Henry Ford, inventor and founder of the Ford Motor Company.

Edsel Ford, Henry's son, who became president of the Ford Motor Company and later established the Ford Foundation.

The Ford Foundation was chartered on January 15 th, 1936 by Edsel Ford and two Ford Motor Company executives “to receive and administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare.” During its early years, the foundation operated in Michigan under the leadership of Ford family members and their associates.

After the deaths of Edsel Ford in 1943 and Henry Ford in 1947, it became clear that the non-voting stock of the Ford Motor Company they bequeathed to the Ford Foundation would create the largest philanthropy in the world. In response, the foundation’s board of trustees, led by the chairman, Henry Ford II, commissioned studies to chart the institution’s future.

The Gaither Study Committee, headed by future president H. Rowan Gaither, was convened in this process and produced the report the board ultimately embraced. After thorough board review and discussion of the report in 1949, a summary was published and distributed to the public in 1950. It recommended support for activities worldwide that:

• Promise significant contributions to world peace and the establishment of a world order of law and justice;
• Secure greater allegiance to the basic principles of freedom and democracy in the solution of the insistent problems of an ever-changing society;
• Advance the economic well being of people everywhere and improve economic institutions for the better realization of democratic goals;
• Strengthen, expand and improve educational facilities and methods to enable individuals more fully to realize their intellectual, civic, and spiritual potentialities; to promote greater equality of educational opportunity; and to conserve and increase knowledge and enrich our culture; and
• Through scientific work, increase knowledge of factors which influence or determine human conduct, and extend such knowledge for the maximum benefit of individuals and society.

The report also recommended that the foundation operate under the general guidance of the trustees, with the president and staff officers having a high degree of discretion and the flexibility necessary to respond to unforeseen issues and new opportunities.

In 1953, the trustees decided to locate the foundation in New York. The foundation leased space in the city until 1967, when construction of a new headquarters building was completed. Diversification of the foundation’s portfolio was discussed as early as 1949 and divestment of the Ford Motor Company stock occurred between 1955 and 1974. Three Ford family members served as foundation trustees at different times, the last leaving the board in 1976.

To learn more about the Ford family history, visit The Henry Ford , a museum dedicated to the life and work of Henry Ford.