2014 Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants Receive Record Number of Applications

• Over 300 applications received from all participating Middle Eastern countries – an all-time record.
• USD100,000 available to deserving projects; Recipients to be announced in November

DUBAI, UAE, September 25, 2014 – The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme has received over 300 entries for its 2014 edition, setting an all-time record in the number of projects competing over their share of the $100,000 grants. The overwhelming response received from individuals, community groups and NGO's,  also came from all participating countries including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, indicating the ever growing popularity of one of the largest corporate initiatives of its kind in the region which is due to mark its fifteenth anniversary next year.

The Ford Grants makes available a total of USD100,000 to help fund existing environmental and conservation projects in the Middle East region. For the first time this year, the programme extended to Yemen bringing the number of participating countries to ten. Non-profit and on-going environmental initiatives from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Yemen needing extra funds to expand the scope of their work or ensure continuity, are qualified to apply.

“We are pleased with the number of applications received this year which shows that more and more grassroots environmental projects are initiated by concerned citizens and community groups as they act to preserve the environment,” said Kalyana Sivagnanam, director of Ford Middle East & North Africa. “This level of response is encouraging and clearly indicates the Ford Grants growing popularity as it nears its 15^th anniversary next year. We are proud more than ever of this unique initiative which has become a much awaited annual programme, and of all the projects it has helped go further.”

Over USD1 million has been granted to more than 150 projects since the initiative first started in 2000 and Ford's green initiative has helped support projects to study and conserve the region’s rich biodiversity, support recycling schemes and green building initiatives, as well as raise conservation and sustainability awareness.

Individuals, community and non-profit groups that have projects currently running in the areas of preservation of the natural environment, environmental education or conservation engineering can apply for a share of the USD100,000 grants.

Winners are chosen by an independent panel of jurors consisting of academics, as well as experts from environmental organisations. The judges – who are carefully selected in association with UNESCO Doha, based on geographical coverage, age and gender equality – look for initiatives 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. This year’s winners will be announced in mid-November.

The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants has seen support from various governmental and non-governmental environmental authorities from around the Middle East, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Emirates Wildlife Society, the Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED) and UNESCO Doha.

For more information about the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, please visit http://me.ford.com or write to fmegrant@ford.com.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 186,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information about Ford and its products worldwide please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford’s history in the Middle East goes back more than 60 years. The company’s local importer-dealers operate more than 155 facilities in the region and directly employ more than 7,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals. For more information on Ford Middle East, please visit www.me.ford.com

Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen with currently three CSR initiatives running in the region including the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, Ford Warriors in Pink® breast cancer awareness campaign and Ford Driving Skills for Life safe driving awareness programme for young drivers and teens.

The Ford Grants is a grass-root level initiative that has offered US$1.4million in grants to more than 150 Middle Eastern environmental projects since 2000. Ford Warriors in Pink® is a breast cancer community-based awareness initiative recognising the strength and courage it takes to deal with the everyday challenges of battling breast cancer throughout the year.  Ford Driving Skills for Life is a free programme designed to impart safe driving practices to students to help improve their road safety record.