Foundation Annual Reports

FORD FOUNDATION
320 East 43rd Street
New York 10017
(212) 573-5000
http://www.fordfound.org

Period covered: Year ending September 30, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

The foundation was endowed in 1936 through gifts and bequests of Ford Motor Company stock from Henry Ford and his son Edsel. The fund no longer owns stock in the company.

In 1997-98, the foundation approved grants and program-related investments totaling approximately $490.7-million. Of that, $341.2-million went to U.S. and worldwide programs, and $149.5-million went to programs carried out through the foundation’s 14 field offices overseas.

In 1996, the fund reconfigured its grant making into three overarching program areas: asset building and community development, which comprises economic development, community and resource development, and human development and reproductive health; peace and social justice, which comprises human rights and international cooperation and governance and civil society; and education, media, arts, and culture, which comprises education, knowledge, and religion and the media, arts, and culture.

In 1997-98, grant approvals were distributed among the seven program units as follows: human rights and international cooperation received $96.3-million; governance and civil society, $79.6-million; education, knowledge, and religion, $77.3-million; human development and reproductive health, $75.7-million; community and resource development, $72.9-million; economic development, $58.6-million; and the media, arts, and culture, $30.3-million.

As in the previous fiscal year, the human-rights and international-cooperation unit received the largest percentage of grant dollars. The unit supports organizations working on international human rights and the protection of the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, and migrants; civil-military relations; foreign policy; conflict resolution and peace; nuclear non-proliferation; and the responsibilities of governments in supplying aid for international development.

The governance and civil-society unit finances activities to improve governmental performance, to strengthen public awareness of budget and tax issues, to encourage more-pluralistic social and economic policies, to increase citizen participation in civic affairs, and to promote philanthropy.

The education, knowledge, and religion unit stresses teaching and scholarship, campus diversity, educational administration and policy research, curriculum development, international studies, and religious pluralism.

The human-development and reproductive-health unit supports policies and organizations that help mitigate the effects of poverty and discrimination for disadvantaged children and families, and policies and activities related to reproductive health and sexuality.

The community- and resource-development unit focuses on agricultural productivity, land and water management, international economics and development, community revitalization, and related research and policy development.

The economic-development unit emphasizes employment creation, training in marketable job skills, developing the personal assets of low-income people, economic revitalization, and related policy research. The unit also administers the foundation’s program-related investments, which totaled $13-million in 1997-98.

The media, arts, and culture unit stresses artistic creativity and resources, cultural preservation and vitality, the news media and public policy, and the role of the arts in society.

The foundation maintains its headquarters in New York and has offices in Beijing; Cairo; Hanoi, Vietnam; Jakarta, Indonesia; Johannesburg; Lagos, Nigeria; Manila; Mexico City; Moscow; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi; Rio de Janeiro; Santiago, Chile; and Windhoek, Namibia.

Application procedure: Information about the foundation’s program activities may be found in its publication Current Interests of the Ford Foundation, its quarterly Ford Foundation Report, and on its World-Wide Web site. Potential applicants should first submit a brief letter of inquiry to determine whether the foundation’s interests and funds permit consideration of a proposal. The letter of inquiry should include the purpose of the project for which funds are being requested; problems and issues the proposed project will take up; information about the organization conducting the project; estimated overall budget for the project; period of time for which funds are requested; and the qualifications of individuals who will be engaged in the project. After receiving the letter, foundation staff members may ask the grant seeker to submit a formal, more-detailed proposal. Although the foundation makes some grants to individuals, those grants are few in number and are limited to research, training, and similar activities related to the foundation’s program interests. Applications are considered throughout the year. Requests in the United States should be sent to Attn: Secretary, at the address above; requests in foreign countries should be directed to the nearest Ford Foundation field office.

Key officials: Susan V. Berresford, president; Barron M. Tenny, executive vice-president, secretary, and general counsel; Barry D. Gaberman, senior vice-president; Robert Curvin, vice-president for communications; Linda B. Strumpf, vice-president and chief investment officer; Alison R. Bernstein, vice-president-education, media, arts, and culture; Melvin L. Oliver, vice-president-asset building and community development; Bradford K. Smith, vice-president-peace and social justice; Nicholas M. Gabriel, treasurer and director of financial services; Henry B. Schacht, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Elizabeth C. Campbell (community and resource development), Frank F. DeGiovanni (economic development), Virginia Davis Floyd (human development and reproductive health), Mary E. McClymont (acting director, governance and civil society), Pamela M. Meyer (media, arts, and culture), Janice Petrovich (education, knowledge, and religion), and Anthony D. Romero (human rights and international cooperation).

