FGR plays an important role in the community. Home and away, we bring people together to support the team, enjoy the action, socialise and share the experience. The bonds we’ve built with our supporters give us strength and help us grow. They also give us a powerful platform we can use to give something back.
To do this, we work with FGR Community, a charity established to educate, motivate and inspire through football. Its programmes make a positive impact across Gloucestershire and beyond.
The FGR Supporters Club is another bedrock we have in the local community and our International Fans Brigades unite our wider community around the world. Meanwhile, inclusive policies such as giving free tickets to disabled fans and their carers help ensure that everyone can be part of the Rovers community.
You can find out how FGR Community works by expanding the sections below. There are loads of community activities going on and we’re always looking for more people to get involved.
What is FGR Community?
FGR Community is the charitable arm of Forest Green Rovers FC, operating within the Green Britain Foundation, which is a registered charity.
Working with schools, community organisations and sports clubs in Gloucestershire and the surrounding area, we use football to educate, motivate and inspire.
Download a copy of the FGR Community Trust Strategic Plan
to find out more.
The Green Britain Foundation’s registered charity number is 1148783. Click here to see our report on the Charity Commission for England & Wales website.
At FGR Community, we devise and deliver programmes that fall under our four key themes:
Environment and sustainability – As the world’s greenest football club, we’re not only run by green principles – we spread the word about sustainability in our community and beyond. Through our schools programme, FGR Community is helping tackle the climate crisis in a practical way. We do this by sharing our experience with everything from green energy through to how to prepare vegan food.
Sport and recreation – Using football to educate, motivate and inspire, we encourage people of all ages and abilities to take part in sport as part of a healthy, happy lifestyle. Taking all the matchday excitement generated on the pitch, we translate it into fun activities ranging from football tournaments and holiday camps through to training sessions at local schools.
Health and wellbeing – Participating in sport supports people’s health and wellbeing, but we go further than that. For example, our Fit2Last programme and Making Matchday Food sessions teach young people how to keep healthy and make vegan meals. FGR Talk Club is an initiative to support men’s mental health, we are tackling loneliness in the community and have run community food projects to help those who are less well off. These activities have been particularly important during lockdown.
Inclusion and cohesion – FGR is a family football club, and we want everyone to be able to enjoy our matches and community activities. Through our Community Stand Offer, schools and community groups can attend a game for free in our Community Stand. To support the community, we run programmes to help with mental health and loneliness as well as social issues such as drugs.
Education and employability – We are here to help educate, motivate & inspire visitors to FGR using the power of sport and our green credentials. Historically football clubs have played a pivotal role in education, both clubs and stadiums can be a great way to engage people of all ages in learning activities whether through promoting formal education sessions such as FGR Community’s Fit2Last and Premier League Primary Stars programmes, or more informal visits, for example, our eco-tours and cooking sessions. All our programmes, events, and activities are aimed at helping people fulfil their potential and consider their impact on their wider community and environment.
For further information about what we do, please contact community@fgr.co.uk.
At FGR Community we aim to:
Use our resources efficiently to achieve measurable results, holding ourselves accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, our local community.
Set high targets, ask the best of ourselves, push each other forwards and strive to improve the quality of our work.
Uphold the highest standards of personal integrity and behaviour, never knowingly compromising the charity and always acting in the best interest of our beneficiaries.
Be open to new ideas, embrace change and take calculated risks to develop sustainable solutions.
Respect every member of the community, value diversity and build positive relationships with partners to make a difference in the community.
Your FGR Community team are:
Head of FGR Community: Chris Kelly
Project Officer for Community Cohesion, Inclusion, Health and Wellbeing, (PL Kick’s Manager): Steve Dolman
Community Coach and Women's Team Assistant Head Coach: Tom Needham
Community Coach - Premier League Kick’s Inclusion Coach: David Needham
FGR Community Directors: Dale Vince, Helen Taylor, Phil Butterworth
Green Britain Foundation Trustees: Dale Vince, Helen Taylor, Dahlia Nahome