Eli Lilly has given 24 U.S. health equity charities an extra reason to keep an eye on the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, agreeing to donate $5,000 each time Team USA wins a medal or breaks a record.
The drugmaker has deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams and NBCUniversal, the U.S. media partner for the games. Leveraging those links, Lilly put the gymnast Simone Biles in an ad for its GLP-1 diabetes drug Mounjaro and vowed to “fight like hell” for healthy bodies in a 60-second film that joined its growing set of corporate awareness spots.
In parallel, Lilly has kicked off its “Milestones into Meaning” donation program. As the name suggests, the company will donate money for every Team USA milestone, be it a medal or an Olympic, Paralympic or world record.
Across the three previous Summer Olympics and Paralympics, Team USA took home an average of 218 medals. The summer trophy haul peaked at 236 at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The historical performances suggest Lilly is likely to hand over a little more than $1 million for all the spots Team USA secures on the podium.
New Olympic, Paralympic and world records are unlikely to dramatically increase the figure. Team USA has averaged around 15 new records at the past three Summer Olympics, suggesting that side of the deal could add around $75,000 to Lilly’s outlay before the Paralympics are factored in.
Lilly will share the money between 24 charitable organizations working to improve health equity in the U.S. If the amount donated by Lilly is $1.2 million, for example, an even split of the cash would give each organization $50,000.