Ford-ing the Gap

From The American Spectator 6.15.09 @ 6:01AM FORD THE RECORD Re: Neal B. Freeman's Jeez Luis -- Part Deux: We laughed off Neal B. Freeman's light-hearted first commentary on the Ford Foundation as good intramural fun. He broke no new ground in asserting that the foundation is progressive in its mission and grantmaking; we always have been and we will proudly remain so. His second commentary, however, requires serious correction. Mr. Freeman correctly states that we have lost about a third of our endowment over the past 18 months. This economic reality has forced us -- like so many other organizations -- to make very hard decisions. But he gets it wrong when he claims that our approach runs counter to our values. We first made every effort to avoid impacting staff, shaving $22 million from our expenses in 2008. When our portfolio lost another $2 billion this year, we had no choice but to look for further savings in order to preserve our support to grantees. That meant making reductions we could sustain over time. With great regret, we closed two of our regional offices. These closures affected senior management, program staff, and support staff equally. We also froze salaries for all staff around the world, adjusted benefits considerably, and laid off staff in every one of our regional offices. In New York, we tried to obviate the need for lay-offs by offering generous voluntary packages to a broad cross-section of staff, including a number of managers and supervisors. The packages were offered according to one criterion alone: Whether the position fell within an area where the foundation could envision more efficient ways of working. Though the process has been painful, it has been thoughtful, fair, and tuned to the long-term health of the foundation. What we have refused to do is compromise our ability to make grants and support grantees, all of whom face even tougher circumstances than we do. The measures we have taken have preserved our grantmaking capacity and budgets, and every dollar saved has gone directly to our grantees. Finally, regarding our trustees, Mr. Freeman might think about expanding the circles in which he associates. Among them are indeed Fortune 500 executives, university presidents, and leaders of national nonprofit institutions. The diversity of experience and excellence they bring to our board is a reflection of our best traditions of leadership and, like their predecessors, they recognize there are few other institutions that so thoroughly attempt to live up to the values they espouse. -- Alfred D. Ironside Director of Communications, Ford Foundation/New York Neal B. Freeman replies: It's good to hear from Mr. Ironside, but I'm not sure that he engages any of my central points. First, while he may have felt my commentary was "light-hearted," Ford's low-paid employees are feeling real, life-changing pain as management squeezes them out in mid-recession. Secondly, my information is that only low-paid staffers are being asked to take the hits in the New York office. I will be glad to correct any misimpression I may have created: can Mr. Ironside tell us what if any cuts have been imposed on, say, the ten highest-paid employees? And third, my comments about Ford's Directors were not to suggest that they are not good people, of course, but simply to note that they do not compare in public eminence with their predecessors. That's a fact.