The Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice is an 81,000 square foot, 12-story building in New York City that houses the headquarters of the Ford Foundation, as well as the United Nations Foundation, Philanthropy New York, and Nonprofit New York (formerly the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York). ¹

History

The Ford Foundation was founded in 1936 with a $25,000 endowment donation from Edsel Ford, the son of billionaire industrialist Henry Ford. In 1947, Edsel’s son, Henry Ford II, took control of the Foundation and expanded its funding and activity to make it the largest grantmaking foundation in the world. In 1952, the Foundation opened its first foreign office in Indonesia, which was followed by five more foreign offices over the next decade. ²

In 1964, the Foundation announced that it was constructing a new headquarters in New York City at an estimated cost of $10 million (over $100 million in 2026 dollars adjusted for inflation). In 1967, the Ford Foundation building opened at 12 stories or 160 feet tall. A contemporary New York Times article described the structure as having “a humanized kind of office plan that New York lacks, and could learn from.” ^{3 3}

From 2016 to 2018, the Ford Foundation building underwent a major renovation to become “a unique asset for champions of social justice” and was renamed “the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.” The expansion, which cost $200 million, improved access for the disabled, restored the atrium garden, and added numerous rooms for large meetings and events. ⁴

The Ford Foundation expanded the building both to add space, permitting the Center to house the United Nations Foundation, Philanthropy New York, and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, and to comply with New York City building codes taking effect in 2019. The structure achieved LEED Platinum certification, an environmentalist standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council, and was registered as a Nontraditional Employment for Women project for its prioritizing of female tradespersons in its construction. ⁴

Tenants

The Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice houses four related left-of-center nonprofits: the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, Philanthropy New York, and Nonprofit New York (formerly the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York). ¹

The Ford Foundation is one of the largest grantmaking nonprofits in the United States and in the world, with almost $15 billion in assets, and supports numerous left-of-center causes, including environmentalism and social justice. The Center is the Ford Foundation’s headquarters from which staff oversee seven other offices around the world. ⁵

The United Nations Foundation is a private nonprofit grantmaking foundation that supports the efforts of the United Nations, including environmentalism. CNN founder and environmentalist activist Ted Turner created the Foundation in 1997 with a ten-year, $1 billion pledge. ⁶

Philanthropy New York is a membership program for individuals engaged in philanthropy as well as their nonprofit organizations. The group focuses on the advancement of “racial equity” and other left-wing concepts. ⁷

The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York is an umbrella group representing 1,400 nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations throughout New York City, many of which support left-of-center causes. ⁸

The HistoryMakers

The Center has an ongoing relationship with the HistoryMakers, a nonprofit organization that archives oral and video histories of African American individuals, including actor James Earl Jones, former President Barack Obama, and radical-left academic Angela Davis. The Center has hosted numerous events and displays for the HistoryMakers. For instance, in 2022, the HistoryMakers relaunched its WomanMakers Initiative at the Center with funding from the Ford Foundation. ^{9 10}

Other Organizations

The Center has event space that is available for rent to other nonprofit organizations that align with the “values” and “areas of work” of the Ford Foundation. The Center does not provide event spaces to 501(c)(4) organizations, openly political initiatives, fundraising, or for-profit enterprises so as to stay in line with the Ford Foundation’s 501(c)(3) regulations. The Center does not charge venue-rental fees, though it does charge associated fees, such as for equipment rentals. ¹¹

1. “About.” Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.fordfoundation.org/about/the-ford-foundation-center-for-social-justice/.
2. “A history of social justice.” Ford Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.fordfoundation.org/about/about-the-ford-foundation/a-history-of-social-justice/.
3. “Bold Plan for Building Unveiled; Edifice of 12 Stories for Ford Foundation Overlooks Garden.” The New York Times. September 29, 1964. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/29/archives/bold-plan-for-building-unveiled-edifice-of-12-stories-for-ford.html.
4. “Introducing the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.” Ford Foundation. October 3, 2018. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/introducing-the-ford-foundation-center-for-social-justice/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
5. “Ford Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131684331.
6. “Ted Turner Donates $1 Billion to ‘U.N. Causes’.” CNN. Cable News Network, September 19, 1997. http://edition.cnn.com/US/9709/18/turner.gift/.
7. “Advancing Racial Equity.” Philanthropy New York. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://philanthropynewyork.org/advancing-racial-equity.
8. “Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York.” NPCC. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.devex.com/organizations/nonprofit-coordinating-committee-of-new-york-96124.
9. “WOMANMAKERS RELAUNCH FEATURED SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND FORD FOUNDATION GIFT.” My Email. September 23, 2022. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/What-s-New-At-The-HistoryMakers.html?soid=1102009605940&aid=zVgHISXsZ4Y.
10. Ebert, Chaz. “The HistoryMakers Launches its WomanMakers Initiative With $1 Million Gift from Ursula Burns.” Roger Ebert. February 18, 2020. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/the-historymakers-launches-its-womanmakers-initiative-with-1-million-gift-from-ursula-burns.
11. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Ford Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.fordfoundation.org/about/the-ford-foundation-center-for-social-justice/event-spaces/frequently-asked-questions/.