St. Louis Rams Foundation

Mission:

Since 1995, the St. Louis Rams have set the standard for professional sports franchises both on and off the field — by harnessing the power of sports.  The Rams community outreach team, which includes the St. Louis Rams Foundation, supports programs designed to positively impact youth in the areas of education, literacy, health, recreation and youth football.  Since moving to the Gateway City, the organization has donated more than $6 million in cash, grants, merchandise and tickets to area charities. 

In addition to the financial contributions, the team works to integrate all of their unique resources including player participation, media exposure and establishing synergistic links between charities and team sponsors and partners.  The Rams believe this comprehensive approach provides their charitable partners with the most beneficial relationship possible. 

As such, the team’s philanthropic philosophy is guided by three principles:

  • Be Proactive: The Rams are dedicated to being innovative, forward thinkers.
  • Be Impactful: By leveraging the influence of professional athletes and the strength of the NFL, the Rams play a significant role in improving the lives of area youth.
  • Be Collaborative: Through strategic partnerships with area organizations, the Rams have proven to be an effective catalyst for change.

The following descriptions aim at providing a glimpse of what the team is doing to make the bi-state area a better place.  For a more comprehensive look at the organization’s off the field efforts, please visitwww.stlouisrams.com/offthefield.

Cornerstone Programs

In order to provide the greatest impact to the bi-state area, the Rams Foundation focuses the majority of its resources on the following cornerstone programs, designed to positively impact youth in the areas of education, literacy, health, recreation and youth football.

Community First Youth Ticket Program
Community First allows schools and non-profit youth organizations the opportunity to earn tickets to Rams home games by “putting the community first” and developing and implementing fitness, literacy and youth football service projects.  The program goes beyond a simple volunteer initiative by encouraging civic participation and healthy decision-making.

The students address community needs while strengthening their mastery of academic subjects and good citizenship skills.  The ultimate goal of the program is to expose kids to the overall benefits of volunteerism and instill a desire to continue contributing beyond this project.  The program has generated more than 25,000 hours of community service since its inception in 1998.

Diversity Awareness Partnership
An organization with a long tradition of embracing diversity, the Rams were the first professional sports team in the modern era to sign an African-American player — even before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.  Years later, the team remains committed to promoting diversity and inclusion.  After helping launch the Diversity Awareness Partnership (DAP) in 2000, the Rams have continued to unite over 100 organizations in the effort to reduce bias and discrimination, and promote the value of difference among the people of St. Louis.  An example of this collaboration is the Edward Jones’ Give Respect — Get Respect Youth Program that has engaged middle and high school students, teachers and members of today’s workforce in this pursuit of acceptance. 

Youth Football
The Rams have joined with the NFL to identify opportunities to enhance, promote and recognize positive aspects of football at every level.  The team, along with the Tom Lombardo chapter of the National Football Foundation, has led the way in creating an Amateur Football Council, designed to support organizations committed to amateur football and to promote youth development, sportsmanship and academic excellence through youth football.  As part of these efforts, the Rams host two training seminars: the Scott Linehan High School Coaching Clinic and the St. Louis Rams/USA Football Youth Coaching School. In addition to the Coach of the Week program, efforts include providing free tackle football camps to area middle school athletes through the Rams Junior Player Development Program and partnering with PHL, Inc. to refurbish and maintain St. Louis Public School athletic fields.

Healthy Youth Partnership
The Healthy Youth Partnership (HYP) is a collaborative of more than 75 community organizations from diverse sectors, which have been brought together by the Rams Foundation and the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, to combat youth obesity and advance the health of children and youth in the St. Louis, bi-state region.  Together, they are implementing a set of pilot programs, sharing best practices to improve current programming and building a network of resources to foster a regional commitment to health outcomes for the region’s children.

Huddle Up
The St. Louis Rams and CHARACTERplus have joined together to help educators integrate character building into classroom curricula.  A web site has been developed that provides resources for classroom teachers including lesson plans.  Teachers also have an opportunity to compete in a contest to recognize outstanding lesson plans that integrate character into core academics.

Literacy Efforts
The Rams place a high priority on literacy and partner with area organizations to increase interest in reading and to provide free books for underserved communities. Rams partners include Metropolitan Association of Public Libraries (MAPL), First Book — St. Louis and the Literacy Roundtable. To reinforce the importance of literacy, players make regular visits to libraries and schools to read to children. 

St. Louis Public Schools Rams Fitness Team
The Rams and St. Louis Public Schools have collaborated to create the Rams Fitness Team, a program being implemented in the St. Louis City schools that includes a flag football curriculum, training sessions with Rams personnel and a component on nutrition and lifetime fitness. The Rams Fitness Team also recognizes the importance of physical education teachers in today’s schools, through the Physical Education Teacher of the Year program.

    Grantmaking Objectives:

    The St. Louis Rams have given away more than $5 million in cash, tickets and memorabilia to non-profit organizations.Since arriving in St. Louis in 1995, the majority of the Rams’ efforts focus on organizations specializing in literacy, health, recreation and youth football.

    Unsolicited grant requests are not accepted.However, any information sent to the below address will be kept on file for future opportunities that may arise.

    St. Louis Rams Foundation
    Attn: Director of Rams Foundation One Rams Way St. Louis, MO 63045

    Geographic Areas Served:   

    Greater St. Louis bi-state area (MO; IL)

    Revenues:  

    $387,933

    Grants Disbursed:

    $181,987

    Net Assets:      

    $698,251

    St. Louis Rams Foundation Website


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