Ford Foundation Charts New Course to Support Preconditions for Thriving Democracies

New strategy will refocus the foundation's mission to protect and strengthen democratic values, fundamental freedoms, and inclusive economies worldwide

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation today unveiled its new strategic direction to support the preconditions necessary for democracies to thrive. The foundation will refocus its institutional mission to protect and strengthen democratic values, fundamental freedoms, and inclusive economies worldwide, so people are empowered to shape their futures.

Developed in response to the unprecedented geopolitical, economic, and societal factors of this moment, this new strategy is anchored in protecting and strengthening the core principles that sustain democracy and the rule of law. It comes one year after Heather Gerken was appointed the foundation's 11th president. The strategy features seven interconnected funding areas: Protecting Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law; Building Just and Inclusive Economies; Defending Information as a Public Good; Securing Safety, Justice, and Fairness; Accelerating Gender Equality; Fostering Global Cooperation; and Advancing Racial Justice.

The foundation's deep, decades-long commitment and ongoing support for social justice and marginalized communities will be embedded across all seven new funding areas—bringing this work to scale across all of our grantmaking.

The strategies for each area will be launched and implemented on a rolling basis over the course of 2027. This will be the first strategic refresh of the foundation's areas of work in over a decade.

The public report, "How We Meet This Moment," outlines the strategy and its development and reflects on Ford's history in critical moments alongside its current work. Senior leaders at the foundation conducted the review, in partnership with staff and experts across the sector, to set the course for the foundation's next chapter.

The strategy reflects a renewed commitment to the foundation's roots, exemplified by the Gaither Report, commissioned by the foundation's Board of Trustees in 1950, another turbulent period in world history. At that time, the Ford Foundation's trustees charged the foundation with "the advancement of the ideals and principles of democracy."

"The Ford Foundation's new vision is an evolution, not a revolution, of our work, and a reflection of this era's rapidly changing global landscape," said Heather Gerken, president of the Ford Foundation and a nationally recognized expert in democracy and constitutional law. "Conditions have changed since our last strategy review, and we are marshaling all of our resources to respond to these new challenges while staying true to our legacy as a social justice foundation."

"We believe this new strategy reflects the fundamental convictions that have guided Ford for generations," said Ursula Burns, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation. "This strategy reflects the ambition, dedication, and experience of the leadership team and is exactly what this moment requires."

Operationally, the foundation will respond by delivering larger, multiyear general operating support; executing well-integrated and adaptive strategies for impact; and driving continuous innovation and investment across the philanthropic sector through its newly created Office of Innovation.

The Ford Foundation's Seven Funding Areas

The seven new funding areas address what the foundation describes as the necessary preconditions for democracy in a period marked by growing autocracy, intensifying inequality, and the overall erosion of public trust.

Protecting Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law: The Ford Foundation will work to ensure democracy lives up to its promise and that people and communities are able to shape the policies that affect their lives. This depends on the rule of law, vibrant democratic representation, civil rights and civil liberties, and effective governance to bring people back into the political process, restore trust in government, and rebuild governing institutions that have been dismantled or degraded.

Building Just and Inclusive Economies: Severe economic inequality is both a product of democratic decline and a force that accelerates it. The Ford Foundation will prioritize approaches that create fairer economic rules, advance opportunities for people with disabilities, and help workers and marginalized communities adapt to fast-changing realities, while addressing the concentration of economic power that leaves too many behind.

Defending Information as a Public Good: A healthy democracy requires an informed citizenry, and the erosion of shared, trustworthy information has undermined public faith in government itself. The Ford Foundation will defend an information and media environment to strengthen rather than undermine democracy. The strategy will work to change how digital technologies are designed, deployed, and governed so they serve the public good.

Securing Safety, Justice, and Fairness: There is strong public support for a pragmatic approach to safety and justice that moves beyond the false binary of tough-on-crime versus soft. The Ford Foundation will advance solutions that keep communities safe, reduce criminalization and incarceration, and ensure people receive the support and justice they need and deserve.

