Ford Foundation Announces Sale and Pricing of Landmark $1 Billion Social Bonds

The Ford Foundation announced the pricing and sale of a $1 billion aggregate principal Social Bond (taxable), the net proceeds of which will help support and strengthen nonprofit organizations hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic. This Social Bond is the first-ever such offering by a U.S. nonprofit foundation in the taxable corporate bond market.

The foundation’s bond offering includes 30-year and 50-year maturities, with $300 million maturing in 2050 and $700 million maturing in 2070 at a fixed rate of 2.415% and 2.815%, per annum, respectively. The closing date of the sale is June 25, 2020.

The Ford Foundation Board of Trustees endorsed the social bond issuance as an innovative solution that achieved both objectives of increasing resources for grants and not taking capital out of the endowment at a critical time of market volatility.

“We’ve rarely seen investors both in the U.S and around the world, respond with such enthusiasm to a designated social bond offering of this kind. The Ford Foundation’s Social Bonds began gaining momentum as a “must have” for mission-driven, ESG investors in the U.S. bond market resulting in nearly $3.5 billion of orders during the first week of the marketing process,” said Sally Bednar of Wells Fargo Securities. ”The low yields and the successful, rare, 50-year maturity achieved through the bond sale are a strong indication of investor confidence in the Ford Foundation’s stature in the private foundation space, its mission and investors’ appetite for securities with a positive ESG and, in particular, social impact. The 50-year bond maturity is a first of its kind for a U.S. private foundation.”

The net proceeds of the Social Bonds sale will enable the foundation to pay out what equates to more than 10 percent of the value of its total endowment in 2020 and 2021, which is double the level of grantmaking required by law. The foundation’s primary goal will be to stabilize and strengthen key organizations that are advancing the fight against inequality when communities that are most vulnerable have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

“We’re thrilled with the phenomenal response to our offering which generated an initial subscription rate of 5.8X the value of the initial $1 billion social bond issuance. There are 114 investors, many of which were socially mindful, and recognize the economic and societal ramifications of COVID-19 for the nonprofit sector, and Ford Foundation’s unprecedented effort to help sustain these organizations at a critical time in our nation’s history. The proceeds from this offering will help build the resilience and durability of nonprofits who will influence the recovery and reimagine a more just and inclusive society,” said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation.

The Ford Foundation’s Social Bonds, Series 2020 (taxable), were underwritten by joint lead managers Wells Fargo Securities and Morgan Stanley. There was also a group of diverse co-managers who participated in the offering. Wells Fargo Securities additionally served as the Lead Sustainability Structuring Agent related to the Social Bond designation. The Social Bonds have been assigned Aaa/AAA credit ratings from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, respectively. Sustainalytics has provided a Second Party Opinion on the alignment of the foundation’s Social Bond Framework with the International Capital Market Association’s Social Bond Principles.

Other Information

The offering of the Social Bonds is not being registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Section 3(a)(4) thereof. The offering is being made only by means of an offering memorandum.

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation by any person of an offer to buy, the Social Bonds, nor shall there be any sale of the Social Bonds by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such offer, solicitation or sale.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than 80 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.