OUR SUPPORTERS

Grassroot Soccer is grateful to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for being one of our first supporters. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was a key donor for our first year of programming in Zimbabwe in 2003, and supported the Children’s Health Council to complete a rigorous evaluation of the GRS curriculum and overall model. The evaluation concluded that the Grassroot Soccer curriculum is a “culturally appropriate, internationally suitable, creative, effective way to educate at-risk youth about HIV/AIDS and its prevention.” In 2005, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation then invested in the scale up of GRS programs in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Grassroot Soccer is a current partner on a Gates Grand Challenges award in South Africa, implementing a project focused on increasing sexual and reproductive health knowledge and school retention among adolescent girls.

Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation that supports local, national, and global efforts to build strong communities. Bohemian Foundation’s four program areas are Community, Music, Global, and Civic aimed at empowering citizens and impacting communities. The Bohemian Foundation has been a key supporter of GRS’s comprehensive programming in Zambia, focusing on among other areas; behavior change education, access and linkage to health services and support groups for young people living with HIV, as well as organizational development.

As part of the CDC-funded “Combination Prevention Solutions to Reach Epidemic Control among High Risk, Priority Populations in High Burden Areas in the Republic of South Africa under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,” GRS South Africa is partnering with TB HIV Care to deliver combination HIV prevention interventions for high risk men 20+ years old in Cape Town Metro. Launched in 2019, over the course of this 5-year initiative GRS South Africa will support the high risk male sexual partners of adolescent girls and young women with evidence-based behavioral programming and facilitate access to condoms, VMMC services, PrEP, and HTS.

The ExxonMobil Foundation supports programs that target global health issues, specifically malaria, because it believes that good health is a springboard to opportunity, achievement and development. Grassroot Soccer and ExxonMobil have been working together since 2011 to deliver malaria and HIV prevention education to youth in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Equatorial Guinea. ExxonMobil additionally supports GRS all-girls sexual and reproductive health programming in South Africa, and has helped GRS form a partnership with Special Olympics to design and implement a malaria and HIV prevention program for youth with intellectual disabilities in Nigeria.

Grassroot Soccer's multiple USAID-funded partnerships with FHI 360 will reach over 40,000 adolescents in 2019. This includes work in South Africa delivering socio-economic strengthening and HIV prevention interventions for orphans and vulnerable youth and their households, under the BRIDGE Project - Support, Prepare, and Engage Vulnerable Youth II. GRS is also working with FHI 360 in South Africa to deliver a gender-based violence prevention and response program for adolescent girls and young women and community leaders, and facilitates linkages to services for survivors of violence, all under the DREAMS - Community Mobilization and Norms Change II project. GRS has been working with FHI 360 in Zimbabwe since 2017 under the USAID/PEPFAR DREAMS Initiative to implement SKILLZ with very young adolescent girls as part of the “Adolescent Girls & Young Women Health for Life 360” project.

The Ford Foundation seeks to reduce poverty and injustice, strengthen democratic values, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Ford Foundation achieves these goals through focusing on three areas – investing in individuals, building institutions, and supporting new ideas. Grassroot Soccer is a proud recipient of funding from the Ford Foundation since 2013, enabling GRS to deliver comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education to youth in South Africa and disseminate program findings and best practices.

The M∙A∙C Viva Glam Fund is the philanthropic arm of M∙A∙C Cosmetics, and is a leader in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, supporting organizations worldwide that are working to combat the epidemic and improve the lives of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. M∙A∙C Viva Glam Fund has been one of Grassroot Soccer’s key supporters since 2008, playing a critical role in developing, strengthening and expanding our mixed-sex adolescent programming and HIV+ programming in South Africa and Zambia. M∙A∙C Viva Glam Fund also supported Grassroot Soccer's randomized control trial to evaluate our mix-sex programming in South Africa.

Launched in 2018, Grassroot Soccer is partnering with mothers2mothers (m2m) on a 5-year USAID “Children and Adolescents are My Priority” project in South Africa to provide SKILLZ programs to both in- and out-of-school orphans and vulnerable youth 10-17 years old in Mpumalanga. The 10-practice CHAMP SKILLZ program uses soccer language, metaphors, and activities to address key drivers of school drop-out, HIV, gender-based violence, and a lack of access to critical health services. 20% of the CHAMP participants are adolescents living with HIV and over the course of the project GRS will reach between 11,000 – 16,000 adolescents annually with CHAMP SKILLZ.

