Ford Inspires Tomorrow’s Leaders Today with New Global Grant, Innovative Employee Civic Leadership Program
September 02 2015 - 10:30AM
Business Wire
- Bill Ford Better World Challenge, a new
global grant program, will award up to $500,000 a year to
employee-led Ford Volunteer Corps projects
- Ford is also launching an innovative
new leadership course for younger employees to learn civic
engagement skills while sharing their own insights with
nonprofits
- New survey finds young adults value
volunteering more than the rest of the population, and prefer to
support charities with time instead of money
Ford Motor Company announces two new initiatives today that
strengthen its leadership in community service and provide younger
employees an innovative opportunity to explore their growing
interest in civic engagement and volunteering.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
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Ford and Executive Chairman Bill Ford are
launching the Bill Ford Better World Challenge, a global grant
program that will award up to $500,000 to community service
projects identified by company employees. The program, jointly
funded by the company and Bill Ford, will work in tandem with Ford
Volunteer Corps - Ford's international network of 30,000 volunteers
that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. (Photo:
Business Wire)
Ford and Executive Chairman Bill Ford are launching the Bill
Ford Better World Challenge, a global grant program that will award
up to $500,000 to community service projects identified by company
employees. The program, jointly funded by the company and Bill
Ford, will work in tandem with Ford Volunteer Corps – Ford’s
international network of 30,000 volunteers that is celebrating its
10th anniversary this year.
Ford is also starting Thirty Under 30, in which 30 U.S.
employees under the age of 30 will be selected for a yearlong
course to learn civic engagement and leadership skills with a focus
on philanthropy and volunteerism. The program will also pair
employees with nonprofits so both Ford and charitable organizations
can learn from younger generations.
“Community service is one of the hallmarks of our company and
the Ford family,” said Bill Ford. “As we celebrate the incredible
achievements of the Ford Volunteer Corps, we are looking to the
future with innovative programs that further harness the power of
our volunteers and build the next generation of community
leaders.”
The Ford Volunteer Corps was launched by Bill Ford in 2005 in
response to the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. Assisting in
post-tsunami rebuilding efforts was among the Corps’ first work, as
employees from Ford Thailand took a 14-hour bus ride to spend a
week at a time in sweltering conditions mixing concrete, making
roof tiles, digging foundations, building walls and helping
villagers start to get their lives back.
That outreach and sense of community has grown into a highly
coordinated global network in which each year 30,000 volunteers
work on 1,600 projects across six continents. Whether helping
children read, fighting hunger or delivering clean water, thousands
of Ford volunteers have worked on 9,000 projects in more than 40
countries, contributing more than 1 million hours of community
service.
To expand on that, the Bill Ford Better World Challenge aims to
give employee volunteers the opportunity to work with local groups
where Ford does business to apply for community service project
funding under the new grant program. The projects will focus on
three categories that create sustainable solutions to community
needs – mobility; basic needs such as food and shelter; and
water-related issues including access, sanitation and hygiene.
Funding is expected to be awarded by the middle of 2016.
Meantime, the Ford Volunteer Corps’ signature Global Week of
Caring is being expanded from one week in September to the entire
month. Ford Global Caring Month will open more opportunities for
Ford employees to volunteer and broaden the company’s global focus
on community service.
Nearly 20,000 volunteers are expected to work on 360 projects
around the world – from cleaning up beaches in Angola to renovating
a daycare for children with disabilities in the United Kingdom. In
the United States, more than 2,300 Ford employees will participate
in more than 160 volunteer projects across nine states throughout
the month, including a Ford Accelerated Action Day Sept. 11.
The new Thirty Under 30 program, which gets under way next year,
taps into a growing interest among younger employees to become
involved in their communities beyond sending money to charitable
organizations. The program will start as a U.S. pilot project.
“I often say that the work I do is for my children and
grandchildren,” said Bill Ford. “I believe we must help younger
generations become careful stewards of the world they are
inheriting.”
A new Nielsen survey among 1,000 U.S. respondents over the age
of 18 found 63 percent of the Millennials in the group felt
community volunteering was important, compared to 56 percent among
the rest of the respondents. More than half of the Millennials said
they would volunteer for charity instead of giving money, versus 17
percent who said they would prefer to only send money. Millennials
are typically defined as people born from 1982 to 2004.
“Younger generations have shown they see community building as
part of their career goals,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor
Company Fund and Community Services. “With Thirty Under 30, we are
not only helping our younger employees work with nonprofits, we
will learn from them how to design corporate philanthropy in the
future.”
About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with
community and global partners to advance driving safety, education
and community life. Ford Motor Company Fund has operated for more
than 65 years with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. Ford
Driving Skills for Life is free, interactive, hands-on safety
training focused on skill development and driving techniques, while
addressing inexperience, distractions and impaired
driving. Innovation in education is encouraged through Ford
Blue Oval Scholars, Ford Next Generation Learning and other
inspiring programs that enhance high school learning and provide
college scholarships and university grants. The Ford Volunteer
Corps enlists more than 30,000 Ford employees and retirees each
year to work on local projects that strengthen their communities
and improve people’s lives in more than 40 countries around the
world. For more information, visit http://community.ford.com.
For news releases, related materials and
high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.
Follow at www.facebook.com/ford,
www.twitter.com/ford or www.youtube.com/fordvideo1
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150902005940/en/
Ford Motor Company FundTodd Nissen,
313.322.4898tnissen@ford.comFord Motor Company FundEric Mitchell,
734.612.8267emitch15@ford.com
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