El Rio Foundation

What El Rio Foundation does

El Rio Foundation is a Colombian nonprofit, formalized in June 2020, that delivers free educational, sporting, environmental and wellbeing programs to 600+ children each week across eleven communities on the North Caribbean coast of Colombia, in and around Buritaca, Santa Marta, Magdalena. Its core programs span Academic Tutoring, Community English, El Rio Games (multi-sport and arts), Football (with FIFA Foundation support), Dance, Little Kids Activities for ages 3-5, Art and Environmental Education, Indigenous Community outreach in Quebrada del Sol, and Child Safeguarding supported by a full-time Foundation psychologist. The foundation operates out of the award-winning El Rio Hostel, which absorbs office, food, and accommodation overhead and provides a steady pipeline of roughly 1,800 volunteer guests per year. There is no technology product; the "platform" is a physical, community-based service delivery model supplemented by social media, newsletters, and YouTube content. Funding comes from donations, merchandise (Foundation Beers and child-designed apparel), crowd-funders, and a diversified base of long-term partners including La Vida, Lata Foundation, El Rio Foundation UK, Common Goal, Richardson Family, Frere-Cook Family, Benchmark Holdings, FIFA Foundation, and adidas Foundation. The organization is actively seeking new corporate sponsors and funding partners to scale into 2025.

Name

El Rio Foundation

Legal name

The El Rio Foundation

Website

https://elriofoundationco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

El Rio Foundation is a Colombian nonprofit operating free educational, sporting, environmental and wellbeing programs for 600+ children weekly across eleven communities in the Buritaca/Santa Marta region, funded through donations, merchandise, hostel-subsidized overhead, and a diversified base of long-term international partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth and Community Development Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL), Student Clubs & Organizations (General Interest, Cultural, Service) (EDAJAJAG)

Keywords

• Community youth programmes
• Nonprofit education services
• Sports and arts clubs
• Environmental wellbeing education
• Post-conflict community support

Headquarters

HQ city

Buritaca, Santa Marta

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Beers and Merchandise: Selling Foundation Beers (16k each) at the craft bar, which funds 20 minutes of education. Also selling t-shirts, tote bags designed by children, frisbees and more. All profits go towards supporting the Foundation.
2. Donations and Sponsorships: Direct donations from individuals and organizations. Every 30k provides an hour of education and joy. Corporate sponsors can sponsor specific clubs or community programs.
3. Funding Partnerships: Long-term funding from partners including El Rio Foundation UK, La Vida, Lata Foundation, Common Goal, Richardson Family, FIFA Foundation, adidas Foundation, Benchmark Holdings, and others who support specific programs.
4. Hostel Operations Support: The El Rio Hostel provides overhead coverage (office costs, food, accommodation), keeping charity overheads very low so more of every dollar donated goes straight to the community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

El Rio Foundation delivers free educational, sporting, environmental and wellbeing programmes to 600+ children weekly across eleven communities on Colombia's North Caribbean coast. The Foundation operates ten to eleven core programmes (Academic Tutoring, Community English, El Rio Games, Football, Dance, Indigenous Community Programme, Environmental Education, Art, Little Kids Activities, Child Safeguarding and Wellbeing, and the Jungle Community School) funded by donations, sponsorships and hostel operations.

Product overview

El Rio Foundation is a community-based charitable organization operating across the Troncal del Caribe on Colombia's North Caribbean coast, providing a portfolio of free, inclusive community programmes to 600+ children weekly. The organization offers eleven distinct community programmes spanning education (Academic Tutoring, Community English), sports (El Rio Games multi-sports, Football with FIFA Foundation support, Dance clubs), early childhood development (Little Kids Activities for ages 3-5, Jungle Community School), environmental education, and child wellbeing support. Rather than a technology product, the Foundation delivers its mission through in-person community activities, volunteer engagement, and partnerships with local schools and indigenous communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Tutoring

Quantifiable outcome

• 600+ children from 7 communities accessing programmes each week
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Amazon ColombiaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 April 2024Volunteers from Amazon Colombia supported the Guachaca Gender Equality Family Games day, with 10 Amazon employees participating alongside 100 children and 40 parents/care-givers.
• Alta Mart Art CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024Cultural partner running art workshops and murals during cultural week, with the Foundation supporting their 'Art for Peace' initiatives.
• Yay Sustainable Resort HotelminorOthers · 1 January 2024Provided venue for Tutoring reward trips and environmental education sessions, offering children experiences at their sustainable resort hotel including permaculture learning and pool access.
• Costeño Social FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Partner in joint mural project 'We belong to the Heart of the World' involving 30 children from three communities over two weeks, combining Art and Environmental Education programmes.
• FIFA FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Supporting four boys' and four girls' football clubs in the local area, creating leagues and regular tournaments while strengthening the Academic Tutoring programme. Provided Community Football Activation day with 140 participants and Adidas football kits.
• El Laberinto MacondominorOthers · 1 January 2023Adventure tourism partner hosting Halloween Horror Maze experiences and Tutoring reward trips for children.
• El Rio HostelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The hostel's community work led to the Foundation's formalisation in 2020. The hostel provides low overhead costs (office, food, accommodation) and a steady stream of 1,800+ volunteer guests annually. It was named Community Hero BEST Hostel in the world in 2024.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kick4Life: Lesotho- and Africa-based NGO using football to deliver HIV prevention, education, and psychosocial support to at-risk youth; comparable sport-plus-education-plus-wellbeing delivery model.
• Soccer Without Borders: US-based nonprofit combining soccer with English-language instruction, academic support, and psychosocial services for refugee and immigrant youth - directly comparable sport-plus-education-plus-wellbeing model.
• Fundación Pies Descalzos: Colombian foundation focused on quality public education for children in vulnerable communities, sharing El Rio's Colombian base, education-plus-wellbeing emphasis, and partnership-driven funding model.
• Playing for Change Foundation: International nonprofit that establishes music and arts schools for underserved youth globally, closely paralleling El Rio's blend of arts, education, and wellbeing programming for at-risk children.
• Right To Play: Global NGO that uses sport and play as tools for education and youth development in disadvantaged communities, mirroring El Rio's sports-plus-education model across multiple country programmes.
• Waves for Development: Surf-and-education nonprofit working with Latin American coastal communities on literacy, environmental education, and youth empowerment - same regional and educational-plus-recreation profile as El Rio.
• Fútbol Más: Latin American nonprofit that uses football-based socio-emotional learning for children in vulnerable communities across Chile, Colombia, and other countries, with very similar youth-sports-plus-education positioning to El Rio.

Emerging players

• One World Futbol Project: Nonprofit that distributes nearly-indestructible soccer balls to communities and youth programmes worldwide, with a partial overlap in the sport-for-development space served by El Rio's football clubs.

Broad incumbents

• Common Goal: Global movement and funding mechanism that channels football industry money into community sport-for-development NGOs; El Rio is a current Common Goal partner, making it a comparable funder-and-ecosystem player rather than a direct field operator.

Regional players

• Fundación Saldarriaga Concha: Large Colombian foundation working on aging, disability, and social inclusion; relevant as a regionally anchored Colombian grantmaker and operator with adjacent youth wellbeing programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100091377571579
• Instagraminstagram.com/elriofoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/el-rio-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about El Rio Foundation