We have previously reported on how bad charities, such as the deceptively named Humane Society of the United States, have misspent the money they have received. Now, new reports suggest a prominent foundation is also wasting money while, like HSUS, funding a radical agenda. The Ford Foundation, originally funded by a bequest of Ford Motor Company stock from the estates of company founders Henry and Edsel Ford has come under fire for its high operating and administrative costs, drawing public scrutiny of the organization’s finances.
A recent article from Inside Philanthropy details the astronomical overhead costs of the Ford Foundation.
The article examines how this “charitable organization” has sunk over $1 billion into overhead costs within the last decade, including “$146.4 million on operating and administrative costs” in 2013 alone.
So why does the Ford Foundation have such high operating costs? Take a look for yourself. The Foundation’s posh midtown Manhattan office, complete with a massive indoor garden, several terraces, granite steps, and pool of water certainly can’t be cheap to operate.
Additionally, former Ford Foundation president Luis Ubinas was paid $2 million in total compensation before he left. Two recently departed VP’s were also making over half a million dollars. As Inside Philanthropy points out, “let’s just stop right there and consider this: A philanthropic entity dedicated in large part to helping the world’s downtrodden is spending $100 million a year on people who are not among the downtrodden. Anyone have a problem with that?”
Oddly enough, the Ford Foundation also awarded $650,000 to National People’s Action, one of the controversial groups behind the anarchist-leaning Occupy Movement. How ironic that the Ford Foundation was financially supporting the movement protesting “the 1%,” while its executives were pocketing the salaries of the wealthy elite.