The Ford Foundation is a private, independent, non-profit, non-political philanthropic organisation with headquarters in New York City and offices in 13 other countries. The Foundation makes grants in 40 countries around the world and is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, because innovation is needed for finding effective solutions to new challenges in an ever-changing world. The Foundation makes grants to institutions – including governmental agencies, universities, research institutes, and non-governmental organisations – and to individuals for research, training, experimentation and developmental efforts. The funds for this work come from the income on the financial securities held in the Foundation’s own endowment. The Foundation does not accept funds or contributions from any other source. For a number of years the Ford Foundation carried out grant making in Vietnam from its offices in Bangkok. It was granted a license to establish a representative office in Việt Nam on 8 October 1996. Two years later the Foundation’s offices in Bangkok were closed and all Foundation programming in both Việt Nam and Thailand is now conducted from the Hà Nội office. Grant making is currently focused within five fields: International Co-operation; Poverty Alleviation in the Uplands; Sexuality and Reproductive Health; Social Sciences; and Arts and Culture.