Former Ford leader Henry Ford II established the Ford Motor Company Fund, now known as Ford Philanthropy, in 1949 to help shore up a gap in private funding for charitable organizations.
One of the most impactful moves ever made by Ford Motor Company was not even front-page news in the company’s internal newspaper, the Rouge News, in 1949. The announcement that Ford had created a nonprofit organization, now known as Ford Philanthropy (formerly Ford Motor Company Fund), came in an edition led by news of a coal shortage that threatened the company’s production.
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Ford Philanthropy has invested more than $2.3 billion in philanthropic contributions in partnership with Ford Motor Company over the past 75 years.
Over the past 75 years, though, Ford Philanthropy has remained firm in its commitment to uplifting communities and steadily growing its impact, partnering with nonprofits and community organizations in more than 30 countries, and investing more than $2.3 billion in philanthropic contributions in partnership with Ford Motor Company. In announcing the organization’s creation, which came during a time of economic recession shortly after the end of World War II, Henry Ford II lamented the decline of private funding for charitable organizations as well as those in education, healthcare, and community development, among others. The situation, he said, required “industrial citizens” of the business world to ease the strain that would be forced upon the federal government to help fund the organizations and their beneficiaries.
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Henry Ford II speaks at the 1951 torch lighting ceremony for the United Fund, a precursor to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
“The purpose of Ford Motor Company Fund will be the alleviation of want and human suffering and the betterment and improvement of mankind through the making of contributions to organizations operating exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes,” Henry Ford II said in his statement.
First things first
The first meeting of Ford Philanthropy’s founders took place on Nov. 4, 1949, at the company’s Dearborn headquarters. Henry Ford II assumed the role of president of the organization and the position of trustee. The organization would donate more than $1.4 million in its first year, with the vast majority, more than $1.1 million, going to the Greater Detroit Hospital Fund. Contributions also included nearly $300,000 to the United Foundation (now known as United Way for Southeastern Michigan) and $20,000 to the American Red Cross – two organizations that remain anchor partners of Ford Philanthropy today.
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Ford Philanthropy donated more than $1.4 million in its first year.
Ford’s relationship with the American Red Cross dates back to World War I and a time prior to the creation of Ford Philanthropy, when it created a Model T-based ambulance for use by the Red Cross and other organizations during the war. Later, during World War II, Ford partnered with the Red Cross to host blood drives and provided vehicles to a group of women volunteers who visited and transported wounded or sick soldiers and delivered blood, food, and supplies to airstrips for overseas transport.
Throughout the past 75 years, Ford Philanthropy has hosted countless employee blood drives and supported relief and rebuilding efforts following hundreds of natural disasters. The organization is also a longtime member of the American Red Cross Disaster Giving Program.
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Ford Philanthropy’s 75-year partnership with the United Foundation began when Ford helped organize the nonprofit’s first Detroit fundraising campaign in 1949.
Ford employees have always been encouraged to invest in their communities by donating to the United Way, including through the first version of a payroll deduction program – a now common practice that businesses across all industries use to allow employees to make charitable donations to nonprofits – which was created by Henry Ford II and UAW President Walter Reuther. Throughout the past seven decades, Ford employees and Ford Philanthropy have contributed more than $500 million to assist communities where Ford employees live and work.
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The relationship between Ford and Ford Philanthropy and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) dates back more than 100 years.
Ford and Ford Philanthropy also have a long-standing partnership with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). That association began more than 100 years ago when Henry Ford organized a cross-country caravan of 50 Model Ts to transport veterans with disabilities to the DAV national convention. In the time since, Ford Philanthropy has provided scholarships, funded sports rehabilitation programs for veterans with disabilities, donated more than 250 vehicles, and supported free transportation to and from medical appointments for nearly 20 million veterans.
One step further
Ford Philanthropy has remained committed to these and various other causes, including human services organizations and education, throughout the decades. And while Ford employees have long contributed financially to its mission, the company’s philanthropic arm took its mission one step further in 2005 when Bill Ford created the Ford Volunteer Corps. The program allows Ford employees to participate in volunteer service projects where they live and work throughout the year. To date, they have contributed 1.7 million volunteer hours to various endeavors throughout the world.
While the world has changed dramatically since 1949, the mission of Ford Philanthropy remains true to its founding principles, partnering with communities to help move people forward and upward.
