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· Private foundation

Brown-Forman Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$9.8M
Granted FY2026still arriving
56
Grants FY2026still arriving
1
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Education$14MArts & Culture$9.0MHuman Services$5.8MCivil Rights$3.3MYouth Development$2.3MHealth$1.9MPhilanthropy$1.5MFood & Nutrition$710kOther$0
02FY2026 · 56 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • $10k–50k15 grants · $465k
  • $50k–250k33 grants · $3.4M
  • $250k+8 grants · $5.9M
$80,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$111M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WEST END BOYS SCHOOL$1,000,000
SIMMONS COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY$1,000,000
LOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERS INC$1,000,000
WEST END GIRLS SCHOOL$1,000,000
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA$500,000
LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE$500,000
ACADEMY OF MUSIC PRODUCTION EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT$500,000
LOUISVILLE BALLET (KENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL$400,000
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION$235,000
METRO UNITED WAY$200,000
ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE$175,000
THE MORTON CENTER$150,000
KENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION$150,000
THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY$150,000
SPEED ART MUSEUM$150,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY19–26, $5.9M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%HOME OF THE INNOCENTS: $50k → 15%HOME OF THE INNOCENTS: $50k → 15%Home of the Innocents: $40k → 15%Home of the Innocents: $40k → 15%Home of the Innocents: $40k → 15%HOME OF THE INNOCENTS: $30k → 15%Blessings in a Backpack: $50k → 15%CABBAGE PATCH SETTLEMENT HOUSE: $80k → 15%CABBAGE PATCH SETTLEMENT HOUSE: $60k → 15%HOSPARUS INC: $30k → 15%HOSPARUS INC: $30k → 15%HOSPARUS INC: $30k → 15%HOSPARUS INC: $30k → 15%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $25k → 15%Neighborhood House: $25k → 15%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $25k → 15%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $25k → 15%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $25k → 15%YMCA OF GREATER LOUISVILLE: $100k → 15%YMCA OF GREATER LOUISVILLE: $100k → 15%YMCA OF GREATER LOUISVILLE: $100k → 15%YMCA OF GREATER LOUISVILLE: $100k → 15%Louisville Urban League: $1.1M → 15%Louisville Urban League: $500k → 15%Louisville Urban League: $500k → 15%Louisville Urban League: $500k → 15%LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE: $500k → 15%Louisville Urban League: $140k → 15%THE LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE: $140k → 15%Louisville Urban League: $100k → 15%ELDERSERVE: $100k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%Family and Children's Place: $75k → 15%CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC: $70k → 15%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S PLACE: $65k → 15%Elderserve: $50k → 15%Elderserve: $50k → 15%Elderserve: $50k → 15%Elderserve: $50k → 15%Youthbuild Louisville: $40k → 15%Elderserve: $25k → 15%Center for Women and Families: $25k → 15%CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC: $25k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$47M · 79 repeat orgs$4.2M to everyone else

79 repeat relationships: 47 still active in FY2026, 32 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

79
27

Total granted

$47M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+63%

Still filing today

77%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.8M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SC
    Simmons College of Kentucky Inc
    6× · 2020–2026 · $5.2M · revenue +153%
  • LC
    LOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC
    5× · 2021–2026 · $5.0M · revenue +9% · 43% of their budget
  • WE
    West End School Inc
    5× · 2019–2024 · $4.6M · revenue +214% · 65% of their budget

Funded once

  • AY
    AMPED YOUTH PROGRAMMING
    one grant, 2025 · $500k
  • AO
    Academy of Music Production
    one grant, 2021 · $275k
  • JC
    JEFFERSON COMMUNITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue +100%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Louisville Collegiate School

Louisville collegiate school inspires academic excellence, extraordinary character and global citizenship.

Education
2
Endeavor Louisville Inc

Endeavor Louisville is leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, catalyzing long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and supporting the best high-impact entrepreneurs in our region.…

International
3
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy Inc

To improve the quality of life for all kentuckians through research, education and advocacy on important policy issues facing the commonwealth.

Public Benefit
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
Greater Louisville Sports Commission Inc

To attract, create, and host quality sporting events in the louisville area that increase economic vitality, enhance the quality of life, promote healthy lifestyles, and brand louisville as a great place to live, work, and play.

