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Kentucky Humanities Council Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Kentucky Humanities Council Inc

The kentucky humanities council is dedicated to telling kentucky's story through programs and services that create a legacy of pride in the wealth of kentucky's culture, building civic engagement, and supporting local humanities programs and events.

$71k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$18k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its 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, FY2020 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$1.0MEducation$116kPublic Safety & Disaster$100kPublic Benefit$10k
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 2 grants below total $27,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $70,579 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $43,579 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $18k
$18,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$9.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY$18,000
GOVERNORS SCHOLARS PROG FOU$9,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 18%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 74% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%GEORGETOWN SCOTT COUNTY MUSEUM: $20k → 8%CAMPBELL COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $10k → 10%MEADE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $11k → 12%MARSHALL COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $10k → 13%SHAKERTOWN AT PLEASANT HILL KENTUCKY INC: $20k → 13%THE BERRY CENTER INC: $20k → 13%INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM: $20k → 13%KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20k → 14%I WAS HERE INC: $20k → 15%THE NATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM: $10k → 15%MUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER INC: $20k → 15%HISTORIC RUSSELLVILLE INC: $20k → 15%MADISON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $10k → 16%SIMPSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20k → 16%BARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INC: $16k → 17%THE LINCOLN MUSEUM: $19k → 18%HIGHLANDS MUSEUM AND DISCOVERY CENTER INC: $20k → 18%KENTUCKY STREAM HERITAGE CORPORATION: $20k → 21%MT VERNON-ROCKCASTLE COUNTY TOURIST COMMISSION INC: $18k → 24%RED RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $30k → 26%APPALSHOP INC: $20k → 29%KNOTT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $20k → 29%BREATHITT COUNTY MUSEUM INC: $18k → 30%THREE FORKS HISTORICAL MUSEUM INC: $30k → 36%KENTUCKY RAILWAY MUSEUM INC: $20k → 11%KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $18k → 14%HENRY CLAY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%KMAC MUSEUM: $20k → 15%PARAMOUNT ARTS CENTER INC: $16k → 18%APPALSHOP INC: $20k → 29%HINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL: $20k → 29%KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $13k → 14%OWSLEY BROWN FRAZIER HISTORICAL ARMS MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $20k → 15%ASIA INSTITUTE INC: $20k → 29%APPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER OF KENTUCKY: $20k → 29%CARNEGIE LITERACY CENTER INC: $22k → 15%APPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER OF KENTUCKY: $19k → 29%LEX ARTS INC: $14k → 15%HINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL: $18k → 29%LEXINGTON CHILDRENS MUSEUM INC: $14k → 15%HISTORIC LOCUST GROVE INC: $20k → 15%THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20k → 15%WAYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20k → 15%CONRAD-CALDWELL HOUSE MUSEUM: $17k → 15%RECKONING INC: $20k → 15%FRIENDS OF OXMOOR FOUNDATION INC: $12k → 15%KENTUCKY CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE: $20k → 15%PORTLAND MUSEUM: $20k → 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.

42%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$523k · 15 repeat orgs$728k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
48

Total granted

$523k
$728k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+21%

Still filing today

93%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • GS
    GOVERNOR'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $58k · revenue +32%
  • AI
    APPALSHOP INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $50k · revenue +37%
  • HS
    HINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $48k · revenue +160%

Funded once

  • RR
    RED RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2021 · $30k
  • TF
    THREE FORKS HISTORICAL MUSEUM INC
    one grant, 2021 · $30k
  • KM
    KENTUCKY MANSIONS PRESERVATION FDN INC DBA MARY TODD LINCOLN HOUSE
    one grant, 2021 · $22k · revenue +19%
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
Lexington History Museum Inc

Local history museum for lexington and fayette county, kentucky

Arts & Culture
2
Knoxville Museum of Art

The purpose of the knoxville museum of art is to support and promote public interest, awareness, knowledge and education in the visual arts in east tennessee . to this end, the corporation shall, among other things, develop permanent…

Arts & Culture
3
Preservation Kentucky Inc

Preservation kentucky's mission is to build support for and protect kentucky's historic structures and resources.

Arts & Culture
4
Historic Homes Foundation

To purchase, preserve and display historic sites and to advance education, culture, and the arts in kentucky.

Arts & Culture
5
Friends of Kentucky Theatre

The Kentucky Theatre is a historic building in downtown Lexington, KY, that had fallen into disuse and disrepair. Purchased by the City of Lexington, The Friends of the Kentucky Theatre Inc is a nonprofit tasked with overseeing the…

Philanthropy
6
Armstrong County Museum

To capture the rich heritage of armstrong county and celebrate it through cultural and educational experiences.

Arts & Culture
7
Owensboro Area Museum of Science and History Inc

The Museum is an institution that collects, conserves and exhibits information and artifacts with an emphasis on the Western Kentucky area.

Arts & Culture
8
Upcountry History Museum

The upcountry history museum connects people, history and culture.

