Kicking the Stigma announces 2025 Action Grant recipients – Colts.com

Report on Kicking The Stigma Action Grants and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The Jim Irsay family has announced the allocation of over $800,000 in Kicking The Stigma Action Grants to 18 Indiana-based non-profit organizations. This initiative, now in its fifth year, directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by funding mental health treatment and awareness programs. The total contribution of the program since its inception in 2020 amounts to $7.2 million, underscoring a significant commitment to community well-being and strategic partnerships.

Grant Allocation and Program Scope

The latest funding cycle distributes significant financial resources to enhance mental health infrastructure. Key details include:

• Total Funding Awarded: Over $800,000
• Number of Beneficiaries: 18 non-profits and organizations
• Geographic Focus: State of Indiana
• Primary Objective: To fund mental health treatment services and raise awareness about mental health.

Kalen Jackson, Colts Owner & Chief Brand Officer, stated, “These grants continue our commitment to this cause and to the clinicians, researchers, social workers and all those who deliver vital mental health services to our friends and neighbors in need.” This year’s program featured two distinct grant opportunities for applicants.

Contribution to Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The Kicking The Stigma initiative makes a direct and measurable contribution to SDG 3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. The program’s focus aligns specifically with Target 3.4:

1. Promote Mental Health and Well-being: By financing organizations that provide mental health treatment and awareness, the grants actively work to destigmatize mental health conditions and improve access to care.
2. Support Prevention and Treatment: The funding empowers local organizations to deliver vital services, strengthening the community’s capacity to address mental health challenges, which is a core component of promoting overall well-being.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

This initiative serves as a model for SDG 17, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration to achieve sustainable development. The program’s structure highlights a successful multi-stakeholder partnership:

• It represents a strategic alliance between a private entity (the Jim Irsay family and the Colts Foundation) and civil society (18 non-profit organizations).
• By mobilizing private financial resources, the partnership enhances the capacity of community-based organizations to achieve shared social objectives related to public health.
• This collaboration demonstrates how targeted private investment can effectively advance the global development agenda at a local level.

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The article’s central theme is the promotion of mental health and well-being. The “Kicking The Stigma” initiative, which provides grants to organizations for “mental health treatment services” and to “raise awareness about mental health,” directly aligns with the core objective of SDG 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

2. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The initiative described is a partnership between a private entity (the Jim Irsay family) and civil society organizations (18 nonprofits and organizations). This collaboration, funded by “Kicking The Stigma Action Grants,” exemplifies the multi-stakeholder partnerships that SDG 17 aims to foster to achieve sustainable development objectives.

Specific SDG Targets

1. Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

   • The article directly addresses the second part of this target. The grants are explicitly designed to “promote mental health and well-being.” By funding organizations that provide “vital mental health services” and work to “end the stigma surrounding mental health,” the initiative contributes directly to achieving this target.

2. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

   • The “Kicking The Stigma Action Grants” program is a clear example of this target in action. It represents a private-civil society partnership where a private family foundation provides financial resources (a “resourcing strategy”) to non-profit organizations to address a specific social issue, thereby promoting an effective partnership for the public good.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. Indicators for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

   • While the article does not mention official UN indicators like suicide mortality rates, it provides clear, quantifiable proxy indicators that measure the effort and resources dedicated to promoting mental health:
   • Total funding allocated to mental health initiatives: The article specifies that more than $800,000 was awarded in the current grant cycle, with a total of $7.2 million awarded since 2020. This serves as a direct financial indicator of the commitment to mental health services.
   • Number of organizations supported: The article states that 18 nonprofits and organizations received grants. This number indicates the breadth of the support network being built to deliver mental health services and awareness.

2. Indicators for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

   • The article provides a direct measure for the official UN indicator 17.17.1 (Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships).
   • Value of financial resources committed to the partnership: The $800,000 in current grants and the $7.2 million total represent the financial value committed by the private partner (the Irsay family) to its civil society partners (the 18 nonprofits).

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: colts.com