The RBA Foundation, established in 2015, supports the charitable, scientific, and educational activities of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA). Its mission is to strengthen the public’s understanding of social, environmental, and economic responsibility within global supply chains, enabling more informed consumer and industry decisions.
As a Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, the Foundation can receive tax-deductible charitable contributions from individuals and corporations. These contributions enable the RBA and the Foundation to leverage opportunities for public and private funding to develop and implement special programs, research projects, tools, and other initiatives that advance responsible mineral sourcing and benefit the broader public.
The Foundation also supports the mission of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), an initiative of the RBA, and helps strengthen the RMI’s impact through funding and resource mobilization.
Primary Purposes of Contributions Made to the Foundation in Support of the RMI. Contributions made to the Foundation for RMI activities are used to:
- Support facilities with the cost of their due diligence assessments
- Support relevant upstream due diligence activities.
- Develop and publicly disseminate data, guidance, training, and tools for responsible sourcing.
Contribution Options
- RMAP Assessments Fund: Funds the costs of Initial RMAP assessments and up to 75 percent of re-assessment costs for those with financial need.
- ESG Assessment Fund: Supports the costs of Initial assessments on the Supply Chain Due Diligence Plus (or RMAP+) and the Facility Standard for Social, Environmental, OHS and Governance Risks.
- Upstream Due Diligence Fund: Provides $10,000 to facilities seeking support for upstream due diligence assessments (i.e., on-the-ground assessments)
How to Make a Contribution
For contributions to any RMI Fund, please complete this form: RMI Fund Contribution Form – Fill out form
For any questions, contact: rmifund@rbafoundation.org
Contributions are made through the RBA Foundation via check or wire transfer.
The Foundation provides formal receipts for tax purposes, recognizing its status as a 501(c)(3) organization.
RMAP Assessment Fund
The RMAP Assessment Fund is designed to incentivize RMAP-eligible smelters and refiners (SORs) to participate in independent third-party assessments. It does so by fully covering the costs of initial RMAP assessments and, where appropriate, supporting needs-based re-assessments.
By contributing to the Assessment Fund, RMI member companies help share the financial responsibility of due diligence with their supply chain partners, reinforcing collective accountability and advancing responsible sourcing across the minerals value chain. Please note that when the fund has an amount of $150,000 or less, the fund is reserved for tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold assessments only. An alert will appear at the top of this page when the $150,000 threshold is in place.
Eligibility
To be eligible for use of the funds, facilities must first meet the eligibility requirements listed below. For financial support for re-assessments: If the facility meets the eligibility criteria, the RMI will cover 75 percent of the cost of the assessment. The facility will be responsible for the remaining 25 percent of the assessment cost. Funds are only eligible for the on-site assessment and not for Corrective Action Plan (CAP) implementation review (either on-site or desktop).
Initial Assessments:
- The facility must not have undergone a previous RMAP assessment
- Must have demonstrated its commitment to participating in the RMAP by signing the Assessment Agreement (AA), and
- Must have submitted the Pre-Assessment Checklist and Line-Item Summary to the RMI in a timely manner.
- The Fund may be applied to multiple facilities under a single Smelter or Refiner (SOR)
Financial Support for Re-assessments
- Facility must meet the definition of a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) (see below)
- Must provide an application form and supporting documentation in the form of a mass balance for the previous 12-month period up to one month before the application. The application can be found here in English and Korean.
- Interested parties must demonstrate that the total material processed over the last 12-month period is less than or equal to the following:
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- Sn: <60,000 kg
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- Co: <40,000 kg
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- Ta: <10,000 kg
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- Au: <1,000 kg
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- W: TBC
Criteria to be considered a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME):
| Company category | Staff headcount | Annual Revenue | or | Balance sheet total | |
| Medium-sized | < 250 | ≤ $50 M | ≤ $43 M | ||
| Small | < 50 | ≤ $10 M | ≤ $10 M | ||
| Micro | < 10 | ≤ $2 M | ≤ $2 M | ||
Please submit any questions related to financial support for re-assessments or the application and required documentation to RMIAssessment@responsiblebusiness.org.
ESG ASSESSMENT FUND
Facilities seeking financial support for ESG-related assessments may utilize the ESG Assessment Fund based on the criteria below.
This fund covers the cost of initial assessments for the RMAP+ (RMAP All Minerals Standard and the Supply Chain Due Diligence Plus module (SCDDP)) and the Facility Standard for Social, Environmental, OHS, and Governance Risks. Please note: 1) This does not include the costs of Priority Finding Closure Assessments and 2) When a member gives to the ESG Assessment Fund, they are agreeing to be publicly listed as a contributor to ensure facilities are aware of the companies with which their report is being shared.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The facility must not have undergone a previous RMAP+ or Facility Standard assessment
- Must have demonstrated its commitment to participating in the program by signing the Assessment Agreement (AA), and
- Must be willing to provide assessment results to contributors of the fund, including
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- Full assessment report: For RMAP+, this includes the SCDDP reports only and it does not include RMAP reports produced in conjunction with SCDDP report. This also includes the full assessment reports for the Facility Standard.
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- Determination Letter
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- Closure Statement Letter
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- Summary Report
UPSTREAM DUE DILIGENCE SMELTER FUND
Smelters and refiners (SORs) participating in the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) and sourcing from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRAs) are subject to several due diligence requirements, including the obligation to conduct on-the-ground assessments. While there are various approaches to conducting upstream due diligence, some facilities must take individual responsibility for gathering this information, which places a significant burden on them in terms of both resources and time to conduct upstream due diligence independently. This burden is so substantial that it risks discouraging sourcing from those CAHRAs, potentially hindering economic development opportunities for local communities.
RMI makes the Upstream Due Diligence Fund available to provide financial support for conducting upstream due diligence. Entities that meet the eligibility criteria listed below may apply once annually for up to $10,000 from the fund to support their upstream due diligence activities.
Eligibility Criteria: Eligible Entities and Activities must meet one or more of the criteria below:
- Smelters and refiners independently conducting due diligence on their upstream supply chains either themselves or with a consultant.
- Local suppliers of smelters and refiners to conduct assessments themselves.
- Local communities from which smelter and refiners source to build capacity to conduct the assessments and ongoing mine site monitoring.
- Financial assistance to industry associations, educational organizations, or other not-for-profits who are looking to develop or expand upstream assurance mechanisms into CAHRAs more broadly
- Upstream Assurance Mechanisms (UAMs) recognized by RMI that need to undergo a reassessment for recognition
- Upstream Assurance Mechanisms (UAMs) recognized by RMI that request funding for specific initiatives (such as support for expansion to new minerals, continuity during COVID-19, etc.).
Facilities must first meet the RMAP eligibility requirements to be eligible for the Upstream Due Diligence Fund.
How to Apply for the Upstream Due Diligence Fund
- Confirm eligibility criteria are met
- Complete the application form here.
- Submit a proposal for funding and any supporting documentation to rmifund@rbafoundation.org.