Arts & Culture
9
Kentucky Aviation Museum Inc
Arts & Culture
10
Liberty Hall Inc

The mission of the organization is to educate the public by interpreting the life and time of senator john brown and his descendants. the organization will collect, document, preserve, conserve, and exhibit the social domestic, and…

—
11
Allen County Historical & Genealogy Society Inc

Its purpose is to create and foster an interest in the history of scottsville and allen county, kentucky; to encourage historical research and writing; to collect documents and relics and to provide proper care for them; and to establish a…

Arts & Culture
12
American Civil War Museum Collection

The mission of the american civil war museum collection is to serve as the preeminent world center for the display, study, interpretation, commemoration, and preservation of the history and artifacts of the confederate states of america.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lexington Children's Museum; the most unlike its peers is Kmac Museum. 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

47 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. 47 of the 63 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
47/47
Grantees still filing
36/47
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INC: $50,140 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INCAPPALSHOP INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureAPPALSHOP INCAPPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER INC: $38,983 · Arts & CultureAPPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER INCKENTUCKY RAILWAY MUSEUM INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM: $30,000 · Arts & CultureSHAKERTOWN AT PLEASANT HILL KENTUCKY INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $30,000 · Arts & CultureOWSLEY BROWN FRAZIER HISTORICAL ARMS MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $29,625 · Arts & CultureLEXARTS INC: $24,000 · Arts & Culture+23 more: $349,166 · Arts & Culture+23 moreGOVERNOR'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM INC: $57,810 · OtherGOVERNOR'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM INCRED RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $30,000 · OtherRED RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETYTHREE FORKS HISTORICAL MUSEUM INC: $30,000 · OtherTHREE FORKS HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCMT VERNON-ROCKCASTLE COUNTY TOURIST COMMISSION INC: $28,000 · OtherMT VERNON-ROCKCASTLE COUNTY TOURIST COMMI…PARAMOUNT ARTS CENTER INC: $26,000 · OtherPARAMOUNT ARTS CENTER INCKENTUCKY MANSIONS PRESERVATION FDN INC DBA MARY TODD LINCOLN HOUSE: $21,500 · OtherKentucky Center for African American Heritage: $20,000 · OtherKNOTT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $20,000 · OtherSIMPSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20,000 · OtherHENRY CLAY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherPORTLAND MUSEUM INC: $20,000 · OtherHIGHLANDS MUSEUM & DISCOVERY CENTER INC: $20,000 · OtherBREATHITT COUNTY MUSEUM INC: $18,000 · OtherST JAMES COURT HISTORIC FOUNDATION: $16,778 · Other+12 more: $111,435 · Other+12 moreHINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INC: $48,228 · EducationHINDMAN S…CARNEGIE LITERACY CENTER INC CARNEGIE CENTER FOR LITERACY & LEARNING: $21,500 · EducationCARNEGIE …THE BERRY CENTER INC: $20,000 · EducationTHE BERRY…LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY: $10,000 · EducationLEXINGTON…THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $30,000 · Recreation & Sports
Arts & Culture$661,914Other$459,523Education$99,728Recreation & Sports$30,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGOVERNOR'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM INC: $57,810 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetKENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INC: $50,140 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetAPPALSHOP INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetHINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INC: $48,228 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetAPPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER INC: $38,983 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetKENTUCKY RAILWAY MUSEUM INC: $30,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetINTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM: $30,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetSHAKERTOWN AT PLEASANT HILL KENTUCKY INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetOWSLEY BROWN FRAZIER HISTORICAL ARMS MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $29,625 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPARAMOUNT ARTS CENTER INC: $26,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetLEXARTS INC: $24,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetKENTUCKY MANSIONS PRESERVATION FDN INC DBA MARY TODD LINCOLN HOUSE: $21,500 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetCARNEGIE LITERACY CENTER INC CARNEGIE CENTER FOR LITERACY & LEARNING: $21,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetHISTORIC LOCUST GROVE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetPENNYROYAL ARTS COUNCIL INC: $20,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetWAYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetKENTUCKY STEAM HERITAGE CORPORATION: $20,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetSIMPSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetThe National Quilt Museum Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetASIA INSTITUTE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetHENRY CLAY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetKMAC MUSEUM: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetTHE BERRY CENTER INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetI WAS HERE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetPORTLAND MUSEUM INC: $20,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetHIGHLANDS MUSEUM & DISCOVERY CENTER INC: $20,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetRECKONING INC: $20,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetHISTORIC RUSSELLVILLE INC: $19,755 over 1y, 17% of budgetTHE LINCOLN MUSEUM INC: $19,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetST JAMES COURT HISTORIC FOUNDATION: $16,778 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetBARREN COHISTORICAL FOUNDATIONINC: $15,900 over 1y, 10% of budgetLEXINGTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $13,500 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetFRIENDS OF OXMOOR FOUNDATION INC: $11,500 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetLEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HARRODSBURG HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $10,000 over 1y, 27% of budgetLEXINGTON WRITERS ROOM: $10,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetKENTUCKY SHAKESPEARE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetLEXINGTON CHILDREN'S THEATRE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetKENTUCKY DERBY MUSEUM CORPORATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSTAGEONE FAMILY THEATRE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET: $7,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE LIVING ARTS & SCIENCE CENTER INC: $6,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetART CENTER OF THE BLUEGRASS INC: $5,900 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetMAYSVILLE & MASON CO LIBRARY HISTORICAL & SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% 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.

Honorable Order of Ke…Snowy Owl Foundation …Blue Grass Community …The Community Foundat…LG&E and Ku Foundatio…Fund for the Arts IncThe Community Foundat…James Graham Brown Fo…Sociable Weaver Found…Tallgrass Farm Founda…Owsley Brown II Famil…W L Lyons Brown Found…
Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels IncKY45.5× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Inc · Snowy Owl Foundation Inc · Blue Grass Community Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · LG&E and Ku Foundation Inc · Fund for the Arts Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · James Graham Brown Foundation Inc · Sociable Weaver Foundation Inc · Tallgrass Farm Foundation Inc · Owsley Brown II Family Foundation Inc · W L Lyons Brown 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 Humanities Council Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Kentucky Humanities Council Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%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
    20report 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 63 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 2024, released 2024. 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 $12k 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 FY2024, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Kentucky Humanities Council’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