Recreation & Sports
6
Kentucky Public Radio Inc

Lpm provides independent and courageous news, music and experiences that serve the needs and aspirations of our diverse communities.

Arts & Culture
7
Treeslouisville Inc

Our mission is to improve the health and quality of life for louisville's current and future generations through a robust, equitable and diverse tree canopy.

Community Improvement
8
Greater Louisville Foundation Inc

Identify, mobilize, and fund programs to address louisville's greatest challenges regarding business growth and increased economic prosperity for all citizens in the greater louisville region.

Community Improvement
9
Leadership Kentucky Foundation Inc

Broadens the perspectives of current and emerging leaders through experiential education that inspires them to advance kentucky.

Public Benefit
10
Commerce Lexington Inc

To represent our members, creating the environment and opportunity for economic prosperity and quality living in central kentucky.

—
11
Louisville Academy of Music

The louisville academy of music welcomes everyone to join our musical community. lam nurtures lifelong learners, not solely as musicians but also as creative, inspired people. equity in music education is a force to realize potential,…

Arts & Culture
12
Opportunities Inc of Jefferson County

Opportunities, inc. of jefferson county provides services for individuals for the purpose of maximizing their success and enhancing their abilities to be independent, contributing members of the community.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc; the most unlike its peers is River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

78 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 78 of the 116 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
76/78
Grantees still filing
49/78
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Simmons College of Kentucky Inc: $5,150,000 · EducationSimmons College of Kentucky…West End School Inc: $4,600,000 · EducationWest End School IncUNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION INC: $1,200,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FO…+9 more: $1,250,000 · Education+9 moreWEST END GIRLS SCHOOL: $3,000,000 · OtherWEST END GIRLS SCHOOLWEST END BOYS SCHOOL: $1,000,000 · OtherWEST END BOYS SCHOOLGILDA'S CLUB KENTUCKIANA INC: $610,000 · OtherBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF KENTUCKIANA INC: $600,000 · OtherTHE MORTON CENTER INC: $520,000 · OtherAMPED YOUTH PROGRAMMING: $500,000 · OtherDARE TO CARE INC: $525,000 · OtherLOUISVILLE ZOO FOUNDATION INC: $525,000 · Other+60 more: $7,448,000 · Other+60 moreTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $1,750,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHEST…ADVENTUROUS MINDS PRODUCE EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS INC: $1,575,000 · Arts & CultureADVENTUROUS MINDS PROD…ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE INC: $1,375,000 · Arts & CultureACTORS THEATRE OF LOUI…KENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET: $1,300,000 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL…FUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,275,000 · Arts & CultureFUND FOR THE ARTS INCKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC: $1,050,000 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIA…SPEED ART MUSEUM: $775,000 · Arts & CultureSPEED ART MUSEUM+8 more: $985,000 · Arts & Culture+8 moreTHE LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE INC: $3,520,000 · Human ServicesTHE LOUISVILL…FAMILY & CHILDREN'S PLACE INC: $590,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY & CHIL…the Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Louisville Inc: $400,000 · Human Servicesthe Young Men…ELDERSERVE INC: $325,000 · Human ServicesELDERSERVE IN…THE HOME OF THE INNOCENTS INC: $250,000 · Human Services+7 more: $930,000 · Human Services+7 moreLOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC: $5,000,000 · Recreation & SportsLOUISVILLE C…21ST CENTURY PARKS INC: $350,000 · Recreation & Sports21ST CENTURY…THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $232,000 · Recreation & SportsMETRO UNITED WAY INC: $1,600,000 · PhilanthropyTHE CENTER FOR NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE: $190,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $55,000 · PhilanthropyMARYHURST INC: $480,000 · Youth DevelopmentADELANTE HISPANIC ACHIEVERS INC: $140,000 · Youth Development
Education$12,200,000Other$14,728,000Arts & Culture$10,085,000Human Services$6,015,000Recreation & Sports$5,582,000Philanthropy$1,845,000Youth Development$620,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSimmons College of Kentucky Inc: $5,150,000 over 6y, 12% of budgetLOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC: $5,000,000 over 5y, 43% of budgetWest End School Inc: $4,600,000 over 5y, 65% of budgetTHE LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE INC: $3,520,000 over 8y, 7.3% of budgetTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $1,750,000 over 6y, 4.7% of budgetMETRO UNITED WAY INC: $1,600,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetADVENTUROUS MINDS PRODUCE EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS INC: $1,575,000 over 4y, 14% of budgetACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE INC: $1,375,000 over 7y, 8.2% of budgetKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET: $1,300,000 over 5y, 6.5% of budgetFUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,275,000 over 8y, 2.