In 2011, Grassroot Soccer and the Peace Corps formed a global partnership that provides Grassroot Soccer SKILLZ curricula, training, and materials to Peace Corps Volunteers. Volunteers deliver tailored Peace Corps SKILLZ programs to some of the world’s most in-need communities, where soccer is often a strong community unifier and youth desperately need access to accurate health information and caring adults. Since the launch of the partnership in 2011, more than 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers in 46 countries have worked in tandem with Grassroot Soccer and local community member GRS Coaches who deliver key life skills information to youth.

Launched in January 2019, Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe and Population Services International (PSI) are partnering under the USAID/PEPFAR Going the Last Mile for HIV Control Project to implement a soccer-based VMMC, condom distribution, and HIV self-testing demand creation project for adolescent boys and young men ages 15-29 in Bulawayo and Harare.

US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. Government initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world, the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease internationally. Since 2008, support from PEPFAR through USAID has been vital to Grassroot Soccer’s development and expansion in southern Africa and has enabled GRS to design, implement and monitor high impact combination prevention initiatives for adolescents. The partnership has also entered into multiple public-private partnerships, delivering joint projects with private partners including Nike, Comic Relief, The MAC AIDS Fund, Barclays, and Anglo American.

The charitable arm of energy trading company Vitol, the Vitol Charitable Foundation supports projects that promote better living conditions for children living in deprivation. To achieve this, the Foundation supports charity partners that work in four key areas of a child’s development: Health, Water and Sanitation, Education and Livelihoods. Vitol Charitable Foundation works with Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe to provide targeted health education to youth and facilitate access to youth-friendly health services.

4POINT4 is a sportswear company that gives back. They specialize in performance apparel, team uniforms and sporting goods while donating 4.4% of every purchase to the nonprofit of your choice. At the core of every 4POINT4 product is the idea that sport is a powerful tool to inspire and improve communities. They believe greatness results from the fusion of performance and passion. 4POINT4 provides racing kit to Grassroot Soccer’s endurance team and donates a portion of sales from Grassroot Soccer branded merchandise to our work.

ActionAid Zambia is part of the ActionAid Global Federation working to achieve social justice, gender equality and poverty eradication. GRS is working with ActionAid Zambia to implement an all-girls program with the aim to empower them with health, social and economic life skills to address the challenges such as gender inequality and gender-based violence.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global nonprofit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 713,155 people in 38 countries. AHF funds its mission to rid the world of AIDS through a network of pharmacies, thrift stores, healthcare contracts and other strategic partnerships. They are currently the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the U.S, and since 1987, AHF has cared for thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. Beginning in 2017, AHF has funded GRS to support HIV positive adolescents to adhere to treatment, achieve viral suppression, have increased access to services, and lead happy and healthy lives.

With support from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Grassroot Soccer is working with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) adolescent HIV program to hone and implement “SKILLZ Plus,” a program to ensure that young women have a seamless, adolescent-friendly pathway to an uninterrupted continuum of clinical care. CIDRZ provides services through a combination of static and mobile sexual and reproductive health platforms, appealing non-health services, and youth-friendly staff.

The City Football Foundation is the global foundation for the City Football Group - Manchester City, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC - focused on uplifting city youth through soccer. The City Football Foundation has been pivotal in the development and success of GRS’s all-girls soccer team in South Africa, RV United. RV United was the first soccer team for girls in Khayelitsha, South Africa’s second largest township. Support from the City Football Foundation has allowed the soccer team not only to grow and replicate, but also provides team members with financial literacy and sexual and reproductive health education.

Comic Relief drives positive change through the power of entertainment. Through initiatives like Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, Comic Relief has raised millions of pounds to tackle tackle the root causes of poverty and social injustice. Comic Relief has supported Grassroot Soccer since 2010 to develop gender-focused curricula, provide professional development to young people, and link youth to youth-friendly health services. Funding from Comic Relief allowed GRS to invest in a high-quality monitoring and evaluation system and to launch the first randomized controlled trial of a sport-based HIV prevention intervention.

