JLR launches charitable foundation to empower youth to reach their full potential

JLR is committed to donating millions to the JLR Foundation, pledging up to £2.5 million to support its charitable work in the first year, with plans to increase funding annually as the Foundation grows. The charity will use the funds to award grants to charitable organisations and NGOs that benefit children and young people through initiatives that further their skills, knowledge and abilities, and reduce inequalities by providing opportunities to those who are disadvantaged.   

The JLR Foundation will officially launch later in 2025, initially in the UK, with plans to expand globally in future. It will be led by new JLR Foundation Director Laura Brown, previously CEO of PEAS, a charity dedicated to expanding access to education in Africa, who will take up her post in April. 

The Foundation has also appointed four members to its Board of Trustees; Andrea Debbane, Chief Sustainability Officer, Chris Thorp, Chief of Staff, and Phoebe Leet, Global HR Director from JLR; and François Dossa, Head of Sustainability Latin America, TCS; with additional JLR and independent trustees to be appointed over time. The trustees bring a wealth of combined experience in supporting charitable initiatives and will play a vital role in the development of the Foundation. 

Andrea Debbane, Chief Sustainability Officer, JLR and JLR Foundation Trustee said: “At JLR, we have a long history of innovation, transformation and creating aspirational products because of the talented people who work and thrive in our business. Today’s young minds are tomorrow’s engineers, designers and innovators. And they are the leaders and creators of our future society.”  

“We want to help unlock aspiration and potential in all children and young people, many of whom miss out because they don’t know opportunities exist, or they don’t have the self-belief or means to try. By removing barriers and providing access to the right skills, knowledge and opportunities, they can all play their part in building an exceptional and sustainable future.” 

The Foundation aligns with the commitment of JLR’s Reimagine strategy and the tradition of its parent company, Tata. JLR has a long history of supporting its employees and charity partners to scale positive environmental, societal and community impact, with a particular focus on youth and education. The Foundation builds on JLR’s engagement directly with schools and communities to contribute to broader charitable work.   

JLR China recently celebrated ten years of its flagship youth programme, the Dream Fund, China’s first automotive charity fund dedicated to youth, in partnership with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation. Launched in 2014, JLR has invested almost £12M in the fund to date, benefitting over 700,000 young people in China’s most underprivileged areas, including rebuilding a rural school destroyed by an earthquake - now the JLR Hope School.  

The impact of the JLR Hope School reaches deep into the community, where children walk for hours each way through mountainous terrain to get to school. A deep understanding of the social and educational needs and barriers to learning within this community has enabled interventions beyond the re-building project. Sustained support such as establishing teacher resources, provision of meals and sleeping facilities has led to the community celebrating over 70 graduates gaining admission to universities and a new Hope School Library, designed by esteemed architect Professor He Wei, will open this year. 

JLR also promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to the younger generation. In the UK, its STEM Ambassador Programme has reached over 100,000 students, with support from hundreds of JLR employees, including members of the JLR Board. JLR’s ambition is to grow its ambassador base to 5,000 in partnership with 2,500 schools globally by the end of 2029. 

In Brazil, a new socio-environmental educational programme will launch this year, providing immersive science classes for school students aged 4 to 14 in the rural communities near JLR’s Itatiaia plant, to stimulate their interest in science as a potential future career prospect.  

JLR’s focus on youth development is also about improving accessibility pathways for young people into its business. Its Schools Partnerships Programme helps develop future skills and capabilities of students and open their minds to possibilities of a career in the automotive industry by raising aspirations and tackling stereotypes. Reaching over 40, 000 students in the UK and Ireland annually, JLR’s ambition is to reach 1 million students a year globally by the end of the decade. A new global education programme will also launch in 2025 to build transferable skills and support students in finding their unique place in the future of work.    

JLR also actively develops its youngest colleagues, encouraging perspectives and participation through its Young Professionals Network to provide a platform for the next generation of leaders to unleash their potential and drive innovation.