Ford Launches New Philanthropic Effort to Help Nonprofits
Ford Motor Company launched a new philanthropic initiative company officials said will meet the “rapidly evolving” needs of local communities in an effort they say continues a 122-year effort to stand with communities through good and bad times.In a statement posted to the company’s website, officials announced “Ford Building Together,” which increases volunteer hours and provides some $7 million in grants to nonprofits from its philanthropic arm.
“Across the country, we hear from our Ford dealers, employees, and customers about how the needs of local communities are rapidly evolving,” the statement reads. “And while nonprofit organizations are facing increasing demand for their vital services, nearly half report not having the resources required to meet these needs effectively.”
Ford Building Together is designed to support the critical work of four national nonprofits — American Red Cross, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, and Team Rubicon — who are on the ground in local communities addressing today’s changing needs.
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“When we say the ‘power of Ford’ we don’t mean simply writing checks,” officials said. “For the first time, we will be enhancing our philanthropic giving by working alongside our expansive dealer network in communities across the country, sharing the skills and expertise of our employees through volunteering, and lending our technology and vehicles to scale the services of our nonprofit partners.”
There are ways for the community to help — donating blood in support of the American Red Cross, giving food for local food banks in Feeding America’s network, dropping off gently used tools and materials for Habitat ReStores, and preparing for wildfires and hurricanes by attending a free preparedness workshop led by Team Rubicon.
“Along with our partners, we have a shared objective of strengthening communities for the future and rebuilding them to be more resilient moving forward,” they said.
As part of Ford Building Together, the program will support local communities through:
- Partnering with Expert Nonprofit Organizations: Ford Philanthropy has built strong relationships with these key partners by providing them with grants to support critical community needs and additional support, allowing them to expand operations.
- Working With Its Dealer Network: Dealers are in every community across the country. With their help, we will support our nonprofit partners by hosting local activations at our dealerships, including storm preparedness sessions, blood drives, and food-and-material collections. View our Volunteer Map and enter your location to find an activation near you.
- Sharing the Skills and Expertise of Ford Employees Through Volunteerism: We are increasing our Volunteer Paid Time Off policy to encourage Ford employees to lend their skills and expertise to our four nonprofit partners for extended periods of time. This builds on the Ford Volunteer Corps’ 20-year legacy.
- Lending Vehicles and Technologies in Times of Need: An expanded loaner vehicle program will allow our nonprofit partners to scale and strengthen their services — especially during a crisis when communities lose power and infrastructure is impacted.
- Spotlighting the Impact of Nonprofit Partners: We will bring visibility to the important work these partners do and what more communities need through our outreach and communications channels.
