Posted on June 12, 2009

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Ford Foundation Offers Buyouts to Staff

In an effort to reduce expenses and avoid cuts in its grantmaking, the Ford Foundation has offered buyouts to roughly one-third of its 550 staff members, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

The move is the latest in a series made by the foundation — the second largest in the nation — to cut costs in the wake of an almost 30 percent drop in the value of its assets. Staff members at the foundation's New York City headquarters and its foreign offices were informed of the buyout offer last month by the foundation's president, Luis A. Ubiņas. According to the foundation's vice president of communications, Marta L. Tellado, the foundation does not have a specific number of employees it hopes will accept the offer, which she described as "generous and responsible." But if voluntary departures do not produce adequate cost reductions, the foundation may have to resort to layoffs.

The foundation eliminated thirty staff positions when it closed its offices in Russia and Vietnam earlier this year. That move, along with reductions in travel budgets, salary freezes, and other efforts, has generated $40 million in cost savings — savings that will be used to support Ford's grantmaking, said Tellado. The foundation plans to award $528 million in grants in its current fiscal year, which began in October. However, the amount — the same awarded by the foundation last year — will depend on the future performance of its endowment.

Addressing grantees who may be concerned by the news, Tellado emphasized that Ford is taking the steps to maintain its giving in tough economic times. "Everything we're doing is to meet the needs of our grantees," she told the Chronicle. "So we feel like they're going to be in pretty good standing. This economic crisis is not something we're just going to bounce back from. We have to think about how do we prepare ourselves for the longer term."

“Ford Foundation Offers Buyouts to One-Third of Employees.” Chronicle of Philanthropy 6/10/09.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Economic Crisis
Location(s): New York, New York City

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