REFOCUSING AT FORD

Luis Ubinas is shaking things up at the Ford Foundation. He’s been President for 16 months and he’s initiated new strategies to ensure that the Foundation's grantmaking will address the challenges of “the next generation,” while drawing upon Ford's 50+ years on the frontlines of social change around the world, fighting for social justice focused on marginalized members of society.

After a year-long evaluation process in which Ford obtained feedback from some 2,000 individuals and organizations across the many regions it serves, they plan to focus grantmaking in eight areas: access to education; democratic, accountable government; economic fairness and opportunity; freedom of expression; human rights; natural resources and sustainable development; sexuality and reproductive health and rights; and social justice.

“We believe that the next generation of Ford's work has the potential to help achieve the lasting social change in which we all believe. But it will not be easy. The challenges of discrimination, economic inequity and lack of access to opportunity are real and growing. In many areas where our past support contributed to significant gains, ground is being lost. More immediately, all of us are feeling the pain of the global economic crisis, and this year will likely be harder than last,” Ubinas said.

At a tough economic time, we seem to have ushered in an atmosphere of serious consideration for the human condition.