Ford Motor Company Fund

Ford Motor Company Fund supports organizations in three strategic areas: education, auto-related safety and American heritage and legacy. The following are examples of some of our most significant or new programs:

• The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS) is one of Ford Motor Company Fund's flagship education programs. Its objective is to provide high school students with academically rigorous 21st-century learning experiences. By combining the resources of high schools, community-based organizations, higher education institutions, government entities and businesses, Ford PAS teaches a curriculum based on real-world skills. The program is currently used at more than 200 sites across 25 states, reaching more than 20,000 students. In 2007, Ford PAS was awarded the first-ever National Governors Association Public-Private Partnership Award for innovative educational programming. In 2006, we launched the Ford PAS Community Engagement Initiative, the newest component of our innovative education strategy. This initiative works with communities to implement small learning communities that draw on career themes to bring real-world relevance to high school instruction. When they are successfully implemented, these learning communities improve attendance, grades, graduation rates, transition to post-secondary schools, and financial success after high school and college. They also are thought to reduce the need for remediation at post-secondary institutions, foster more rapid acquisition of proficiency in the English language and improve test scores. In partnership with an external education policy specialist, Social Marketing Services, LLC, Ford Motor Company Fund designed a 12-point action plan to serve as a guide to communities interested in implementing career-themed small learning communities. Participating communities have the opportunity to receive start-up grants, as well as implement the Ford PAS curriculum. In the first two years of the program, we designated communities in Chattanooga, Tennessee; the Coachella Valley and Sacramento, California; Putnam County, New York; Mountain Home, Arkansas; and Daytona Beach, Fort Myers and Pensacola, Florida.
• Ford Motor Company Fund supports teen safe driving through its award-winning Driving Skills for Life program, a safe-driving curriculum and training program aimed at teens. Developed in 2003 by Ford, the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts, the free program educates teens with a combination of ride-and-drive events, educational materials, customized in-school events and an interactive Web site.
• Ford Motor Company Fund partnered with the National Latino Children's Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support Corazón de mi Vida, a national bilingual initiative about child passenger safety.
• In partnership with Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., Ford has created See Me Safe, a child passenger safety initiative aimed at building local capacity by educating parents, caregivers, medical professionals, safety advocates and the media about the appropriate use of child passenger safety restraints. The program includes the distribution of safety seats at designated sites. See Me Safe emphasizes active and personalized involvement by parents and caregivers in the appropriate use of child passenger safety restraints. Recognizing the important role that health care providers play, See Me Safe also includes a reference tool, Prescription for Safety, developed specifically for medical professionals. Through the establishment of a supportive network of physicians, nurses, medical interns and pediatric trauma response teams, parents and caregivers can learn about the importance of the proper use of safety restraints for their children. The program was piloted in Detroit, Dallas, and Nashville and has provided child passenger safety resources to hundreds of parents, caregivers and medical professionals. An evaluation plan will assess the project's perceived value among participants and benefits.
• In 2007, Ford continued to support organizations and initiatives that preserve America's heritage, aimed at honoring the country's past and providing a window into the future. We continued our support of The Henry Ford and George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens. In addition, we contributed to the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which is scheduled to open in Washington D.C., in 2010.
• Ford employees and Ford Motor Company Fund are major supporters of the United Way in the United States, giving $9.3 million in 2007 to support numerous community-based social services organizations.
• Ford has a long history working with Disabled American Veterans (DAV). As a major contributor to the Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship Program, Ford provides scholarships to students who volunteer at local Veteran's Administration (VA) medical centers. For 13 years, Ford has also been a sponsor of the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, which brings hundreds of disabled veterans to the mountains of Colorado to participate in adaptive sports, including skiing, snowmobiling, sled hockey and rock wall climbing. In addition, Ford has donated 125 vehicles to the DAV, which in turn gives them to VA hospitals across the country.

Ford also supports a wide variety of organizations through corporate contributions and sponsorships. Highlights include the following:

• For more than 20 years, Ford has been involved in helping find a cure for juvenile diabetes. In 1998, the grassroots initiative now known as the Ford Global Walk Team began, and, since 2002, Ford has been the top corporate sponsor of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF). Ford volunteers also donate significant time to leverage the Company's financial support of the JDRF. In 2007, an estimated 20,000 Ford employees, retirees, families and friends in 11 countries, across five continents, participated in walkathons and held book sales, silent auctions and raffles to raise money for diabetes research. Together with support from national partner companies, they raised more than $3.3 million, bringing the total amount raised by Ford volunteers to more than $23 million since 1998.
• Ford has also been a long-time supporter in the fight against breast cancer. Since 1995, Ford Division has been a National Series Sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®. During that time, Ford has donated more than $95 million to the cause in donations and in-kind gifts. In 2006, Ford launched a new initiative in its fight against breast cancer called Warriors in Pink – Powered by Ford. The initiative raises funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure through the sale of specially designed clothing and accessories at www.fordcares.com. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from Warriors in Pink gear benefits Komen. In addition to providing financial support, the Company encourages employees and dealers to get involved. To date, more than 50,000 Ford employees and thousands of dealers have participated in Races across the United States.
• In 2007, Ford volunteers raised $194,000 for the March of Dimes and $122,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.