By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Nov 29 2000 (IPS)

In a new initiative in the increasingly dynamic world of US private philanthropy, the Ford Foundation announced here Wednesday that it is earmarking 330 million dollars to fund university study for poor students committed to helping their nations and communities in 20 developing countries over the next 10 years.

The programme, called the International Fellowships Programme (IFP), is the largest single grant ever provided by the New York-based foundation which, with assets of almost 15 billion dollars, is the third largest private US foundation.

The programme will be launched next year when it will select about 100 students from Chile, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, Senegal and Vietnam – all countries in which Ford has offices – for graduate study of up to three years in the university of their choice.

The programme will then expand to provide the same options to 350 students a year from 12 additional countries or regions where Ford is active and has local networks, including South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, North Africa and the Middle East, Central America, China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil.

Candidates will be selected by panels convened by Ford’s local offices in collaboration with national or regional university associations on the basis of their leadership qualities and commitment to their community or national development, as well as their academic achievement.

They will be required to present a plan showing how they will apply their studies to social problems in their own countries and to commit themselves to working on issues of interest to the Foundation – such as human rights, environmental protection, and democratic governance – after their studies are completed.

Of special interest will be individuals from groups or communities that historically have had little access to advanced educational opportunities, particularly poor people; women; members of disadvantaged ethnic, racial or religious groups; people who live outside capital cities or from countries in conflict or those emerging from conflict

“Societies around the world face the challenges of globalisation, advancing technology, peace and security, and the widening gap between rich and poor,” said Susan Berresford, the Foundation’s president. “To tackle these challenges successfully, we need people from all sectors of society who can bring fresh vision, expert knowledge and strong leadership skills.

“In many countries, however, the rapidly increasing need for advanced education far exceeds available resources, which is why we feel this is the right moment to commit to a large-scale fellowships programme,” she noted, adding that Ford will encourage other private donors to join the initiative or launch similar efforts.

The new programme comes amid a period of major change in the world of US private philanthropy which over the past century has long been a major factor in funding domestic, community, and even overseas programmes which in many other countries are often handled by government or churches.

In the United States, for example, a national library system was started by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, whose foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York continues to be a major source of funding for libraries around the country.

In the last decade, billions of dollars earned by leaders of the technology boom, have been funnelled into new foundations, the biggest of which, with about 20 billion dollars in assets, is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, named after the Microsoft chairman and his spouse.

In just the last two years, it has committed close to 1 billion dollars to health programmes in poor countries, particularly for child immunisation and combating infectious diseases. As a result the Gates Foundation has already established itself as a major player in the global-health arena, along with such heavyweights as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In creating his own foundation, Gates became the wealthiest of a number of hi-tech entrepreneurs who responded to a public challenge by Cable News Network (CNN) founder Ted Turner who in 1997 committed 1 billion dollars over 10 years to a new UN Foundation which supports the work of the world body.

But Gates is not alone. Just two weeks ago, the co-founder of micro-chip giant Intel, Gordon Moore, announced plans to establish a new San Franciso-based foundation with 5 billion dollars of his own Intel stock to fund education, scientific research and environmental initiatives, some of which will be directed to global challenges of special interest to poor countries.

That new foundation will join yet another, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, as the top California-based foundations with programmes relevant to poor countries. The Packard Foundation, named for the co- founder of the Hewlitt-Packard Corporation, has about 14 billion dollars in assets.

Under US law, foundations must distribute at least five percent of their total assets each year. As the stock market has boomed in recent years, foundation assets have skyrocketed.

As a result, private foundations in the United States actually provide more money each year to poor countries in the form of research, scholarships, technical assistance, and direct support to foreign non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and educational institutions than the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Of the major US foundations, Ford in recent years has been considered among the most innovative, often providing direct financial assistance to NGOs in poor countries. Its work with local NGOs and other community – or nation-based organisations has enabled it to develop networks of people and organisations who will play a key role in identifying candidates who may qualify for its new initiative.

Moreover, according to Berresford, participants in the programme will be encouraged to become a part of a global network of other participants. “We want to help build a cohort of change-makers (who will) really make a difference,” she said, adding that the Foundation will offer financial incentives to ensure that those participants who choose to study abroad will return to their home countries and communities.

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