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION INC: $1,200,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC: $1,050,000 over 7y, 8.8% of budgetSPEED ART MUSEUM: $775,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetGILDA'S CLUB KENTUCKIANA INC: $610,000 over 8y, 4.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF KENTUCKIANA INC: $600,000 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetFAMILY & CHILDREN'S PLACE INC: $590,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetDARE TO CARE INC: $525,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetLOUISVILLE ZOO FOUNDATION INC: $525,000 over 4y, 4.8% of budgetTHE MORTON CENTER INC: $520,000 over 6y, 9.2% of budgetMARYHURST INC: $480,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetthe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Louisville Inc: $400,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budget21ST CENTURY PARKS INC: $350,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetELDERSERVE INC: $325,000 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetTHE HEALING PLACE INC: $305,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetRIVER CITY DRUM CORP CULTURAL ARTS INSTITUTE INC: $285,000 over 3y, 29% of budgetSowing Seeds with Faith Inc: $280,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetJEFFERSON COMMUNITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetTHE HOME OF THE INNOCENTS INC: $250,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSTAGEONE FAMILY THEATRE INC: $245,000 over 8y, 3.1% of budgetTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $232,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetNATIVITY ACADEMY AT SAINT BONIFACE: $230,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetISAAC W BERNHEIM FOUNDATION: $224,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetFAMILY SCHOLAR HOUSE INC: $200,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetSPALDING UNIVERSITY INC: $200,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBRIGHTSIDE FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 7y, 11% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE: $190,000 over 6y, 5.0% of budgetONEWEST CORPORATION: $175,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetBLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $175,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC: $170,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSEVEN COUNTIES SERVICES INC: $155,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $150,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetLOUISVILLE YOUTH GROUP INC: $150,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE INC: $145,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetADELANTE HISPANIC ACHIEVERS INC: $140,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetCABBAGE PATCH SETTLEMENT HOUSE INC: $140,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetHOSPARUS INC HOSPARUS HEALTH: $135,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $125,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE KENTUCKY SCIENCE CENTER INC: $120,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds Simmons College of Kentucky Inc ↗
  • Who funds LOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC ↗
  • Who funds West End School Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds METRO UNITED WAY INC ↗
  • Who funds ADVENTUROUS MINDS PRODUCE EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS INC ↗
  • Who funds ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE INC ↗
  • Who funds KENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET ↗
  • Who funds FUND FOR THE ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds KENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SPEED ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds GILDA'S CLUB KENTUCKIANA INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF KENTUCKIANA INC ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY & CHILDREN'S PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds DARE TO CARE INC ↗
  • Who funds LOUISVILLE ZOO FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MORTON CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds MARYHURST INC ↗
  • Who funds the Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Louisville Inc ↗
  • Who funds 21ST CENTURY PARKS INC ↗
  • Who funds EVOLVE502 SCHOLARS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ELDERSERVE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HEALING PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds RIVER CITY DRUM CORP CULTURAL ARTS INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds Sowing Seeds with Faith Inc ↗
  • Who funds JEFFERSON COMMUNITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HOME OF THE INNOCENTS INC ↗
  • Who funds STAGEONE FAMILY THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIVITY ACADEMY AT SAINT BONIFACE ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Gheens Foundation IncKY123.3× affinity58 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Gheens Foundation Inc · LG&E and Ku Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Corporate Depository Inc · James Graham Brown Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · Cralle Foundation Inc · Republic Bank Foundation Inc · Kosair Charities Committee Inc · Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Inc · Sociable Weaver Foundation Inc · Norton Healthcare Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Brown-Forman Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Brown-Forman Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    28report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 116 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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