The Diamond Foundation supports a range of projects that emphasize education as a vehicle for poverty reduction. They believe in providing exceptional opportunities in scholarship, financial literacy, and wellness. Their field work brings them face-to-face with evidence of marginalization and they understand the negative consequences of remaining silent. The Diamond Foundation has generously supported Grassroot Soccer since 2011.

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has been a supporter of Grassroot Soccer since 2012 and enabled the pilot of GRS's successful voluntary medical male circumcision program in Zimbabwe.

The Draper Richards Kaplan (DRK) Foundation was founded on a belief in the power of innovation and a conviction that with bold foundation support, passionate individuals can change the world. The DRK Foundation provided critical early support to Grassroot Soccer during the organization’s start-up phase, and has continued to provide ongoing insight and guidance through their network of entrepreneurs. The Foundation fosters collaboration through an annual entrepreneur retreat, events throughout the year, and group calls on management techniques and other topics pertinent to the portfolio.

The ELMA Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of Africa’s children and youth through the support of sustainable efforts to relieve poverty, advance education and promote health. With generous support from ELMA and strong partner organizations, GRS is expanding its school-based prevention education, testing services for adolescents, and linking of HIV-positive adolescents to the care and support services in Gauteng, South Africa, with the aim to increase self-efficacy, gender-awareness and knowledge of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

To harness the huge potential of football and support existing football-based community projects, FIFA launched the Football for Hope initiative in 2005 to help improve the lives and prospects of young people around the world. FIFA Football for Hope has been one of Grassroot Soccer’s longest supporters in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Additionally, GRS was chosen by FIFA and the City of Cape Town to manage the first Football for Hope Center in Khayelitsha, Cape Town as part of the 20 Centers for 2010 campaign, the official fundraising campaign of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. GRS also operates two more Football For Hope Centers in Alexandra, South Africa (on behalf of the City of Johannesburg) and in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust is an entity established by FIFA and the South African Football Association (SAFA) at the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, to promote and extend the development and the reach of football within South Africa. Support from The FIFA Legacy Trust Fund enables Grassroot Soccer to deliver soccer-based programming and events out of established FIFA Football for Hope community centers in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Hivos is an international organization that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues active in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Hivos opposes discrimination, inequality, abuse of power, and the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources, with primary focus on achieving structural change. Through its support via the Regional SRHR Fund which was established by Hivos and the Ford Foundation, GRS is conducting research into the intersectionality between child marriage, HIV, sexual and gender based violence, and education in Zambia’s rural Eastern Province.

The Imago Dei Fund was established in 2009, with the goal of walking beside and supporting great organizations in an effective and intentional way, and a special focus and interest on gender justice. The Imago Dei Fund is a key supporter of GRS organization-wide, and has specifically supported single-sex programming for adolescent girls and a pilot of Grassroot Soccer’s all-male program in South Africa.

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation has supported GRS in South Africa to deliver community-based programming and outreach since 2012. Laureus Sport for Good’s goal is to help young people overcome the limitations imposed by challenging social issues including juvenile crime, gangs, gun and knife violence, HIV, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems like obesity, through sports-related community projects.

The National Institutes of Health is funding a collaboration between the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) and Grassroot Soccer to run a 5 year project including a randomized control trial of “SKILLZ Plus,” a program to ensure that young women have a seamless, adolescent-friendly pathway across an uninterrupted continuum of clinical care. CIDRZ provides services through a combination of static and mobile sexual and reproductive health platforms, appealing non-health services, and youth-friendly staff.

The NLC acts a catalyst for eradicating poverty and reducing inequality in South Africa, channeling 47% of its annual budget for distribution of funds to a range of good causes. The National Lottery supports GRS to deliver specially adapted sport-based health education programs for youth with intellectual disabilities in partnership with Special Olympics in South Africa.

Nike Global Community Impact is supporting Grassroot Soccer and Youth Empowerment Development Initiative (YEDI) to deliver SKILLZ programs, testing tournaments, and holiday camps to vulnerable youth throughout Nigeria. Nike support is enabling YEDI and GRS to attract new school partners in key geographies.

