NEW YORK — If there are rock stars in philanthropy, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, is one of them. And he’s about to leave the stage.
Walker, 64, has been named one of Rolling Stone’s “25 People Shaping the Future” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People” for leading one of America’s original philanthropies since 2013. The foundation said Monday that he will step down at the end of 2025.
A search committee has been formed to find a replacement for Walker, said Francisco Cigarroa, chairman of the Ford Foundation board of directors.
Walker “led Ford with grace, kindness and empathy through some of the most challenging moments of our time, and his tenure will be remembered as one of the most consequential in the institution’s nearly 90-year history,” Cigarroa said in a statement.
Walker, a former corporate lawyer and chief operating officer of the Harlem-based Abyssinian Development Corporation, oversaw major investments in advocacy gender equality and disability rights, exploring the impact of new technologies and using the foundation’s own resources to create impact.
In describing his vision, including in a 2021 interview with The Associated Press, Walker often referred to Dr. Martin Luther Kingwhom he credited for saying, “Philanthropy is laudable, but it must not allow the philanthropist to ignore the economic injustice that makes philanthropy necessary.”
Latanya Mapp, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, called Walker an “icon” and “a beacon” for how to demonstrate authentic leadership in the fight for social justice in a changing world.
“I think he’s been able to drive change in ways that a lot of philanthropic organizations just use rhetoric about,” said Mapp, who noted that Walker previously served on RPA’s board of directors.
Former President Barack Obama said The New York Timeswhich first reported Walker’s firing, said Walker “has dedicated his career to social justice, human rights, and reducing inequality around the world — and he has inspired countless organizations and individuals to do the same.”
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic began to crystallize in 2020, Walker advocated for Ford to use his endowment to issue a social bond, essentially taking on debt to increase his giving. The board approved a $1 Billion Bond issuance, which was picked up by socially conscious investors and which the foundation distributed to its beneficiaries over two years. The vast majority went to organizations led by people of color, the foundation said at the time, and most of the funds were unrestricted.
Other foundations followed suit, helping stabilize nonprofits and strengthen the racial justice movement that resurged after the killing of George Floyd.
Walker, who is gay and Black, has spoken about growing up in poverty in rural Texas and the specific perspective he brings to leading the Ford Foundation. Mapp called Walker incredibly humble, saying he speaks about the issues people face in communities without centering his own experiences.
“He puts the communities themselves at the center and the stories of the people who are experiencing many of today’s challenges and needs,” she said.
With an endowment of $16 billion, the Ford Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. It was established with the wealth of the Ford family, who made their fortune manufacturing automobiles through Ford Motor Co.
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