Instituto Guga Kuerten

What Instituto Guga Kuerten does

Instituto Guga Kuerten (IGK) is a non-profit civil association founded on August 17, 2000 by the Kuerten family in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The organization's mission is to provide social inclusion opportunities for children, adolescents, and people with disabilities through sports, education, and social programming. It operates three core program lines: Programa Campeões da Vida, which delivers free sports and education activities to approximately 400 children and adolescents aged 7-15 across five community-based nuclei in the Greater Florianópolis region (Saco Grande, Itacorubi, Biguaçu, Palhoça, and São José); FAPS (Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais), a recurring fund now in its 24th edition that channels corporate contributions to disability-focused social organizations across 188 municipalities in Santa Catarina; and Programa de Ações Especiais, focused on citizenship and rights-promotion initiatives, alongside an annual Prêmio IGK award and a free Therapeutic Caregiver training course.

The organization is not a technology company; its core delivery model is interdisciplinary program execution by a multidisciplinary team (Physical Education professionals, psychologists, social workers, and program coordinators) housed within community spaces such as schools, clubs, and universities. Supporting projects include IGK Dance (funded via Lei Rouanet/Ministry of Culture grants), IGK Música (violin/guitar lessons), Tênis em Movimento (kit loans), Livros em Movimento (mobile library), Corrida dos Campeões (community game), and Grupo Inclusivo (biweekly inclusion activities for 20 people with disabilities through COEPAD).

IGK's revenue model is diversified across four streams: individual donations through the "Amigos IGK" program; corporate sponsorship quotas invested annually in FAPS by Gold and Silver-tier partners (Aurora Alimentos, Klabin, Genial Investimentos, MSD, Banco do Brasil, Lacoste, Visa, Track & Field, and others); government grants via Lei Rouanet cultural incentive law for the dance program; and in-kind contributions such as Estácio de Sá higher-education scholarships for ex-educandos. All programs are provided free of charge to beneficiaries. Over 24 years, the organization reports R$66 million invested, 126,561 people impacted, 15,377 children attended through Campeões da Vida, 673 social projects funded via FAPS, and 13,212 professionals trained. The organization is led by President Alice Thümmel Kuerten with Gustavo Kuerten serving as President of Honor.

Name

Instituto Guga Kuerten

Legal name

Instituto Gustavo Kuerten

Website

https://igk.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Instituto Guga Kuerten is a Brazilian non-profit founded in 2000 by the Kuerten family that delivers free sports, education, and social inclusion programs to vulnerable children, adolescents, and people with disabilities in Santa Catarina, funded by individual donations, corporate FAPS sponsors, and government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services and Youth Development

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Educational Support Services (611710), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG), Disability & Adaptive Sports Organizations (Paralympic, Special Olympics) (MPAKACAH), Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

Keywords

• Social inclusion programs
• Community sports education
• Disability social projects
• Youth development programs
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Florianópolis

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Amigos IGK: Financial contributions from individuals (Amigos IGK – pessoas) and companies (Amigos IGK – empresas) who collaborate directly to fund project development. This is the primary individual giving program.
2. Corporate Partner Investments in FAPS: Partner companies invest annual quotas into the Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais (FAPS) to finance selected social projects. Economic viability is guaranteed through partner companies. FAPS partners include Aurora Alimentos, Bouton, Klabin, Genial Investimentos, Grupo Guga Kuerten, MSD, and others.
3. Lei Rouanet / Ministry of Culture Grants: The IGKDance group and dance project receive funding through the Ministry of Culture and Lei Rouanet cultural incentive law.
4. Partnership Scholarships: Partnership with Estácio de Sá faculty provides scholarship programs enabling ex-educandos to access higher education, reducing direct costs to IGK while expanding impact.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Instituto Guga Kuerten delivers free sports, educational, and social development programs to vulnerable children and adolescents aged 7-15 and to people with disabilities in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Programs run in 5 community nuclei across the Greater Florianópolis region twice weekly in the counter-school period, combining Physical Education, Psychology, and Social Work. The organization also channels corporate and individual donations through its FAPS fund to support 673+ social organizations developing disability-integration projects across 188 municipalities.

Product overview

Instituto Guga Kuerten is a non-profit civil association founded in 2000 that operates as a social organization rather than a technology company. Its portfolio consists of social programs centered around sports, education, and social inclusion for children, adolescents, and people with disabilities. The core programs include: Programa Campeões da Vida (a sports and education program conducted in 5 nuclei serving 400 children), FAPS - Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais (a fund supporting social organizations serving people with disabilities), Programa de Ações Especiais (special actions for citizenship promotion), Prêmio IGK (annual award ceremony), and the Curso de Capacitação para Cuidadores Terapêuticos (therapeutic caregiver training course). Supporting projects include Tênis em Movimento, Livros em Movimento, Corrida dos Campeões, IGK Dance, IGK Música, and the Grupo Inclusivo. The organization does not offer technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Programa Campeões da Vida: Sports and education program offering opportunities for integral development of children and adolescents in vulnerable situations, operating in 5 nuclei (Saco Grande, Itacorubi, Biguaçu, São José, and Palhoça).
• FAPS - Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais
• Programa de Ações Especiais
• IGK Dance
• Grupo Inclusivo

Products and services

• Programa Campeões da Vida
• FAPS - Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais
• Programa de Ações Especiais

