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Ford Philanthropy President Mary Culler Talks Ford’s $100 million in Contributions
00:06:40
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Indiana University Announcer
Indiana University is proving how higher education can create solutions with industry. We're working side by side with industry partners to fuel economic growth that powers a future ready workforce. Explore IU's impact at iu.edu impact.
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Bloomberg Announcer
Bloomberg.
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Podcast Intro Announcer
Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News the philanthropic.
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Interviewer Matt or Danny
Arm of the Ford Motor Company is the first to have donated more than $100 million in partnership with giving. Here to discuss that milestone and the role of large companies in charity is Mary Color. She is the president of Ford Philanthropy. And it's great to have you, Mary, on you. Well, I guess Giving Tuesday was yesterday, but we should always be thinking about what we can do to help out in global crises. Tell us first of all about global giving. You've been in partnership with them for many years and how you work together.
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Mary Kohler
Well, good morning and nice to see you, Matt and Danny. This is a historic milestone. And what's really exciting is global giving been a partner of ours for years. They really serve as the bridge for connecting with nonprofits all across the world. And so when we think about this milestone, it's not only about the money, but it's the multiplier effect that a company like Ford Motor Company can bring with our employees, with the expertise we bring with our vehicles. And of course, we have this incredible dealer network all across the globe that all get involved in support of these nonprofits.
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Interviewer Danny or Matt
Mary, the good news is the contributions you're making to societies. The bad news is how many different things it feels like they're out there that need this kind of funding, be it rising inequality, be it issues of climate change. And by the way, all those things happening in very many different places in the world, it can be enough to kind of feel paralyzing. So how do you at Ford Philanthropic, how at Ford decide exactly where that money goes and what projects to take on?
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Mary Kohler
Well, I think that's a great question because there is so much need. And so what we try to do at Ford philanthropy is really bring our superpower to the table. And so we have really focused on things like disaster relief, community building, because what we've learned is in partnerships with nonprofits, we not only bring the philanthropic dollars, but we can bring things like our vehicles. So imagine during a hurricane or during some kind of disaster, there is a need for nonprofits to have sort of an increase of vehicles to get out and do the work. They loaner program through our dealers. For that, we have our people. We've extended our volunteer policy so that people can deploy when there's a disaster and go and actually, you know, get in there and help. And then the dealer network, as I said, what I've been incredibly impressed by is that because we are more focused in these areas together as a company, we've been able to network together. Incredible impacts. So, for example, you know, we have dealers who are doing blood drives, we have dealers who are doing food drives, all in sort of support of this combined effort. And just recently, dealers across the world actually did a food drive, and there was a donation of £2 million of food. We've done blood drives where the American Red Cross has said, this is so incredible because you're getting new blood donors. So I think a company, if we can find our sweet spot like we have in these areas, can bring the full power of what we can do to help.
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Interviewer Matt or Danny
Yeah, it's. I mean, Ford has like, something like 170,000 employees. Right. But if you include the massive dealership network and the supplier network, it's going to, I imagine, grow to. To. To millions. You're also very global. Right. I know that you have production facilities, for example, for example, in Valencia, where you've been able to help out with the horrible flooding that they had. You've been able to help out in Turkey, where. Where they had awful earthquakes. These global crises. Do you feel a responsibility to. To respond not just to what's going on in the US but around the world?
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Mary Kohler
Absolutely. And I think what's really great is because we have this focused effort around disaster relief, we have a turnkey, you know, kind of moment where we already have our nonprofits established. You know, we have the dealers sort of ready to go. We have our employees ready to volunteer. And so recently, for example, during the Texas flooding, within 24 hours, the dealers were already activated. We had vehicles on the ground helping our nonprofits. We had our volunteers deployed, and we were doing everything we could to help in that situation. And I think that's the power of a company like Ford. You know, when our back's against the wall, there's no better company to kind of rise to the occasion. We've seen that throughout history, and our commitment to community is so great that if we can find that sort of sweet spot where we can bring the entire power of our company to bear, I think we just have a much better opportunity to make a difference.
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Interviewer Matt or Danny
You know, the aim of the more libertarian administrations in this country is to pull back on what the government pays for, because the private charity will step in. And I wonder if you feel more pressure on that front lately as you cross this milestone.
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Mary Kohler
Well, we've certainly Gotten a lot more requests. And, you know, at the end of the day, there's not enough money to sustain all the need, you know, as Danny said. And so what we really try to do at Ford philanthropy is not only to bring whatever monetary resources we can bring, but I think we have these incredible employees, these incredible volunteers, and they bring their expertise. I mean, for example, recently, food has been a real issue, and one of our employees was actually volunteering at a food bank, and she was with our supply chain group, and she got there and she realized that the way they had set up the entire supply chain for that food distribution was not as efficient as it needed to be. And so she kind of took it on as her own personal project to help them. And so they're much more efficient. They're getting much more food out every day. And so I think that's really the exciting thing is that, you know, I'm proud of our employees who always look for opportunities to give back and I think in a really meaningful way.
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Interviewer Matt or Danny
Can I just quickly ask also how closely you work with Bill Ford and the Ford family? Because I know he has been proponent of the environment for many, many decades now and has tried to do what he can through obviously, the Ford Motor Company assets that. That he owns.
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Mary Kohler
Oh, my gosh. There's no bigger champion than Bill Ford on the community front. You know, he really is our North Star. You know, he established our volunteer program 20 years ago. He's always looking around corners. He's always thinking ahead. He's always looking for innovation. So he always challenges me personally to look for innov innovation and philanthropy. And so I couldn't be more proud to be a part of a company that has a family like the Fords behind it.
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Interviewer Danny or Matt
Hey, Mary. So great to hear about the wonderful work you're doing at Ford Philanthropy. That's Mary Kohler of Ford Philanthropy.
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Indiana University Announcer
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