Ford Foundation Commits $80-Million to Help American Workers

With the unemployment rate at its highest point since 1983, the Ford Foundation has committed $80-million to help American workers cope with job losses, declining income, and other problems triggered by the economic downturn.

The announcement is tied to President Obama’s jobs conference, to be held on Thursday in Washington so business leaders and economists can discuss how to spur economic growth. (Several nonprofit leaders will be among those attending, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.)

“We want to signal our intention to work with partners from every sector to help address the challenges facing U.S. workers, both immediate and long term,” said Joseph Voeller, a spokesman for the New York foundation.

The five-year program will support research and advocacy efforts to strengthen federal and state policies and safety-net programs that benefit low-wage workers.

For example, Ford is seeking to bolster the U.S. Department of Labor’s unemployment-insurance program, which was created in 1935 in response to the Great Depression. The grant maker says the program, which is administered by state governments, is failing to serve more than half of the people who have lost their jobs.

As part of its new grant-making program, Ford has awarded $2-million to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group in New York, to provide training to help states close the insurance gaps.

“These grants are about building a smarter system that rewards responsibility and brings basic economic security within reach of more workers,” Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, said in a statement.

The program is the second large grant commitment Ford has made in recent weeks. Last month it announced it would award $100-million to improve American public education.

The new programs come as Ford is struggling with the effect of the economic downturn. Due to a decline in its endowment, the $9.6-billion organization closed offices in Vietnam and Russia, eliminating 30 staff positions, and 60 of its 550 staff members took buyouts that were offered earlier this year.

Mr. Ubiñas, who joined the foundation last year, has said administrative cost cutting helped the fund save $40-million, which was steered toward its grant-making budget.

The foundation provided about $528-million during its 2009 fiscal year, which ended September 30. It hoped not to cut that amount drastically in fiscal 2010.

Read The Chronicle’s article about the staff changes at the Ford Foundation.