Editing Ford Foundation (section)

==History==

The foundation was established January 15, 1936,<ref name="Overview" /> in Michigan by Edsel Ford (president of the [[Ford Motor Company]]) and two other executives "to receive and administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare."<ref name="bak">{{cite book| title=Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire| last=Bak| first=Richard| date=3 July 2003| page=217| publisher=Wiley| isbn=978-0471234876}}</ref> It was a reaction to [[FDR]]'s [[Revenue Act of 1935|1935 tax reform]] introducing 70% [[Estate tax in the United States|tax on large inheritances]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/ford-foundation | title=Ford Foundation }}</ref> During its early years, the foundation operated in Michigan under the leadership of Ford family members and their associates and supported the [[Henry Ford Hospital]] and the [[The Henry Ford|Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village]], among other organizations.

After the deaths of Edsel Ford in 1943 and Henry Ford in 1947, the presidency of the foundation fell to Edsel's eldest son, [[Henry Ford II]]. It quickly became clear that the foundation would become the largest philanthropic organization in the world. The board of trustees then commissioned the Gaither Study Committee to chart the foundation's future. The committee, headed by California attorney [[H. Rowan Gaither]], recommended that the foundation become an international philanthropic organization dedicated to the advancement of human welfare and "urged the foundation to focus on solving humankind's most pressing problems, whatever they might be, rather than work in any particular field...." The report was endorsed by the foundation's board of trustees, and they subsequently voted to move the foundation to New York City in 1953.<ref name="Overview" /><ref name="philanthropynews">{{cite news|url=http://www.philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/michigan-attorney-general-looks-into-policies-of-ford-foundation|title=Michigan Attorney General Looks Into Policies of Ford Foundation|date=11 April 2006|work=Philanthropy News Digest|access-date=2014-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fordfound.org/newsroom/view_news_detail.cfm?news_index=166|title=Ford Foundation website press release|date=2005-12-02|access-date=2007-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905140444/http://www.fordfound.org/newsroom/view_news_detail.cfm?news_index=166|archive-date=2007-09-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fordfoundation.org/about/about-ford/our-origins/ |title=Our origins |website=www.fordfoundation.org |access-date=2022-04-26}}</ref> 

The board of directors decided to diversify the foundation's portfolio and gradually divested itself of its substantial Ford Motor Company stock between 1955 and 1974.<ref name="Overview" /> This divestiture allowed Ford Motor to become a [[public company]]. Finally, Henry Ford II resigned from his trustee's role in a surprise move in December 1976. In his resignation letter, he cited his dissatisfaction with the foundation holding on to their old programs, large staff and what he saw as [[anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] undertones in the foundation's work.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/12/archives/henry-ford-2d-quits-foundation-urges-appreciation-for-capitalism.html| author = Maurice, Caroll | title=Henry Ford 2d Quits Foundation, Urges Appreciation for Capitalism| newspaper=The New York Times| date=12 January 1977 | access-date=2018-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/12/archives/foundation-woes-the-saga-of-henry-ford-ii-part-two-ford-ford.html| author = Weymouth, Lally | title=FOUNDATION WOES THE SAGA OF HENRY FORD II: PART TWO| newspaper=The New York Times| date=12 March 1978 | access-date=2018-05-21}}</ref> In February 2019, Henry Ford III was elected to the Foundation's Board of Trustees, becoming the first [[Ford family]] member to serve on the board since his grandfather resigned in 1976.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fordfoundation.org/the-latest/news/ford-foundation-elects-henry-ford-iii-to-board-of-trustees/|title=Ford Foundation elects Henry Ford III to Board of Trustees|website=Ford Foundation|date=22 February 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/02/22/henry-ford-iii-foundation-trustee/2940596002/|title=First Ford since 1976 named to Ford Foundation board|last=Rubin|first=Neal|website=Detroit News|language=en|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref>

For many years, the foundation topped annual lists compiled by the [[Foundation Center]] of US foundations with the most assets and the highest annual giving. The foundation has fallen a few places in those lists in recent years, especially with the establishment of the [[Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]] in 2000. As of May 4, 2013, the foundation was second in terms of assets<ref name="statements" /> and tenth in terms of annual grant giving.<ref name="giving">{{cite web|url=http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/topfunders/top100giving.html|title=Top 100 U.S. Foundations by Total Giving|date=26 April 2014|publisher=Foundation Center|access-date=2014-05-11}}</ref>

=== Archives ===
In 2012, the foundation declared that it was not a research library and transferred its archives from New York City to the [[Rockefeller Archive Center]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]].<ref name="archives">{{cite press release|url=http://www.rockarch.org/collections/news/fordnews.php|title=Rockefeller Archive Center to House Ford Foundation Records|publisher=Rockefeller Archive Center|date=9 April 2012|access-date=2014-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528154557/http://rockarch.org/collections/news/fordnews.php|archive-date=28 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>