About Us
Creating Opportunities
We create opportunities for young people to tackle inequality, achieve their personal potential and drive social change. The Foundation provides support under four strategic themes Safe spaces; Health and Wellbeing; Strong, Safe, and Inclusive Communities; and Progression, Skills and Employability.
We are a value driven organisation. We pride ourselves on using these values as the drivers of our work. Working with young people and partners from projects across the UK, we have developed these core values which underpin everything we do:
YOUTH-LED: Young people are the heart of everything we do, inspiring us to evolve and adapt, so we can support them to realise their full potential.
EMPOWERING: Enabling young people to recognise their skills, giving them ownership to achieve their individual goals.
A CONNECTOR: Bringing young people their communities and our partnership network together; valuing diversity and creating a shared sense of belonging.
RESILIENT: Bouncing back with enthusiasm and fresh solutions, continually learning and taking the time to actively ‘listen’ and respond to the world in which we work.
COURAGEOUS: With a ‘can-do’, open, supportive and honest approach - we are not afraid to do things differently.
Led by Lived Experience
Set up by Rio Ferdinand in 2012, the Foundation addresses issues of inequality that Rio had experienced in his own life, growing up in Peckham, South London.
Supporting and empowering young people from working class communities, tackling racism and inequality, and providing opportunities and pathways to deliver social mobility and realise personal potential were, and remain, the cornerstones of our work.
Alongside Rio, 70% of our leadership team are from Caribbean and African communities and all of our trustees and staff have lived experience of at least some of the issues our work is tackling.
Since 2012, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation has worked hard to dispel limiting beliefs in society. Now working in communities across the UK and Ireland, with regional hubs in London, Manchester and Belfast, we have supported over 10,000 young people to tackle the inequality they face in their lives and realise their own potential.
Our Unique Approach
The work of the Foundation delivers under four strategic pillars: Sport & Social Inclusion, Health & Wellbeing, Safer & Stronger Communities and Skills & Training