GLOBAL FUND FOR WOMEN

425 Sherman Avenue, Suite 300
Palo Alto, Cal. 94306-1823
(650) 853-8305
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

Incorporated in 1987, the Global Fund for Women makes grants to groups worldwide that work on women’s-rights issues. It is a non-endowed foundation and receives donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations.

In 1998, the fund made grants totaling $1,865,329 to 226 groups in 74 countries, and awarded its first grants to groups serving women and girls in Afghanistan, Macedonia, Morocco, Myanmar, Romania, Rwanda, and Spain.

The smallest grant made, a $130 award, enabled Solo Para Ellas, a grassroots AIDS-education group in Lima, Peru, to participate in conferences on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The largest grant made, $23,000 over two years, provided support to Telemanita, an organization in Tepoztlan, Mexico, that trains women’s groups in the use of communications technology.

Although the fund maintains a flexible approach to grant making, it currently emphasizes four areas: women’s rights within religious and cultural traditions, economic opportunities for women, increasing support for programs in Africa, and improving girls’ access to primary education.

Application procedure: The fund accepts grant applications written in any language. They may be handwritten or typed, and may be sent by mail, by fax at (650) 328-0384, or by e-mail at gfw@globalfundforwomen.org. Requests are accepted throughout the year; contact the fund’s office for assistance before applying.

Key officials: Kavita Nandini Ramdas, president and chief executive officer; Misti Mukhopadhyay, director of programs; Nicola McIntyre, director of development and communications; Gail Spann, director of finance and operations; Laila Macharia, program officer-Africa and the Middle East; Sarah Vaill, program officer-the Americas, Caribbean, and Oceania; Amelia Wu, program officer-Europe, Asia, former Soviet Union; Rita Thapa, chair of the Board of Directors.

JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

One Biscayne Tower, Suite 3800
Two South Biscayne Boulevard
Miami 33131-1803
(305) 908-2600
http://www.knightfdn.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

The foundation was established in 1950 by the brothers John S. and James L. Knight of the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain as a private fund independent of their publishing enterprises.

In 1998, the foundation received 851 proposals and approved 271 grants totaling $40,342,298 in four major program areas: arts and culture, which received 89 grants totaling $11,662,115; education, 49 grants totaling $10,248,200; community initiatives, 85 grants totaling $8,674,983; and journalism, 16 grants totaling $7,655,000. Sixteen disaster-relief grants totaling $1,972,000 and 16 special grants totaling $130,000 were also awarded.

The arts program awarded a significantly larger amount of money over the previous year, when it awarded $7.2-million in grants. Allocations included four grants totaling $970,000 made through the “Magic of Music” Symphony Orchestra Initiative.

The national education program focuses on education reform and improving student achievement in kindergarten through the 12th grade and at the university level. For example, a three-year, $525,000 grant went to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation, in Lexington, to test an arts-infused middle-school educational curricula and related teacher development. The foundation also makes select grants to educational and literacy groups in the 26 communities where the Knight brothers published newspapers.

Grants in the community-initiatives program are made to groups serving those 26 communities: Aberdeen, S.D.; Akron, Ohio; Biloxi, Miss.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Boulder, Colo.; Bradenton, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Detroit; Duluth, Minn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gary, Ind.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Lexington, Ky.; Long Beach, Cal.; Macon, Ga.; Miami; Milledgeville, Ga.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Philadelphia; San Jose, Cal.; St. Paul; State College, Pa.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Wichita, Kan.

Within those communities, the foundation stresses these program areas: arts and culture, youth development and violence prevention, children and social welfare, citizenship, community development, education, homelessness, and literacy.

The journalism program is international in scope; grant making focuses on journalism education, the defense of First Amendment rights, and efforts to insure a free press both in the United States and abroad.

Application procedure: The applicant organization must provide a copy of a letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating that it is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is not a private foundation as defined in Section 509(a) of the code. The foundation does not make grants to individuals. Each of the four major grant programs has separate priorities and eligibility criteria; applicant organizations should contact the foundation for a copy of its “How to Apply for a Grant” guidelines, cover page, and guidelines for the proposal narrative.

Key officials: Hodding Carter III, president and chief executive officer; Penelope McPhee, vice-president and chief program officer; Timothy J. Crowe, vice-president and chief financial officer; Larry Meyer, director of communications; Belinda T. Lawrence, director of administration; John Bare, director of evaluation; J. Bryan McCullar, grants administrator; W. Gerald Austen, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Del Brinkman (journalism), Gary Burger (arts and culture), A. Richardson Love, Jr. (education), and Linda L. Raybin (community initiatives).