The Ford Foundation, one of the world’s largest grantmakers, will throw more weight behind democracy

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.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."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.“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.A heightened focus at a time of growing philanthropic attention on democracyThe 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.

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. Foundation funding for democracy broadly tripled from 20…

The New York-based philanthropy committed Thursday to driving more funds toward the basic building blocks of democracy. “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. 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. Foundations have fielded recent years’ tests to American democracy by increasing support. Foundation funding for democracy broadly tripled…