The procedures and philosophy of the Ford Foundation are outlined in this book, which reviews the past and present practices of the philanthropic organization and illustrates the processes through which more than $1,000,000 in funding support is annually dispensed. Case studies are presented that reflect the vast extent of the foundation's interests in social, economic, and educational issues, including reports of educational programs, urban topics, civil rights, the arts, and disarmament. Specific case studies describe the following: reproductive biology; issues in education (graduate education, urban research and training, public policy programs, international studies, and business education); legal defense for the poor; arms control; oversell of instructional television; community development; federal executive training; resident theaters/ballet companies; American studies in Europe: expanding the concept of cooperative education; housing; school finance reform; European management education; international language programs; civil rights litigation; and social science development in Latin America. Appended are a selected chronology of the Ford Foundation, a list of fields of foundation activity, annual program expenditures, and expenditures by field. (LBH)