From the President
Darren Walker in the News
President Darren Walker Announces Departure in 2025
President Darren Walker has shared his plans to step down from the foundation by the end of 2025. The Ford Foundation Board of Trustees will oversee the presidential leadership transition process.
The Humble Giant from Plains
From Plains, Georgia, to Pennsylvania Avenue, President Jimmy Carter was, in the truest sense, a servant leader who dedicated his life and career to the very values he stood for: humanity, dignity, justice.
The real story of how the Ford family and Ford Foundation ended their decades-long estrangement
Edsel B. Ford II and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker reflect on the estrangement and reconciliation between the Ford family and Ford Foundation—and why it matters in and beyond philanthropy…
National Endowment for the Humanities Awards Darren Walker with the National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal, inaugurated in 1997, honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens’ engagement with history, literature, languages,…
There is no leadership without risk
Fearless leaders have been essential to the survival of America’s grand experiment from the very beginning. On scales large and small, the vision of our leaders has always changed the…
The Future of Philanthropy
A bold vision for philanthropy in the 21st century is needed—one that moves giving from generosity to justice.
Democracy at a Crossroads: A Call for Courageous Leadership
The only way to protect democracy, to preserve democracy, is through the give and take—through the slow, sometimes-frustrating, consensus-building machinery that our founders engineered.
Opinion: AI changes everything. We need new guardrails to survive it. And soon.
Machine learning is poised to radically reshape the future of everything for good and for ill.
Darren Walker: Optimist, Realist, Prophet.
Darren Walker speaks with Town & Country about the future of philanthropy, art’s ability to help us see the humanity in others, and how we must all question our role in the social challenges we want to solve.
Rejecting the Rising Tide of Antisemitism
Antisemitism is not new, but it is both on the rise and dangerously brazen. If we ignore the hate that fuels it and allow the indifference that enables us to overlook or ignore it, everyone suffers.
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Must Lead the Way to a Just Energy Transition
As leaders from government and the private sector convene for COP28 to find new frameworks for climate finance and a just energy transition, local and Indigenous voices must be front and center. And there must be a verifiable commitment to respect and protect their rights