Concussion & CTE FoundationFund the Playbook
Education & Advocacy · Funding Ask

The
Playbook.

CTE is the only neurodegenerative disease that is entirely preventable. Most people don't know that yet. This is the work that changes it.

Read the PlaybookChoose your level →

Five programs · One mission

Stop Hitting Kids in the Head·Team Up Against Concussions·Media Project·End CTE·Prevention Protocols
The Opportunity

The science is settled. CTE is preventable. Most people don't know that yet.

Together, our five programs drive big changes across culture, sports, and beyond — shifting what coaches teach, what leagues allow, what journalists report, what parents decide, and what athletes expect of one another. Each program targets a different lever; together they move the whole system.

This isn't awareness for awareness' sake. It is the systematic dismantling of a culture that has accepted head trauma as the price of playing. And it is working.

30%
CTE risk increase per year of tackle football
50%+
CTE risk reduction from cutting practice head impacts in half
2,241+
Journalism students trained to report concussions accurately
1,000+
End CTE movement members year over year
The Programs · Five for One Mission

Change what the next generation believes about head impacts.

01

Program 01

Stop Hitting Kids in the Head

The boldest campaign in youth sports safety.

Every year of tackle football increases a child's CTE risk by 30%. Children playing sports suffer millions of concussions each year. After a concussion, a child is 40% more likely to develop new mental health disorders and twice as likely to die by suicide. Stop Hitting Kids in the Head is our flagship advocacy campaign to eliminate repetitive head impacts in youth sports under age 14.

The Proof

SMARTER Football — built on our research — eliminated the kickoff in the first high school conference in America. Concussions went down. Enrollment went up.

Proof of Change Already Happening

We don't talk about what we hope to change. We show what has already changed.

“Words matter. They have power and meaning. TV announcers can be our teachers. But first, somebody has to teach them.”
Andrea Kremer · Pro Football Hall of Fame Journalist · BU Lecturer
▶

A broadcaster at Wembley Stadium spent more than two minutes educating millions about CTE protocols — because our program trained him that morning.

▶

The first high school football conference in America eliminated the kickoff — the most dangerous play for the brain — because our research gave them the blueprint.

▶

2,241 journalism students at 36 universities will never say 'bell rung' again. Not because they were told not to. Because they understand why it matters.

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MLB trained broadcast partners from all 30 teams. BT Sport in the UK. TSN in Canada. The conversation about concussions in sports media is different because we changed it.

▶

SMARTER Football reduced concussions and boosted enrollment. The blueprint came from our research.

▶

1,000+ people joined the End CTE movement last year. Not donors. Believers.

Why This Work Resonates

Every donor comes through a different door. All of them lead to the same place.

This is not one story. It is five. And whichever one resonates — the work is the same, the need is the same, and the opportunity to be part of it is the same.

01Former athlete

“I played through it. I didn't know. Your gift makes sure the next kid does.”

02Parent

“You made the best decision you could with what you knew. This changes what the next parent knows.”

03Corporate & foundation

“CTE is a public health crisis hiding inside the most popular sport in America. You have the chance to fund the work that changes that at scale.”

04Media & journalism

“What gets reported shapes what gets believed. You helped train the broadcaster who educated millions at Wembley. That's your gift at work.”

05Advocate in the movement

“You've been here. You know what's at stake. This is how you go deeper.”

The Giving Ladder · Three Levels · One Mission

Choose where you want to stand.

Every level is a meaningful commitment.

Entry

In the Game

$5,000

You are part of this work. Your gift funds education reaching coaches, parents, athletes, and journalists who change their behavior because of it.

  • ▸Access to annual Playbook impact report
  • ▸Recognition as an Education & Advocacy supporter
  • ▸Invitation to annual supporter briefing
Give $5,000
Driving

On the Field

$10,000

You are driving this work. Your gift moves a program forward in a meaningful way — a Media Project expansion, a new school reached, a support group launched.

  • ▸Everything in In the Game
  • ▸Named recognition in program materials
  • ▸Direct conversation with program leadership annually
Give $10,000
Building

Starting Lineup

$25,000

You are building this work. At this level you are a foundational supporter — your name is part of the infrastructure.

  • ▸Everything in On the Field
  • ▸Named on The Playbook program page
  • ▸Quarterly impact updates
  • ▸Invitation to participate in program design conversations
Give $25,000

This isn't a transactional gift. It's a belief. A belief that CTE is preventable. That the next generation of coaches, journalists, parents, and athletes can learn something different.

The science exists.

The roadmap exists.

What remains is the will.

Change the game →