福特基金会作为全球最大的私人赠款机构之一，将彻底改革其支出方向，以应对新领导层所认为的专制与不平等相互强化、共同抬头的趋势。
The Ford Foundation, one of the world’s largest private grantmakers, will overhaul its spending to counter what new leadership views as the mutually reinforcing rise of both autocracy and inequality.
詹姆斯·波拉德 这家总部位于纽约的慈善机构周四承诺，将把更多资金投向民主的基本基石。这一新战略方向出炉之际，福特基金会主席希瑟·格肯掌舵这家拥有180亿美元捐赠基金的社会正义资助机构尚不足一年。在向受托人提交的报告中，格肯——这位公认的宪法与选举法权威专家——将这些变革置于“日益嚣张的21世纪威权主义”这一背景之下。
JAMES POLLARD The New York-based philanthropy committed Thursday to driving more funds toward the basic building blocks of democracy. The new strategic direction comes less than one year into Ford Foundation President Heather Gerken’s tenure at the helm of the social justice funder’s $18 billion endowment. In a report to trustees, Gerken — widely recognized as a leading expert on constitutional law and elections — framed the changes in the context of an “emboldened strain of 21st-century authoritarianism.”
七大新项目——聚焦民主治理、包容性经济、可信信息、公共安全、性别平等、全球合作与种族正义——将在明年逐步公布细节。格肯指出，这些项目的影响将超越民主议题本身。
Seven new programs — focused on democratic governance, inclusive economies, trustworthy information, public safety, gender equality, global cooperation and racial justice — will be detailed throughout next year. Their impact, Gerken suggested, will reach beyond just issues of democracy.
“如果没有法治，如果没有行之有效的选举制度，福特基金会所关心的所有其他价值观、多年来开展的所有其他项目，都将土崩瓦解，”她对美联社表示。“因此，保护边缘化社区、推动平等、保护气候，所有这些都取决于那些基本基石。”这是该基金会自前任主席达伦·沃克2015年改革中将不平等置于优先位置以来，规模最大的一次战略刷新。据某些统计，福特基金会已是美国最大的民主领域赠款机构，该基金会视这一新举措为对该重点方向的必要延伸。
“If you don’t have a rule of law, if you don’t have an election system that functions, all the other values that Ford cares about, all the other projects that Ford has done over the years, fall apart,” she told The Associated Press. “So, protecting marginalized communities, pushing forward on equality, protecting the climate, all of these depend on those basic building blocks.”It’s the foundation’s largest strategic refresh since immediate past president Darren Walker prioritized inequality in a 2015 overhaul. Already the nation’s leading democracy grantor by some counts, the Ford Foundation sees this new approach as a necessary extension of that focus.
在慈善界对民主问题日益关注之际，关注度进一步升温。最新变化出现在中期选举周期的高潮期，这一周期凸显了美国民主面临的紧张局势。共和党今年推动了不同寻常的高强度党派重划选区，最高法院则掏空了里程碑式的《投票权法案》。美联社-诺克公共事务研究中心4月的一项调查显示，认为民主是国家身份核心的美国成年人比例下降。国际监督机构警告，全球政治权利和公民自由正在恶化。
A heightened focus at a time of growing philanthropic attention on democracy The latest changes arrive in the heat of a midterm election cycle that has underscored the strains on American democracy Republicans drove unusual levels of partisan redistricting this year and the Supreme Court hollowed out the landmark Voting Rights Act Fewer U.S. adults said democracy is central to the country’s identity in an April survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. International monitors have warned of a deterioration in political rights and civil liberties worldwide. Foundations have fielded recent years’ tests to American democracy by increasing support.
据非营利研究机构Candid统计，基金会通过增加支持来应对近年来对美国民主的考验。基金会对民主领域的资助从2016年到2020年大体上增加了两倍（即增至三倍），并在2021年略有下滑后再次小幅上升。乔治·索罗斯的开放社会基金会于5月承诺拨款3亿美元，用于旨在捍卫民主权利的倡议。
Foundation funding for democracy broadly tripled from 2016 to 2020, according to the nonprofit research service Candid, and has climbed slightly since a 2021 dip. George Soros’ Open Society Foundations pledged $300 million in May toward initiatives intended to defend democratic rights. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to influence nonprofits withholding funding or threatening investigations.
与此同时，特朗普政府试图通过扣留资金或威胁调查来影响非营利组织。总统有时将其报复行动指向支撑公民社会的倡导团体。特朗普去年点名亿万富翁慈善家索罗斯和里德·霍夫曼，下令打击“左翼恐怖主义”。他在国会的盟友推动联邦政府调查他们反对的非营利组织。
The president has, at times, directed his campaign of retribution toward the advocacy groups underpinning civil society. Trump named billionaire philanthropists Soros and Reid Hoffman last year as he ordered a crackdown on “left-wing terrorism.”His allies in Congress have pushed for federal probes into nonprofits they oppose.
针对慈善部门面临的资金限制，福特基金会承诺提供更多大额、多年的一般运营支持。格肯表示，最具韧性的受资助者都是那些拥有更灵活资金的组织。她说：“过去一年证实了慈善事业以这种方式运作是多么极其重要。”
In response to the funding constraints faced by the philanthropic sector, the Ford Foundation vowed to deliver more larger-sized, multiyear general operating support. The most resilient grantees, Gerken said, have been those with more flexible funding. “The last year has confirmed how extraordinarily important it is for philanthropy to work in this way,” she said.
