Ford Foundation in Southern Africa

Founded in 1936, the Ford Foundation is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its goals are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international co-operation and advance human achievement. The Ford Foundation has been making grants in South Africa for over 40 years. It annually disburses around US$ 13 million in grant funds to a broad range of civic institutions and governmental bodies working in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Programme Areas
The Foundation supports applied research, policy studies, institutional capacity-building and demonstration projects that can generate innovative approaches to pressing challenges of development. The thematic programme areas in 1999 - 2000 were Human Rights, Higher Education, Media, Arts and Culture, Governance, Civil Society and Philanthropy, Environment and Development, as well as Micro-enterprise and Small-business Development.

In addition, the Foundation supports two important cross-cutting themes within these areas: the use of information and communication technology, and the development of race and gender diversity.

In 2000, the Foundation support more than 60 projects in South Africa, including a Women on Farms Project to help female farmworkers improve their living and working conditions, a Groundwork Trust to investigate human rights abuses caused by environmentally destructive disposal of hazardous waste, and Tshwaranang, a legal advocacy clinic to counter violence against women.



Any individual or legally constituted organisation is eligible to apply for a Foundation grant, which is available solely for educational, scientific, literary and charitable activities. The Southern African Office gives the majority of grants to organisations that propose to undertake innovative work related to the thematic programmes listed above. As a policy, grants are not given for routine recurring costs or for the construction and maintenance of buildings. Grantees are selected based on the merit of their proposals and their potential contribution to the advancement of the Foundation's programme objectives.

Organisations should submit an initial letter of enquiry. The Foundation may then request a detailed proposal, which should include the following:

* Background information on the organisation;
* Context of the problems or opportunities addressed by the proposal;
* Overall goal and specific objectives of the project;
* Description of items to be funded, included staff, activities and timelines;
* Anticipated outcomes and achievements, including impact on target group and how that impact will be evaluated;
* Detailed budget, including proposed Foundation contribution and other sources;
* Statement on how the project promotes diversity and equal opportunity.

Applications are considered throughout the year, and applicants may expect to receive an initial indication of whether the project is compatible with the Foundation's interests and budgetary limitations within two months.

Contact:
The Ford Foundation
P O Box 30953
Braamfontein 2017
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: 27 (0)11 403 5912
Website: http://www.fordfound.org