Ford Motor Company is taking its philanthropic efforts to a new level by mobilizing its vast national dealer network to support four key nonprofit organizations across the United States. This ambitious initiative, dubbed "Ford Building Together," launched in June 2025, aims to amplify disaster relief and community rebuilding efforts through a combination of grants, volunteerism, vehicle support, and in-dealership activations.
At the heart of this campaign are four longtime grantees of Ford Philanthropy: the American Red Cross, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, and Team Rubicon. Each plays a vital role in addressing urgent community needs—from disaster response to hunger relief and affordable housing. Ford’s commitment to these organizations underscores a legacy of community support that stretches back 122 years, as Executive Chair Bill Ford explained during the program’s unveiling on June 17 at Detroit’s Michigan Central Station.
"This commitment is really not new to Ford," Bill Ford said. "For 122 years, we've stood shoulder to shoulder with our communities, and not just in moments of celebration like this building, but in times of crisis and rebuilding. We've supported over the years blood drives. We built bombers and boats during world wars. We manufactured masks and ventilators during COVID, and we helped communities rebuild after fires, hurricanes and floods." His words reflect a company ethos deeply rooted in social responsibility, dating back to his great-grandfather, Henry Ford.
Inspired by the response of Ford employees following the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, Bill Ford founded the Ford Volunteer Corps 20 years ago, creating a platform for employees to serve communities in times of need. Since then, Ford employees have logged nearly 2 million volunteer hours worldwide, responding to tsunamis, floods, fires, and daily challenges across six continents.
Mary Culler, President of Ford Philanthropy, emphasized that this new initiative harnesses the full power of Ford’s resources. "By combining all of Ford's strengths, we know we can have the greatest impact," she said. "Strengths like our philanthropic expertise, our people, vehicles, and a vast dealer network that spans more than 9,000 locations worldwide, and ... leveraging these resources to support our partners who do the hard work in communities every day." The program will focus on disaster relief and community rebuilding to build resilience in vulnerable areas.
Starting this month, Ford dealers across the country will host in-showroom activations encouraging customers and community members to donate blood for the American Red Cross, bring food for local food banks affiliated with Feeding America, and contribute gently used tools and building materials for Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores. Team Rubicon, a veteran-led nonprofit specializing in disaster response, will lead free preparedness workshops on wildfire and hurricane readiness, further equipping communities to face natural disasters.
Ford is also increasing its support for employee volunteering by expanding paid time off from 16 hours to 56 hours, enabling employees to dedicate more time to aid efforts. Additionally, the company is expanding its loaner vehicle program to provide critical transportation resources to nonprofit partners. This approach was successfully piloted after a hurricane in North Carolina, where Ford provided grants, extended volunteer time off, and loaned vehicles to Team Rubicon for disaster response.
"We are really doubling down on our support for disaster relief and community building," Culler said. "In doing so, we're bringing the full power of Ford to those nonprofits and to the issues that we're going to be focusing on. That means bringing not only grant dollars but also employee volunteers and our network of 10,000 dealerships across the U.S. to help provide resources from funding to vehicles to helping raise awareness of the work the four groups do."
This initiative builds on Ford’s long-standing philanthropic history. Since World War I, the company has collaborated with the American Red Cross and other organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford produced personal protective equipment and ventilators, demonstrating its capacity to pivot manufacturing expertise toward urgent health needs. More recently, Ford partnered with retailers for disaster relief efforts following Hurricanes Milton and Helene and the California wildfires earlier in 2025.
The announcement of "Ford Building Together" also follows Ford’s reopening of Michigan Central Station in Detroit, a centerpiece of a $900 million investment in its Corktown advanced technology campus. At that event over a year ago, Bill Ford and his wife, Lisa, pledged $10 million to establish permanent endowments for 10 nonprofit groups serving Detroit-area youth, signaling a renewed commitment to community investment.
Elena Ford, Chief Dealer Engagement Officer and Bill Ford’s cousin, joined the unveiling to highlight the unprecedented collaboration between Ford’s philanthropic arm and its dealer network. "When we say the ‘power of Ford’ — we don’t mean simply writing checks," the company stated. "For the first time, we will be enhancing our philanthropic giving by working alongside our expansive dealer network in communities across the country, sharing the skills and expertise of our employees through volunteering, and lending our technology and vehicles to scale the services of our nonprofit partners."
The company also plans to expand these efforts globally later in 2025, signaling a broader vision for leveraging corporate assets to meet growing community needs worldwide.
As natural disasters increase in frequency and intensity, the need for coordinated, well-resourced responses becomes more urgent. Ford’s approach—melding financial support, volunteerism, logistical aid, and dealer engagement—offers a comprehensive model for corporate philanthropy in the 21st century.
By rallying its employees, dealers, and technology, Ford is not just responding to crises but actively working to build stronger, more resilient communities prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead. It’s a powerful reminder that even in an era of rapid technological change, the human element remains at the core of meaningful impact.
