Our Legacy

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker (above)
                     Granville T. Woods (above)

​At the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation, we do more than preserve the past — we activate it. Our mission is to ignite the spirit of innovation, perseverance, and purpose embodied by two of Columbus’s greatest sons: Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, a fearless World War I flying ace and trailblazing entrepreneur, and Granville T. Woods, the brilliant African American inventor whose work electrified the modern world.

We are building a movement that connects history to possibility. From our future national museum and trolley exhibit to our award-winning youth internship program, we harness the power of place, story, and community to open doors for the next generation of creators, thinkers, and leaders.
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Through our work, we:
  • Educate through hands-on STEAM programs rooted in real local history
  • Inspire youth to pursue futures in science, arts, trades, and civic leadership
  • Preserve the historic Rickenbacker home and trolley as living tools of engagement
  • Revitalize our Driving Park community through gardens, murals, events, and storytelling
  • Celebrate the legacy of Black inventors, visionaries, and change-makers often left out of the narrative
Rickenbacker Woods Foundation – Welcome

Mission

The Rickenbacker Woods Foundation celebrates the pioneering spirit exemplified by Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker and Granville T. Woods. Our mission is to spark curiosity, drive invention, and instill resilience—empowering individuals to blaze new trails and shape a bolder future.

Vision

Our campus cultivates a nurturing environment providing Holistic Opportunities for Personal Enrichment (HOPE). We envision equipping families and our community with transformative tools to unlock their potential, transcend limitations, and confidently pursue dreams.

Overall Satisfaction

Staff Interactions

Benefits Noticed

Voices of Families & Community

“Staff is amazing. My daughter loved the projects and field trips. The program exceeded my expectations!”
“Thank you for providing an enriching, affirming experience for all the children and families. RWF truly embodies its mission.”
“She especially enjoyed the field trips--OSU and Battelle stood out. Thank you to everyone who poured into her.”
“She loved it, loved the teachers/volunteers and her new friends. She made memories that will last a lifetime.”

Driving Park Roots

Today, thanks to a powerful collaboration with the City of Columbus, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation and the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation the home where Rickenbacker grew up — a National Historic Landmark — is being transformed into a living museum. Alongside it, the garage once filled with tools and dreams became a vibrant community center. This $1 million public-private transfer is part of a larger commitment to reinvest in the people and potential of Driving Park.

Just down the street, that commitment deepens through the Kent Place Homes development — a $12 million affordable housing initiative and the next phase of the Streetcar District Redevelopment Initiative. Fifty-three energy-efficient, single-family lease-purchase homes were built as part of a long-term plan to restore the spirit of ownership, pride, and possibility in this historic community. These homes sit near the former Kent School, now the Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy, serving over 140 students in a revitalized learning environment.
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Driving Park earned its name from its famed racetrack — where streetcars once carried eager crowds to see Eddie Rickenbacker race automobiles against airplanes. It is a neighborhood built on innovation, momentum, and the promise of progress. The Rickenbacker Woods Foundation honors that spirit every day — through education, housing, technology, and storytelling that ensures the past is not forgotten, but reimagined as a path forward.
Here, history isn’t just preserved — it’s ignited.