Kelly Cares Foundation

What Kelly Cares Foundation does

Kelly Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation established in 2008 by Brian Kelly, currently head football coach at Louisiana State University and formerly head coach at the University of Notre Dame, and his wife Paqui Kelly, a two-time breast cancer survivor. The foundation focuses its grantmaking and programming on three pillars: health, education, and community initiatives, with health programming centered on breast cancer awareness and survivor support given Paqui Kelly's personal story. Since inception through November 2025, the foundation has reported total donations of $6,043,110.54, distributed to a mix of individual grant recipients, community organizations, and institutional partners in the regions where the Kelly family has been based (South Bend/Mishawaka, Indiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana).

The foundation's core "products" are programmatic initiatives rather than commercial goods: the Irish Eyes Gala (its flagship annual fundraising event, which raised approximately $800,000 in 2014 and exceeded $1 million in later editions), Paqui's Playbook (a recurring health and wellness series), and named institutional assets such as the Paqui and Brian Kelly Comprehensive Breast Center at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. Revenue mechanics are typical of a 501(c)(3): a combination of individual donations, event-sourced fundraising (gala tickets, auctions, sponsorships), and corporate sponsorships from named partners including United Federal Credit Union, Bouchard Transportation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and First Data. The asset-lite, celebrity-driven model leverages the visibility of the Kelly family's football profile to attract donors and sponsors that comparable community foundations would need to acquire through paid marketing.

Name

Kelly Cares Foundation

Legal name

Kelly Cares Foundation

Website

https://kellycaresfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kelly Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2008 by Brian and Paqui Kelly that funds health, education, and community initiatives through donations, the annual Irish Eyes Gala, and named programs including a comprehensive breast center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Breast cancer awareness
• Charitable fundraising events
• Community health programs
• Scholarship funding
• Disaster relief support

Headquarters

HQ city

South Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The foundation receives charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and event attendees. Revenue is generated through event ticket sales, sponsorships, and direct contributions aligned with the foundation's health, education, and community mission.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kelly Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation that raises funds through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and signature fundraising events (Irish Eyes Gala, Paqui's Playbook Series, Golf Invitational, Game Day Chase 5k). It distributes those funds as grants to beneficiary organizations in three mission areas: health (breast cancer awareness, children's hospitals, cancer research), education (scholarships, university programs), and community (disaster relief, youth programs).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Irish Eyes Gala Annual flagship fundraising gala featuring celebrity attendees (NFL coaches, athletes, musicians) and presentation of the Leadership in Community Award and Spirit of Giving Award. The 2019 gala raised more than $1 million with 450+ attendees and the 2014 gala raised over $800,000. The event serves individual and corporate donors who purchase tickets and sponsorships to support the foundation's health, education, and community mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• $6 million+ donated to 195+ causes across 20 states and 4 countries

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Silver Shield FoundationcoreOthers · 20 May 2019Mutual recognition at Irish Eyes Gala; both foundations support educational initiatives for children of fallen heroes
• United Federal Credit UnioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresented Paqui's Playbook Series events, supporting the foundation's health and wellness programming through sponsorship
• Bouchard TransportationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of the 2019 Irish Eyes Gala
• Hewlett Packard EnterpriseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReception sponsor of the 2019 Irish Eyes Gala
• First DataminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGuy Chiarello, President of First Data, served as event chair for the 2019 Irish Eyes Gala
• Notre Dame AthleticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep partnership leveraging Notre Dame football connections; hosts Game Day Chase 5k, Pink Out events, and utilizes ND Stadium for foundation events like Zumba in the stadium

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society: The largest voluntary health organization in the US focused on cancer. Broad incumbent and actual beneficiary of Kelly Cares grants; direct overlap in cancer research and patient services mission but vastly larger scale.
• National Breast Cancer Foundation: Major national breast cancer awareness and early detection organization. Broad incumbent in the same breast cancer cause space as Kelly Cares' health pillar, but operates at national scale with broader programmatic reach.
• Susan G. Komen: The largest breast cancer-focused nonprofit in the United States. Broad incumbent relative to Kelly Cares because they both serve the breast cancer mission, but Komen operates at massive scale with hundreds of millions in annual revenue across the entire disease category.

Direct peers

• Kay Yow Cancer Fund: Founded in honor of NC State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, this fund focuses on women's cancers including breast cancer. Direct peer to Kelly Cares in the coach-founded cancer fundraising space with overlapping celebrity athletic networks and similar breast cancer / women's cancer mission.
• V Foundation for Cancer Research: Founded by ESPN and Jim Valvano in 1993, the V Foundation is a leading cancer research grantmaker funded through celebrity athletic events. Direct peer to Kelly Cares because both are high-profile sports-connected cancer-focused grantmaking foundations, and Kelly Cares is actually a donor to the V Foundation.
• ChadTough Foundation: Founded by Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh's assistant Matt Trossen and family after losing his son Chad to pediatric brain cancer. Direct peer to Kelly Cares as a football-connected cancer foundation with similar fundraising personality, event-driven model, and athletic network access.
• Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation: Founded by former NFL coach Tom Coughlin in honor of Jay McGillis, supporting families of pediatric cancer patients. Direct peer to Kelly Cares in the coach-led cancer fundraising space with overlapping NFL coaching networks and family foundation governance structure.
• Coach Calipari Family Foundation: Founded by Kentucky/Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari and his wife Ellen. Direct peer to Kelly Cares as a coach-led family foundation with similar event-driven fundraising model spanning education, health, and community causes with strong NCAA athletic network.
• Pat Summitt Foundation: Founded in honor of legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt to fight Alzheimer's. Direct peer to Kelly Cares as a coach-founded health-focused family foundation with similar fundraising signature events and Southeastern athletic network access.
• Stefanie Spielman Foundation: Founded by Ohio State football player Chris Spielman and his wife Stefanie during her breast cancer battle. Direct peer as it is a football-community family foundation focused on breast cancer research and patient support, sharing the same playbook of athletic celebrity + personal cancer story.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/kellyCares
• Facebookfacebook.com/KellyCaresFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/kellycaresfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-kelly-cares-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kelly Cares Foundation