The Ford Foundation began in 1936. Before 1950 it was concerned only with its home state of Michigan, but afterward it gradually turned into a nationally- and even internationally-minded organization. It has been independent and non-profit since its beginning, and its contributions to every sort of institution exceed 10 billion U.S. dollars. All of its resources came originally from the contributions of Henry and Edsel Ford of Ford Motor Co. Committed to the preservation of peace, happiness and our environment, the Ford Foundation takes on problems of political, economic and social natures and contributes to people and organizations that possess the spirit of innovation. Its goals are “to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement.”
ICO received funding from the Ford Foundation for its cooperative project with Tsinghua University's Center for the Study of Contemporary China entitled “Multinational Corporate Social Responsibility and the Chinese Society.” The project investigated the beginning of manufacturing standards as enforced by MNCs, as well as the emergence of MNC supply chains in China and those standards' current status of implementation on the mainland. It also collaborated later on with the “China Human Resources and Labor Relations Management Project” convened a conference. The research report was published by Social Literature Press in December 2002. In addition, in March of 2003 the Ford Foundation also helped ICO start up the China Labor Research and Support Network, aimed at establishing a media platform through magazines like FORUM from which to engage other Chinese service institutions and share information. Meanwhile, the Ford Foundation also funds the resource research on society supporting migrant workers to ICO.