Ford Middle East grants for environmental efforts

Ford Middle East announced that applications for the 2009-2010 Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants are now being accepted, as Ford marks the 10th year anniversary of the programme in the GCC, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, coinciding with the World Environment Day on June 5th.

A total of US$ 100,000 will be made available to individuals, community and non-profit groups that have projects currently running in the areas of preservation of the natural environment, environmental education and conservation engineering. The Ford Grants is open to applicants from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Application forms are available through me.ford.com, although good luck navigating through their extremely-useless website. Forms can also be found at showrooms of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealerships throughout the GCC and Levant, including Al Tayer Motors in the UAE. Deadline for submissions is January 14, 2010.

“We are proud to mark this important milestone in supporting environmental projects in the markets where we serve our customers,” said Waldo Galan, managing director, Ford Middle East. “The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants have gone a long way since their inception in 2000, and we are pleased to have played an integral role and helped complete or advance more than 100 environmental initiatives in the GCC and Levant region.” Ford also boasts the largest SUV line-up in the UAE.

At various news conferences in the GCC and Levant held this week, Ford Motor Company also handed over the grants to the 2008/2009 winners from the region.

“Henry Ford believed in the obligation of companies, not only to create good products for their customers, but also to share good works and goodwill,” added Galan. “And that is precisely what we are aiming to achieve with the Conservation & Environmental Grants as we give back to our local communities.”

Since the Grants launch 10 years ago, Ford has awarded more than US$2,000,000 in grants to over 300 high-quality projects throughout Asia Pacific, Caribbean, Central America, Middle East and Puerto Rico to further their environmental initiatives.

In the Middle East, the initiative has seen support from the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Emirates Wildlife Society and the Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED), a regional independent organization promoting prudent environmental policies and programmes across the Arab region.

An independent panel of nine jurors consisting of academics, as well as experts from environmental ministries and agencies choose the winning projects that demonstrate a well-defined sense of purpose, a commitment to maximizing available resources, and a reputation for meeting objectives and delivering planned programmes and services.

“Ford Motor Company’s Conservation and Environmental Grants initiative is truly commendable,” said a representative of the Ford Grants jury panel. “Not only has it been consistently supporting local environmental initiatives for ten straight years, but it is a good example of how the private sector can play a vital part in encouraging and spreading environmental awareness among the communities.”