General Motors donates $5 million to a nonprofit organization founded by the patriarch of its largest American rival. The donation was announced Tuesday by the GM’s head of global product development, purchasing and supply chain, as part of a new partnership between the automaker and Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark in Dearborn, Mich., established by Ford Motor Co..
With the gift, GM will sponsor the museum's rotating exhibit that will now be known as the Gallery by General Motors. Reuss said the mission is to offer exhibits that help promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. GM now supports an educational effort that includes the Ford name, but the gift is meant to ensure GM is part of the museum's innovations for future generations. The collaboration has been years in the making, according to officials. Nearly four years ago, Reuss and Edsel Ford II, a trustee of the organization and great-grandson of Henry Ford, had lunch to first discuss GM playing a bigger role in the Henry Ford.
The Henry Ford is an independent nonprofit that's not affiliated with Ford Motor Co. or the Ford Foundation. Ford family members have been major supporters and board members of the organization. The museum features a plethora of historic exhibits, including the chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated, the bus on which civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to move to make room for a white passenger and the presidential limousine in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
