Brown-Forman Foundation
Louisville, KY · EIN 82-4595018. Reported 192 grants totalling $28.2M to 88 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Brown-Forman Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $50,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $30,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $15,000 and the largest $2,000,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West End School | Louisville, KY | $4,350,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Louisville Central Community Centers Inc | Louisville, KY | $3,000,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Simmons College of Kentucky Inc | Louisville, KY | $3,000,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| West End Girls School | Louisville, KY | $2,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Louisville Urban League | Louisville, KY | $1,640,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Academy of Music Production Education and Development | Louisville, KY | $1,000,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Metro United Way | Louisville, KY | $800,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Louisville Foundation | Louisville, KY | $715,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kentucky Dance Council | Louisville, KY | $700,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Louisville Orchestra Inc | Louisville, KY | $650,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Actors Theatre of Louisville Inc | Louisville, KY | $600,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fund for the Arts | Louisville, KY | $600,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kentucky Opera Association | Louisville, KY | $600,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Amped Youth Programming | Louisville, KY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Speed Art Museum | Louisville, KY | $475,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana | Louisville, KY | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Family and Children's Place | Louisville, KY | $300,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| YMCA of Greater Louisville | Louisville, KY | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Louisville Zoo Foundation Inc | Louisville, KY | $280,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY | $270,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Maryhurst | Louisville, KY | $245,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Gilda's Club Kentuckiana | Louisville, KY | $240,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Morton Center | Louisville, KY | $210,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| African American Heritage Foundation | Louisville, KY | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Dare to Care Food Bank | Louisville, KY | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Parklands of Floyds Fork | Louisville, KY | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Healing Place | Louisville, KY | $195,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Elderserve | Louisville, KY | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Frazier Museum Foundation | Louisville, KY | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nativity Academy | Louisville, KY | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sowing Seeds With Faith | Louisville, KY | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Spalding University | Louisville, KY | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Center for Nonprofit Excellence | Louisville, KY | $140,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| River City Drum Corp | Louisville, KY | $140,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Louisville, KY | $130,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Home of the Innocents | Louisville, KY | $130,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Stageone Family Theatre | Suite S Louisville, KY | $125,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Volunteers of America Mid-States | Louisville, KY | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Louisville Youth Group | Louisville, KY | $120,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Kentucky Science Center | Louisville, KY | $120,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Isaac W Bernheim Foundation | Clermont, KY | $113,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Brightside Foundation | Louisville, KY | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hosparus Inc | Louisville, KY | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Seven Counties Services | Louisville, KY | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Family Scholar House | Louisville, KY | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kentucky Center for the Arts | Louisville, KY | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catholic Education Foundation | Louisville, KY | $91,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville, KY | $89,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Blessings in a Backpack Inc | Louisville, KY | $85,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Louisville Olmsted Parks | Louisville, KY | $85,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Filson Historical Society | Louisville, KY | $82,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Amped | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Center for Women and Families Inc | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Frazier History Museum | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Neighborhood House | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New Directions Housing Corp | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Owsley Brown Frazier Historical Arms Museum | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute | Louisville, KY | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Volunteers of America | Louisville, KY | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Adelante Hispanic Achievers | Louisville, KY | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cabbage Patch Settlement House | Louisville, KY | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| EVOLVE502 Scholars Foundation Inc | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| EVOLVE502 Scholars Fountaion Inc | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| J B Speed Art Museum | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jctc Foundation | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jeff Co Public Ed Foundation | Jefferson City, MO | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ky Performing Arts Foundation | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Olmsted Parks Conservancy | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Onewest Corporation | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Parks Alliance of Louisville | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Youthbuild | Louisville, KY | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Metro | Louisville, KY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana | Louisville, KY | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Nativity Academy at St Boniface | Louisville, KY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cabbage Patch Settlement Auction Sponsorship | Louisville, KY | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Educational Justice | Louisville, KY | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Kyana | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Goodwill Industries of Kentucky | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Louisville Grows Inc | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Minority Mental Health Project | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Roots Inc | Gary, IN | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Roots Inc | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Roots 101 African America Museum | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Youthbuild Louisville | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Achievement of Finance Park Philanthropy Center | Louisville, KY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Play Cousins Collective | Louisville, KY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
50 of 88 (57%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 50%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Speed Art Museum
Free Owsley Sundays | Title One School Field Trips - University of Louisville Foundation
BF Engineering and Diversity Scholars - Louisville Zoo Foundation Inc
Community Access Initiative - University of Kentucky
Alcohol Education and Intervention - Amped
Community Center Youth Programs - Isaac W Bernheim Foundation Inc
Youth Development in Nature
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 127 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | $4,000,000 | $50,000 |
| 2022 | 39 | $7,218,000 | $50,000 |
| 2023 | 59 | $9,782,000 | $60,000 |
| 2024 | 38 | $7,195,000 | $50,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Brown-Forman Foundation has 65 of them, worth $175.0M. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| West End School | Louisville, KY | $20.1M |
| West End School | Louisville, KY | $18.0M |
| West End School | Louisville, KY | $16.0M |
| West End School | Louisville, KY | $14.0M |
| Louisville Central Community Center | Louisville, KY | $10.0M |
| Simmons College of Kentucky | Louisville, KY | $10.0M |
| Louisville Central Community Centers Inc | Louisville, KY | $9,000,000 |
| Simmons College of Kentucky Inc | Louisville, KY | $9,000,000 |
| Louisville Central Community Centers Inc | Louisville, KY | $8,000,000 |
| Simmons College of Kentucky | Louisville, KY | $8,000,000 |
| Louisville Central Community Center | Louisville, KY | $7,000,000 |
| Simmons College of Kentucky | Louisville, KY | $7,000,000 |
| Amped | Louisville, KY | $5,000,000 |
| The Louisville Urban League | Louisville, KY | $5,000,000 |
| Academy of Music Production Education and Development | Louisville, KY | $4,500,000 |
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 100% of this one's giving went to organizations in Kentucky. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $50,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Kentucky.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Brown-Forman Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 850 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY, 40210. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 82-4595018 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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