The Positive Action for Children Fund (PACF) is part of ViiV Healthcare’s commitment to communities affected by HIV and AIDS. They support organizations working to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by empowering mothers and children across the globe. Every year, we continue to form new partnerships with community-based organizations dedicated to improving health and wellbeing and ending AIDS in their communities. PACF is supporting Grassroot Soccer through a collaborative partnership in Zambia.

Positive Tracks helps young people get active and give back using the power of sport. Positive Tracks is the Presenting Partner of GRS Charity Games and matches up to $20,000 raised through these games. All youth supporters of Grassroot Soccer are eligible for Positive Tracks Contests and Grassroot Soccer Charity Games.

PUGG is the exclusive goal sponsor of Grassroot Soccer 3v3 PickUP Tournaments. As part of the partnership, PUGG is providing goals to be used at GRS 3V3 Pick-Up tournaments, and as incentives for tournament teams. For each set of goals sold through their website,www.pugg.com, PUGG is donating $25 to Grassroot Soccer. PUGG also offers Grassroot Soccer supporters a special offer of $15 off their qualifying online purchase when they use the code GRS3V3 at checkout.

Salesforce.org is a self-funded social enterprise providing best-in-class technology to social impact organizations. By leveraging Salesforce’s technology, people, and resources, the Salesforce Foundation has supported the development of Grassroot Soccer’s monitoring and evaluation system, enabling GRS to track, analyze, and improve its programming around the world.

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Grassroot Soccer and Special Olympics are working together in Nigeria and South Africa to develop specially adapted sport-based health education programs for youth with intellectual disabilities.

Streetfootballworld is a global network of community organisations that rally behind one common goal: changing the world through football. Grassroot Soccer is a proud and longstanding member of the streetfootballworld network, collaborating with the sfw network on projects at the FIFA Football for Hope Centers in South Africa and continuing to learn and grow a great deal from the many strong partners within the network.

Building on the success of its girls-centered partnership with Swedish Postcode, Grassroot Soccer will implement a multi-country project to shape positive and equal gender norms among adolescent boys in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe: “Equalize!” GRS will implement an innovative, soccer-based program, SKILLZ Boy, delivered by young men trained as peer educators and mentors, which is designed to reflect the unique needs, interests, and health behaviors of boys; challenge ingrained negative gender norms; and promote positive masculinity.

As part of the CDC-funded “Combination Prevention Solutions to Reach Epidemic Control among High Risk, Priority Populations in High Burden Areas in the Republic of South Africa under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,” GRS South Africa is partnering with TB HIV Care to deliver combination HIV prevention interventions for high risk men 20+ years old in Cape Town Metro. Launched in 2019, over the course of this 5-year initiative GRS South Africa will support the high risk male sexual partners of adolescent girls and young women with evidence-based behavioral programming and facilitate access to condoms, VMMC services, PrEP, and HTS.

Grassroot Soccer has partnered with Terre des hommes schweiz (TDH Schweiz) in Zimbabwe to implement a project to improve Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights including HIV/AIDS knowledge. Together, Grassroot Soccer and TDH Schweiz seek to empower young people with complementary skills they need to access key health services in Bulawayo province. TDH Schweiz is a Swiss-based NGO that works with local partner organizations to support better living conditions for children, young people, and communities across ten countries in Africa and Latin America.

BT Sport - The Supporters Club is BT’s initiative to build a better world by bringing people together through sport. Through the generous support of BT Sport - The Supporters Club, GRS is implementing a program for adolescents living with HIV to improve their health outcomes in Chipata District, Zambia by empowering them with critical health information on adhering to treatment and supporting resilience to live healthy lives.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) serves as the leading advocate for global action against HIV/AIDS. Its mission is to guide, strengthen and support worldwide efforts to turn the tide against the epidemic UNAIDS has provided in-kind support to Grassroot Soccer’s organizational strategy and curriculum design.

With support from UNICEF, Grassroot Soccer South Africa is working with Mavu Sport Development to adapt a comprehensive and meaningful sport for development curriculum and provide technical assistance and support services for this local organization based in Limpopo Province.

The Western Cape Govt. provides services across the province, including in schools and community centres. GRS has partnered with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), the Department of Education (WCED), as well as the City of Cape Town on various initiatives.