News and Stories

The job of building community is a big one. We know that in small, rural organizations, board members, volunteers and staff wear multiple hats in their roles.

For Eugene artist Jovencio de la Paz, weaving is more than a medium. It’s an ancient craft with an important place in civilization’s history. It’s a place to share experiences and have important conversations.

Almost two years ago, the Almeda Fire engulfed over 2,500 homes in a community already struggling with a dire shortage of affordable housing units.

 “The Ford Institute Leadership Program’s vision of community vitality and building capacity has been realized in amazing ways in many communities,” explains Mary Ward from her Southern Oregon home.

New funding opportunities from the federal government are adding urgency to an old concern — that rural Oregon continues to leave dollars on the table through unclaimed federal grant program funding.

As The Ford Family Foundation navigated the tumultuous events of the last two years, our staff and Board took a hard look at how we can be the most effective stewards of the generous gifts from Kenneth Ford and Hallie Ford.

Life can be challenging for children who live with chronic health conditions. When they also experience adverse family or community circumstances — poverty, foster care, substance abuse or the death of a parent — their chances of thriving decline dramatically.

With the blessing of founding members, the Ford Scholar Alumni Association dissolved as an independent nonprofit in 2021 and moved under the umbrella of The Ford Family Foundation.

Jayden Asumendi spent most of the last school year away from his peers, doing his schoolwork at his home in the Roseburg area. And, like many of his peers, Jayden struggled in the new learning atmosphere.

In 2016, Mario Jimenez Sifuentez published ‘Of Forests and Fields: Mexican Labor in the Pacific Northwest.’ His book shares the story of Mexican immigrants who, out of view of most Oregonians, became the foundation of our agriculture economy.