这一承诺是在福特基金会终止一项为非营利组织日常运营提供灵活资助的项目之后作出的。项目执行副总裁尼克·特纳强调，他们正在将该项目——即“建设机构与网络”计划——融入“我们所有资助工作的DNA之中”。格肯也坚定维护基金会对LGBTQ事业、种族正义以及其他“为边缘化社区所做工作”的支持。她指出，今年她动用总统专项资金，将基金会的移民预算翻了一番。“并非所有人都会留在这些领域，”她说，“但我们会留下来。”
That commitment comes after the Ford Foundation discontinued a program that offered flexible funding for nonprofits’ general operations. Nick Turner, the executive vice president for programs, emphasized they are incorporating that effort, known as Building Institutions and Networks, into “the DNA of all of our grantmaking.”Gerken is also standing firm on the foundation’s support for LGBTQ causes, racial justice and other “work for marginalized communities.”She noted that she used her presidential funds to double the foundation’s immigration budget this year. “Those are places where not everyone is staying,” she said. “We are staying.”
“边缘化社区”依然是使命核心 近年来，这些承诺使该基金会与包括副总统JD·万斯在内的保守派决策者产生分歧。万斯在2021年竞选美国参议员时，将福特基金会等机构称为“美国社会的癌症”，并痛斥道“我们正在主动资助那些正在毁灭这个国家的人”。进步派非营利组织曾质疑，当此类批评者去年进入白宫时，大型基金会是否会维持支持。格肯强调，“在这样的时刻，最重要的是不被动摇”。她指出，福特基金会在麦卡锡主义时代捍卫言论自由，并在1960年代支持民权诉讼。
‘Marginalized communities’ remain central to mission Such commitments have, in recent years, put the foundation at odds with conservative policymakers including Vice President JD Vance. Speaking as a 2021 U.S. Senate candidate, Vance described the Ford Foundation and others as “cancers on American society” while decrying that “we are actively subsidizing the people who are destroying this country.”Progressive nonprofits questioned whether major foundations would maintain their support when such critics entered the White House last year. Gerken emphasized that “the most important thing in a moment like this is not to be buffeted.”The Ford Foundation, she noted, defended free speech during the era of McCarthyism and supported civil rights litigation in the 1960s.
“保护边缘化社区及其基本权利是我们工作的核心，”她说。“虽然我认识到这项工作并不总能成为共识的来源，但它极其重要，也是正确的做法。”格肯还强调，该基金会的工作是非党派的。她指出，今年拨款8000万美元给致力于保障选举结果的非营利组织，其中包括“社区支柱”组织。该非营利组织由奥巴马总统时期的一位前白宫法律顾问和多位共和党总统竞选活动的顾问共同领导，旨在建立公众对投票系统的信心。
“The protection of marginalized communities and their basic rights is central to what we do,” she said. “While I recognize that that work isn’t always a source of common ground, it is incredibly important and it is the right thing to do.”Gerken also emphasized that the foundation’s work is nonpartisan. She pointed to $80 million this year for nonprofits working to safeguard election results including Pillars of the Community. Co-led by a former White House counsel to President Barack Obama and an adviser to multiple Republican presidential campaigns, the nonprofit seeks to build public confidence in voting systems.
虽然慈善领域在减少两极分化方面投入巨资，但格肯计划关注另一种可能性：两极分化将在未来很长一段时间内持续存在。她未透露细节，仅表示团队正在“深入思考”如何“在一个完全两极分化的世界里”强化民主制度。从2027年1月开始，福特基金会员工将调整为三个临时小组，以维持现有拨款，同时推进新拨款的过渡。格肯说，暂停拨款“在这样的时刻将是一种罪过”。一位发言人估计，基金会将在2027年拨付7亿美元拨款——不过，根据新需求和捐赠基金增长，这一数字可能会增加。
While the philanthropic sector has invested heavily in reducing polarization, Gerken plans to focus on another possibility: that polarization will exist well into the future. Without sharing details, she said her team is “thinking hard” about how to bolster democratic institutions “in a world where we’re completely polarized.”Beginning January 2027, Ford Foundation staff will shift to three temporary units to maintain its existing grants while simultaneously transitioning new ones. To pause grantmaking “would be a sin at a moment like this,” Gerken said. A spokesperson estimated the foundation will move $700 million in grants for 2027 — though that figure could increase based on new needs and endowment growth.
这些变化确实意味着其他项目最终将逐步终止。福特基金会官员拒绝透露其2300多家受资助者中哪些将失去资助；特纳表示，“现在说还为时过早。”他承诺将“怀着尊重、优雅、关怀和支持”负责任地退出相关领域。
The changes do mean other programs will eventually be sunset. Ford Foundation officials declined to share which of its more than 2300 grantees will lose funding; Turner said it’s “too early to say.”He pledged to exit fields responsibly “with respect and grace and care and support.”
美联社关于慈善和非营利组织的报道，由美联社与《对话美国》合作、利利捐赠公司资助支持。美联社对本内容拥有完全责任。如需查看美联社所有慈善报道，请访问
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