The Ford Foundation, established in 1936 by a $25,000 gift
from Edsel Ford and Henry Ford, parlayed its non-voting shares in Ford Motor
Company into current assets of $10 billion. With particular interests in
education, the arts, and Third World development, it is one of the world’s largest
and most influential foundations, dispensing grants of $413 million in 2011.
The Ford Foundation’s main About Us page is here.
OVERALL GRADE: B
The main About
Us page offers no fewer than 12 navigational options, each with a heading
and teaser, many with an image as well – yet the grid layout and white
background prevent us from feeling overwhelmed with choices. Well done.
We wonder (as we often do) whether such a large photo “above
the fold” is the most effective use of space; but in this case, the image is
flanked by a brief mission statement. That is
worth the space, since the name “Ford Foundation” (while famous) doesn’t give a
clue what the organization’s focus is.
One tweak: we’d appreciate having a caption for the large
image that tells how it’s related to the Ford Foundation’s work. If it’s
important enough to include, it ought to be identified.
Products/Services: A
This is a well-integrated, well-though-out set of About Us
pages. A brief mission statement is front and center on the main About Us page, with a link to
a mission page where
it’s summarized in a bulleted list and elaborated. The dense history page (some
subheads or additional photos would be welcome) properly keeps the focus on the
Foundation’s long-term goals.
As for graphic design, we like the elegantly simple layout
of the interactive
timeline and the timeline of Nobel
Laureates, which consist of photos whose captions appear when you roll the
mouse over them. To give a broad perspective, though, the whole timeline should
be available as a PDF. Since designing interactive history timelines is part of
what CorporateHistory.net does, we know how effortless the good ones look—and
how difficult they actually are to create.
Personality: A
The main About
Us page makes it immediately clear who runs the Foundation: the president’s
photo appears with a link to
all his speeches and letters. The ten grant-makers also get top billing, with
photos and a link to a page about them
or to separate bio pages that state each grant-maker’s areas of interest and
qualifications.
Accessibility: C
At the lower right of the main About us page are the address
and telephone of the Foundation’s headquarters. A link leads to a dedicated Contact Us page
with more information. Nothing innovative here, but it’s functional.
TAKEAWAY
Throughout its About Us pages, the Ford Foundation does an
excellent job of making clear what the organization does and who runs it. The
main page and interactive timeline are particularly noteworthy for their rich
content and efficient layout.
Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). Contact us if you’d like to
have your site evaluated—there’s no charge and no obligation. Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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