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Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation

Founded in 1998, the KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL FOUNDATION receives and manages charitable contributions on behalf of the kentucky derby festival, inc., its supporters and the general public.

$30k
Granted FY2021
3
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$13k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.

Education$27kArts & Culture$16kPhilanthropy$13kAnimals$8kRecreation & Sports$5kHealth$3kReligion$3kEnvironment$500
02FY2021 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 3 grants below total $27,281, the rows itemized in this filing. The $29,961 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $2,680 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k2 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $13k
$7,281
Median grant
1
States reached
$370k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS$12,880
WAGGENER HIGH SCHOOL$7,281
THE DIVERSITY EQUITY & POVERTY DEPT IN JCPS$7,120
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 91% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL & EVENTS ASSOCIATION: $500 → 10%OLD FRIENDS INC: $5k → 8%ANIMAL CARE SOCIETY: $2k → 15%LOUISVILLE METRO PARKS DEPARTMENT: $5k → 15%MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER: $5k → 15%NORTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $2k → 15%WAGGENER HIGH SCHOOL: $7k → 15%THE DIVERSITY EQUITY & POVERTY DEPT IN JCPS: $7k → 15%JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $13k → 15%MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION: $2k → 15%KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL: $11k → 15%CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $3k → 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 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
Women's Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Inc

As america's first animal shelter, founded in 1869, women's humane society dba women's animal center (wac), assists people in the community, saves the lives of animals, and improves the health of pets through its shelter and adoptions…

Animals
2
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
3
Worldwide Vets Incorporated

Our goal is to sustainably improve animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and improve veterinary education globally. in order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 5 continents, supporting local people and animals,…

Animals
4
Humane Animal Partners

Founded in 2023, humane animal partners is a nonprofit no-kill animal care and adoption center. we are committed to providing for the needs of homeless and owned dogs and cats in our community. we make "friends for life" by connecting…

Animals
5
Humane Pennsylvania

Humane pennsylvania empowers the people in our communities to increase their capacity to care for animals so that all animals are healthy, safe, and treated humanely.

Animals
6
Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society

To maintain and operate a hospital, ambulance and veterinary services for the care of animals. the maintenance and operation of kennels and suitable chambers for the humane destruction of wounded animals.

Animals
7
Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital Inc

Founded in 1973, dove lewis emergency animal hospital, inc. (dovelewis) is one of the premier veterinary medical service organizations in the us and the only 24/7 not-for-profit animal emergency, critical care, and specialty hospital in…

Animals
8
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit

The friends are dedicated to the rescue, protection, and adoption of companion animals in need while inspiring the human-animal bond. we meet our mission by:-saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals.-providing high-quality animal care…

Animals
9
Midlands Humane Society

To protect and nurture companion animals and enrich the lives of people who love them.

Animals
10
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
11
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
12
Cincinnati Zoo Foundation Inc

Perform fundraising functions, provide financial support, carryout the purpose and otherwise operating for the benefit of the zoological society of cincinnati.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Oh Ky & in; the most unlike its peers is Animal Care Society 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

9 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 9 of the 13 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
8/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $27,281 · OtherJEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLSKENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL INC: $10,500 · OtherKENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL INCLOUISVILLE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS: $5,000 · OtherLOUISVILLE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENSCENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $2,500 · OtherCENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH+1 more: $500 · OtherMETRO UNITED WAY INC: $12,500 · PhilanthropyMETRO UNITED WAY I…Old Friends Inc: $5,000 · AnimalsOld Friends …FRIENDS OF HARDIN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER INC: $1,500 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF H…Animal Care Society Inc: $1,500 · AnimalsAnimal Care …MUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $5,000 · Arts & CultureNorton Hospitals Inc: $1,500 · HealthMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF OH KY & IN: $1,500 · HealthBRIGHTSIDE FOUNDATION INC: $500 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$45,781Philanthropy$12,500Animals$8,000Arts & Culture$5,000Health$3,000Public Safety & Disaster$500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMETRO UNITED WAY INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL INC: $10,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOld Friends Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNorton Hospitals Inc: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF OH KY & IN: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAnimal Care Society Inc: $1,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBRIGHTSIDE FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

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 Community Foundat…Network for GoodDonor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Community Foundation of Louisville IncKY15.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 13 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $35k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2021, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Kentucky Derby Festival’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home