Accelerating Gender Equality: Democratic backsliding has gone hand in hand with attacks on gender equality worldwide, depriving many of the basic dignity and essential freedom to build stable, meaningful lives. The Ford Foundation will protect the rights and autonomy of women and LGBTQ+ people, including expanding to support the full spectrum of reproductive health care while shifting social norms and closing gaps in the law that allow gender-based violence to persist globally.

Fostering Global Cooperation: The multilateral institutions built for the previous world order have lost power and legitimacy at a time when cross-border challenges like climate change, artificial intelligence, and sovereign debt demand global cooperation. The Ford Foundation will work to rebuild effective multilateralism and support regional coalitions and plurilateral partnerships that ensure the Global South has a seat at the table.

Advancing Racial Justice: Building on the Ford Foundation's legacy in the fights for civil rights and against apartheid, the foundation will continue that tradition by establishing a racial justice fund. Ford will deploy dedicated staff to support the field and integrate this work across the foundation's entire portfolio. To counter a growing crisis of historic erasure and retreat from honest reckoning, this institution-wide commitment will operate across all of the Ford Foundation's grantmaking.

"Our commitment to social justice and to communities that have been pushed to the margins, denied equal justice or economic opportunity, will remain a throughline across all of our areas of work," said Gerken. "Those commitments are essential to building healthy, vibrant democracies and societies."

Changing How Ford Funds: Advancing Grantmaking Excellence

Alongside the shift to the foundation's areas of work, the Ford Foundation is evolving its approach to grantmaking to meet its renewed mission while helping philanthropy respond more effectively to an evolving nonprofit sector.

"The Ford Foundation is committed to driving impact across the philanthropic sector," said Nicholas Turner, executive vice president, programs of the Ford Foundation. "Today, that requires continuing to trust our grantees and adapting how we work so we can move quickly and better support the grantees and communities we serve."

The Ford Foundation is also transforming how it works. Under its new strategy, Ford will commit to flexible funding and more closely integrated, flexible teams to ensure its grantmakers can pivot quickly and respond to real-time changes. The foundation will expand its general operating support, increase multiyear funding, make larger grants, and continue to strengthen the institutional capacity of its grantees and the sector at large. This approach builds on decades of research and learning showing that grantees with flexible, long-term funding were far better equipped to respond to unexpected challenges.

"Throughout the strategy review process, it became abundantly clear that this unpredictable and volatile period requires much from philanthropy," said Turner. "We will work strategically, ambitiously, and nimbly, so we can make a meaningful difference for people of color, people with disabilities, and for those who have been sidelined from our democratic and economic systems."

In addition, Ford will invest directly in strengthening the nonprofit sector itself, funding and building in areas ripe for collective action, including shared infrastructure, strategic consolidation and partnership, workforce support, and ethical technology tools.

The foundation will continue to adopt innovative mechanisms to drive financial resources to the sector, including impact investing, engagement with private markets, and unlocking new capital-allocation mechanisms for its grantmakers.

Starting January 2027, program staff across the foundation will shift to three functional units focused on strategy design, transitional grantmaking, and responsible sunsetting of areas of work.

This restructure aims to support Ford's mission and grantees at this crucial moment. It will allow program staff to develop full strategies quickly while ensuring ongoing grantmaking continues.

Details of the Ford Foundation's new strategic vision are fully outlined in the public report, "How We Meet This Moment," available to read at fordfoundation.org.

About the Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation is an independent global organization that protects and strengthens the democratic values, fundamental freedoms, and inclusive economies that empower people to shape their own futures. For 90 years, it has promoted human dignity, human rights, and human achievement by supporting leaders, ideas, and organizations on the frontlines of social change. Today, with an endowment of $18 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Learn more at http://www.fordfoundation.org.