
Everything else depends on the rule of law, representation, effective governance, and civil and voting rights.

Objective 1.1: Participation🔗

Bring people back into political processes and restore trust in government.

Objective 1.2: Institutions🔗

Rebuild failed or dismantled institutions.

Objective 1.3: Everyday Democracy🔗

Make democracy something people experience in their daily lives.

Goal 2: Inclusive Economies🔗

Build just and inclusive economies
Other Information
Extreme inequality is both a product and a driver of weak democracy.

Objective 2.1: Workers🔗

Rebuild an inclusive economy with workers at the center.

Objective 2.2: Rules🔗

Rewrite the rules of an "out-of-balance capitalism."

Objective 2.3: Disability Justice🔗

Champion economic justice for people with disabilities.

Objective 2.4: Safety Nets🔗

Reweave frayed social safety nets.

Goal 3: Information🔗

Defend information as a public good
Other Information
A healthy information environment is needed for democracy.

Objective 3.1: Public Good🔗

Treat information as a public good.

Objective 3.2: Digital Technologies🔗

Change how digital technologies are designed, deployed, and governed so they support healthy information ecosystems.

Goal 4: Safety & Justice🔗

Secure safety, justice, and fairness
Other Information
A pragmatic approach that moves beyond "tough" vs. "soft" framing.

Objective 4.1: Decarceration🔗

Continue bending the curve on criminalization and incarceration.

Objective 4.2: Social Services🔗

Provide people in crisis with needed social services.

Objective 4.3: Crisis Response🔗

Back community violence intervention and non-police emergency responses to mental health crises.

Goal 5: Gender Equality🔗

Accelerate gender equality
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Attacks on gender equality are linked to democratic backsliding.

Objective 5.1: Rights & Autonomy🔗

Protect the rights and autonomy of women and LGBTQ+ people.

Objective 5.2: Health Care🔗

Expand support for the full spectrum of women's health care, including maternal and infant outcomes.

Objective 5.3: Norms🔗

Fund evidence-based efforts to shift policy and social norms, aiming for gender equality at scale.

Goal 6: Global Cooperation🔗

Foster global cooperation
Other Information
Global institutions have lost power and legitimacy.

Objective 6.1: Multilateralism🔗

Reimagine effective multilateralism to be more representative and adept.

Objective 6.2: Global South🔗

Leverage the Global South's position and advance climate justice.

Objective 6.3: Coalitions🔗

Use multi-stakeholder approaches, including regional bodies and "coalitions of purpose."

Objective 6.4: Representation🔗

Give affected communities a seat at decision-making tables, with a focus on climate, AI, and debt.

Goal 7: Racial Justice🔗

Advance racial justice
Other Information
Racial justice is a cross-cutting, institution-wide imperative rather than a standalone program area.

Objective 7.1: Prioritization🔗

Prioritize racial justice across all institutional work.

Objective 7.2: Fund🔗

Create a racial justice fund to integrate this work into other programs.

Objective 7.3: Staff🔗

Embed dedicated professional staff within program teams.