Ford Foundation redirects billions to bolster democracy amid rising autocracy and inequality

Managing an $18 billion endowment, the New York-based Ford Foundation will reallocate resources to strengthen democratic institutions, citing the twin threats of autocracy and inequality. The overhaul arrives less than a year into Heather Gerken’s presidency and is the most extensive since Darren Walker’s 2015 focus on inequality. The new strategy positions democracy as a core pillar of the foundation’s social-justice agenda.