Two young children sit side by side at a table in a school cafeteria, holding a small object together and facing the camera. One child wears a blue shirt with red backpack straps, and the other has short hair with green highlights and wears a grey shirt. A plate with food is visible in the foreground, while cafeteria tables and another person seated in the background appear slightly out of focus.

Rio Tinto Canada Fund

Supporting communities across Canada

The Rio Tinto Canada Fund aims to deliver lasting social and economic benefits for the communities where we operate while supporting initiatives whose impact can extend beyond those regions.  

Through the Fund, we support the people and organizations working every day to support stronger, more resilient and vibrant communities. 

The Fund invests more than C$13 million annually in community initiatives and partnerships in the regions where we operate. Since its creation in 2008, more than $189M has been invested to support communities across Canada.

Our approach

The Rio Tinto Canada Fund focuses on community-led solutions where needs are real and impact can be long-lasting.

Our principles include:

  • Aligning investments with community needs and shared priorities. 
  • Working in partnership with organizations and communities. 
  • Having a clear purpose, outcomes and plan to measure change and sharing results transparently to demonstrate real impact. 
  • Building partner or system capacity and capability.

Our 3 pillars

The Fund supports projects across 3 priority pillars that reflect community needs and long-term impact:

Nature

Indigenous reconciliation

Community resilience 
Green line icon inside a circle showing a mountain landscape with a sun and a tree, representing nature as one of three pillars. Coral line icon inside a circle showing a stylised feather, representing Indigenous reconciliation as one of three pillars. Blue line icon inside a circle showing a shield with three people figures, representing community resilience as one of three pillars.
 Healthy communities depend on healthy environments. We support initiatives focused on biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, water stewardship and climate resilience.  We support Indigenous-led priorities and initiatives that advance culture, education, stewardship reconciliation and community capability.  We help build more resilient communities by backing wellbeing, education, food security and health initiatives across Canada.

The Rio Tinto Canada Fund in action

Three people wearing life jackets and caps stand close together on a small metal boat, talking near the steering console on a wide, muddy river. Forested trees line the riverbank in the background under a clear blue sky, and sunlight illuminates the scene.

Protecting the future of the Nechako white sturgeon

We have supported the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC’s Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative since 2016, helping protect one of British Columbia’s most iconic and endangered fish species while creating opportunities for the next generation of environmental stewards.
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The initiative combines conservation, research, education and community engagement to support the recovery of Nechako White Sturgeon populations. It also provides hands-on experience for up to 5 interns each year, helping build local expertise and pathways into environmental and conservation careers.

Over the past 3 years alone, the program has welcomed more than 6,000 visitors through hatchery tours, engaged over 2,000 people through community outreach events, and connected an estimated 2,500 students with sturgeon release activities.

These efforts have contributed to the release of more than 450 juvenile sturgeon and supported ongoing research and recovery work to help restore the species for future generations. 

Strengthening opportunities for Indigenous women and youth

Founded in 2012, Puakuteu provides a welcoming space where women can access support, develop new skills and strengthen their connection to culture through workshops, counselling and community activities.
Puakuteu indigenous youth
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The organization also delivers the Passeport pour ma réussite program in Mashteuiatsh, helping young people stay engaged in school, achieve their educational goals and deepen their connection to their culture.

We have supported Puakuteu and its mission for over 12 years, helping to deliver:

  • 519 educational and cultural workshops;
  • supported support to 165 women; and
  • engagement with 159 youth through the program, including more than 200 mentoring sessions.
Image of a teacher guiding her young student to measure the height of plants on a table.

Reducing barriers to STEM education

Since 2017, we have provided $2.3 million in transformative funding to Let’s Talk Science, supporting their mission to connect young people with science, technology, and innovation. This enduring investment has helped contribute to more than 6.8 million free STEM learning interactions with youth across Canada in English and French; including over 780,000 in Quebec and 350,000 with Indigenous youth.
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Today, this collective effort empowers a massive national network with:

  • more than 55 post-secondary and research institution partners
  • over 1,800 volunteers who contribute 38,000 hours of outreach annually, reaching more than 1,700 communities 
  • delivering professional support through 230,000-plus educator interactions. 

Criteria

The Rio Tinto Canada Fund is guided by our Communities and Social Performance Standard and aligned with our global approach to social investment.

All funding requests and partnership proposals are evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Align with our business values, adhering to The Way We Work and our Business Integrity Standard.
  • Are submitted by a registered Canadian charitable or non-profit organization.
  • Support at least one of our 3 pillars.
  • Benefit communities near our operations.
  • Address demonstrated community needs with measurable impact.
  • Involve multiple partners to help ensure long-term continuity beyond our support.
  • Include clear objectives, governance, budgets and measurable results.

What we don’t fund

  • Organizations that are not registered Canadian charities or non-profit organizations. 
  • Activities that do not align with Rio Tinto’s business policies or code of conduct, The Way We Work. 
  • Organizations or programmes that discriminate based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. 
  • Projects outside Canada. 
  • Projects that do not benefit communities near our operations. 
  • Political organizations or events. 
  • Individual requests, including personal travel support. 
  • Student-run clubs or associations. 
  • Professional sports organizations or events. 
  • Website, video or film production unrelated to a funded project. 
  • Projects primarily focused on capital works or infrastructure development. 

Review process

All requests are evaluated based on the criteria outlined above. 

Requests of less than C$250,000 are reviewed by our regional community investment and partnerships teams with decisions communicated within 8 to 10 weeks of the application date. 

Requests of C$250,000 and above are presented to the Fund’s Board of Directors for review. The Board meets 3 times a calendar year, after which a final decision will be communicated to the requestor.

How to apply

All requests for funding must be submitted using the online application form. 

Requests received by email, mail, telephone or in-person will not be accepted.