Key Takeaways
- The Ford Foundation unveiled its first strategic refresh in more than a decade on October 22, 2026, organized around seven funding areas.
- A Ford Foundation spokesperson told the Associated Press that the foundation expects to award about $700 million in grants in 2027, a figure that could rise, Fortune reports.
- Ford Foundation charitable disbursements were $1,053,492,085 in 2024, so the 2027 forecast is about two-thirds of that total.
- Ford Foundation program staff shift to three functional units starting January 2027, and strategies roll out over 2027.
The Ford Foundation strategy overhaul, unveiled October 22, 2026, by president Heather Gerken, runs its grantmaking through seven funding areas. A Ford Foundation spokesperson told the Associated Press that the foundation expects to award about $700 million in grants in 2027, a figure that could rise, Fortune reports.
Ford Foundation 2024 disbursements against the 2027 forecast
The latest Form 990-PF in WYDE's records for the Ford Foundation covers the year ending December 2024. Form 990-PF is the annual return private foundations file with the IRS, and charitable disbursements are the amounts it reports as paid out for charitable purposes. The 2024 return reports $1,053,492,085, up from $942,551,202 in 2022 and $918,133,779 in 2023.
The $700 million forecast is about two-thirds of the 2024 total. The arithmetic is $700 million divided by $1,053.5 million, which gives 66 percent. Against the 2022 and 2023 totals, the same forecast is 74 percent and 76 percent.
The two figures measure different things. Fortune reports a forecast of grants, while the filing reports disbursements, so the comparison is approximate. Fortune also reports that the forecast could rise.
Seven funding areas and the January 2027 reorganization
The release says the strategy "features seven interconnected funding areas." They are 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. Fortune lists the same seven areas in shorter form.
Strategies for each area will be launched and implemented on a rolling basis over the course of 2027. Starting January 2027, program staff will shift to three functional units focused on strategy design, transitional grantmaking, and responsible sunsetting (winding down areas of work). The release calls this the first strategic refresh of the foundation's areas of work in over a decade.
Gerken said, "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." She added that the foundation is "marshaling all of our resources to respond to these new challenges." The release describes her as a nationally recognized expert in democracy and constitutional law.
What the shift means for Ford Foundation grantees
Fortune reports that the foundation says it will make bigger grants, commit more money over multiple years, and expand general operating support, which is funding not tied to a single project. The same report says the shift will cost some current grantees their funding and that the foundation will eventually wind down certain programs.
Nicholas Turner, the foundation's executive vice president of programs, told the Associated Press it was "too early to say" which programs would be affected, according to Fortune. Fortune reports that some have considered the plan the foundation's most significant strategic shift since 2015, when former president Darren Walker focused the foundation around fighting inequality.
Neither the release nor Fortune gives a dollar breakdown by funding area. The records hold no Form 990-PF after the year ending December 2024, so no filed figure yet shows how the foundation's disbursements have moved since.
Related WYDE coverage: John Paulson's $250 million gift to Hebrew University.
People Also Ask
How much will the Ford Foundation give in 2027?
Fortune reports that a Ford Foundation spokesperson told the Associated Press that the foundation expects to award about $700 million in grants in 2027, and that the figure could rise. The foundation's most recent Form 990-PF in WYDE's records reports $1,053,492,085 in charitable disbursements for 2024.
What are the seven funding areas of the Ford Foundation's new strategy?
The seven areas are 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 release says the strategy for each area will be launched and implemented on a rolling basis over the course of 2027.
When does the Ford Foundation's new strategy take effect?
The Ford Foundation unveiled the strategy on October 22, 2026. Starting January 2027, its program staff will shift to three functional units, and the strategy for each of the seven areas rolls out over the course of 2027.
Who leads the Ford Foundation?
Heather Gerken is the foundation's 11th president, according to the foundation's release. Fortune reports that she left Yale Law School to run the foundation.
Sources: Ford Foundation, Fortune.