Ford Foundation Announces $15 Million Commitment to Advance Global Disability Rights

Targets 25% of all funding to be inclusive of people with disabilities by 2027

NEW YORK (April 3, 2025) - The Ford Foundation announced today a major commitment of $15 million over the next three years to advance disability rights worldwide. This investment underscores Ford's sustained commitment to advancing disability rights as a strategy to accelerate equality around the world.

In addition to this dedicated funding, the foundation announced at least 25% of all of its grantmaking will be inclusive of people with disabilities. This pledge represents a significant step toward embedding disability inclusion into the broader landscape of social justice funding.

"At the Ford Foundation, we believe that advancing disability rights is essential to achieving equality around the world," said Martín Abregú, vice president for International Programs at the Ford Foundation. "The leadership, resilience, and contributions of the one billion people with disabilities worldwide inspire our commitment to breaking down barriers. We are guided by the expertise of the disability community, whose advocacy helps shape a more inclusive and just society."

The grants made with this funding will strengthen the inclusion of people with disabilities in Ford's core programmatic areas, including democracy and civic engagement, gender justice and the care economy, climate justice, and technology.

"For too long, disability has been treated as a niche issue rather than a fundamental component of social justice," said Catherine Hyde Townsend, senior advisor for disability inclusion at the Ford Foundation. "By embedding disability inclusion across all our funding and advocacy efforts, we aim to create systemic change that ensures people with disabilities have equal opportunities, access, and representation in building a more just and equitable world."

This commitment builds on the Ford Foundation's long-standing inclusion of people with disabilities in all its operations and grantmaking. Ford began its work towards disability inclusion under the leadership of Darren Walker, its outgoing president.