Quantifiable outcome

• 126,561 people impacted over 24 years
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Aurora Alimentos (Cooperativa Central Aurora)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier partner supporting the FAPS (Fundo de Apoio a Projetos Sociais) program since its inception. Aurora contributes annual funding quotas used to finance social organizations developing disability integration projects across Santa Catarina.
• KlabinflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier corporate partner supporting FAPS and various editions of the social fund. Klabin contributes to financing disability-focused social projects in Santa Catarina.
• Genial InvestimentoscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier partner supporting the FAPS program. Provides financial contributions to fund social projects for people with disabilities in Santa Catarina.
• Grupo Guga KuertenflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 August 2025Parent organization and founding entity of IGK. Provides strategic support, brand alignment, and co-funding across all IGK programs including FAPS.
• Fundação Aury Luiz BodanesecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Institutional foundation contributing to FAPS editions as a gold-tier partner, supporting the funding of disability social projects across Santa Catarina.
• MSD Saúde AnimalcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier partner contributing to the 24th edition of FAPS (2024). Supports social organizations working on disability integration in Santa Catarina.
• BoutoncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Silver-tier partner contributing to multiple FAPS editions. Supports social projects for people with disabilities in Santa Catarina.
• VisaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier partner contributing to IGK's social programs through corporate sponsorship.
• LacosteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier partner associated with IGK's Elegance in Action initiative. Provides corporate sponsorship support.
• Track & FieldminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Gold-tier sports brand partner supporting IGK programs through corporate sponsorship.
• HavanminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Silver-tier partner contributing to IGK's social programs.
• Estácio (Faculdade Estácio de Sá)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 August 2025Educational institution providing full scholarships to ex-educandos of the Campeões da Vida program, enabling access to higher education. Decades of ex-educandos have benefited from this partnership.
• Sesc Santa CatarinaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Institutional partner providing support to IGK's programs. Sesc is the Social Service of Commerce, a Brazilian nonprofit welfare institution.
• Hospital de Olhos de Florianópolis (HOF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 August 2025Partner in the 'Olhar Amigo' project — an initiative providing eye care and exams to IGK educandos. Project has reached its 8th edition.
• ZaidenminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Fashion brand that launched a children's clothing collection ('Felicidade') with proceeds reverting to IGK, combining sports fashion with social purpose.
• Carbone PizzeriaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Restaurant that created the 'Pizza Instituto Guga Kuerten' — a racket-shaped pizza with part of proceeds donated to IGK.
• Regispel (via Cupom Campeão)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 August 2025Partner running the 'Cupom Campeão' campaign where coupon proceeds benefit IGK and other institutions. Featured at ExpoSuper 2022.
• Rockfeller Language CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Language school providing English language training for children and adolescents in the Campeões da Vida program, with some free spots for educandos from Itacorubi and São José nuclei. Classes held at Santa Mônica, Palhoça, and Kobrasol units.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Instituto Reação: Founded by judo Olympic medalist Flávio Canto, Instituto Reação uses judo to transform lives of youth in Rio de Janeiro communities. It is the most direct comparable to IGK — athlete-led, sports-as-vehicle-for-social-inclusion model serving vulnerable youth, with free programs delivered at community locations.
• Instituto Ayrton Senna: Founded by the Senna family, Instituto Ayrton Senna focuses on youth education and development across Brazil with national reach. Closely comparable celebrity-anchored, family-led nonprofit serving children and adolescents, but at materially greater scale and with a national rather than regional footprint.
• Instituto Ronald McDonald: Brazilian affiliate of Ronald McDonald House Charities supporting children and adolescents with cancer. Comparable corporate-partnership-led nonprofit model with a specific beneficiary focus and established track record of mobilizing national brands for social causes.
• Criança Esperança: Long-running Globo TV / UNICEF partnership funding youth social projects across Brazil. Highly comparable funding model (corporate partnerships + cultural incentive mechanisms) and youth-development mission, with materially greater national media reach that amplifies its donor pipeline.
• Instituto Bola Pra Frente: Founded by former Brazilian national team player Raí, Instituto Bola Pra Frente uses soccer, education, and culture to support youth development in São Paulo. Highly comparable athlete-brand, sport-for-social-change model with a similar age group focus and community-based delivery.
• Fundação Abrinq: Brazilian nonprofit defending children's and adolescents' rights, with programs spanning education, health, and protection. Comparable age-group beneficiary focus and competes with IGK for the same individual donor and corporate partnership dollars.
• Special Olympics Brasil: Brazilian arm of the Special Olympics movement, focused on adaptive sports training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities. Directly overlaps with IGK's Grupo Inclusivo (COEPAD) and the disability-sports component of FAPS, competing for the same adaptive-sports sponsorships and visibility.

Broad incumbents

• AACD: National disability rehabilitation nonprofit operating hospitals and rehabilitation centers across Brazil. Much larger scale, brand recognition, and infrastructure; competes with IGK for the same corporate disability-focused donations and sponsorship budgets, especially in Santa Catarina where AACD also operates.
• APAE Brasil: Brazil-wide federation of disability-focused nonprofits serving people with intellectual disabilities. IGK's FAPS program directly funds APAE affiliates and similar organizations across Santa Catarina's 188 municipalities, making APAE both a key partner/customer and the dominant national incumbent in IGK's disability-inclusion space.
• Fundação Lemann: Major Brazilian education philanthropy founded by Jorge Paulo Lemann, focused on social mobility through education. A former IGK FAPS partner (editions VI–IX, 2007–2010). Much larger scale and broader mission, but comparable in channeling corporate/family wealth toward youth education outcomes in Brazil.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@igkoficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/InstitutoGugaKuerten
• Instagraminstagram.com/institutogugakuerten
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/instituto-guga-kuerten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Instituto Guga Kuerten