Kentucky · Nonprofit
University of Louisville Research Foundation
University of Louisville Research Foundation (Kentucky) receives grants from 92 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,010,725 to it, the largest being PEDIATRIC ENDOWMENT FUND INC ($10,731,609). 49 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $659M
- Funders on record
- 92
- Grants received
- $52M
- Net assets
- $220M
What University of Louisville Research Foundation does
Mission
The University of Louisville Research Foundation is organized for the purpose of promoting and supporting research projects, investigations, clinical services, and other activities relating to the missions of the University of Louisville.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The University of Louisville Research Foundation houses financial activity related to services provided by the UofL Health Sciences Center and over 1,200 physician faculty within the University's School of Medicine. The faculty at the School of Medicine staff 260 clinics over a multi-state region and provided the following services during the fiscal year: - Added 132 new providers and 5 new locations to serve the local community and the Commonwealth; - Treatment provided in over 2.5 million separate patient visits; and - Added more than 118,500 new patients to the UofL Health System. The University has an academic affiliation agreement with UL Health for the purpose of advancing the University's academic, education and research missions, providing quality patient care regardless of ability to pay and assurance that state-of-the-art facilities will be available for providing healthcare to patients. University employees, residents and students provide medical care utilizing UL Health run facilities, in return, UL Health receives revenues for the services provided. UL Health provides support to the University through ULRF by funding for salaries, benefits and insurance coverage,…
$506,067,405 spentof which $7,300 as grants$473,176,276 earned by the program74% of program spendingThe University of Louisville Research Foundation (ULRF) continued its mission of conducting groundbreaking research in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, securing over $170 million to drive innovation and address critical societal challenges. This significant investment, comprising 857 separate awards, fuels essential research across key areas, including health, workforce development, engineering, and climate resilience. Federal agencies recognized ULRF's leadership with $91 million in direct funding, complemented by $27.2 million in federal flowthrough. Robust support from the Commonwealth of Kentucky ($32 million), industry partners ($12 million), and non-profits ($6.7 million) further underscores the diverse collaborations fueling ULRF's research engine. Transforming Clinical Care: A landmark $11.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is powering the launch of the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center (LCTRC). This statewide initiative is designed to transform the University's clinical research infrastructure, accelerating the transition of laboratory findings into meaningful medical solutions for chronic conditions-such as heart disease, stroke,…
$162,360,028 spent$4,324,603 earned by the program24% of program spendingThe University of Louisville Research Foundation provides funding for student scholarships at the University of Louisville. During the fiscal year, the organization provided $14 million in funds to approximately 2,500 students attending the University.
$13,989,323 spentof which $13,989,323 as grants2% of program spendingThe University of Louisville Research Foundation provides multiple opportunities for conferences, training, and continuing education activities for medical and other professionals established in their fields.
$4,781,775 spent$5,776,653 earned by the program1% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $687,198,531.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $227M to $946M (+318%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 34% · 2018 35% · 2019 35% · 2020 30% · 2021 28% · 2022 29% · 2023 32% · 2024 34% · 2025 24%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
27% of University of Louisville Research Foundation’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (14% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Laurence Benz
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 26 funders to 28 funders, grant income fell $14M → $3.9M.
5 of 92 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 6% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $6.0M from 17 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest University of Pittsburgh). These are real filings, and they are not money University of Louisville Research Foundation raised.
From the IRS filings of University of Louisville Research Foundation’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 92 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
University of Louisville Research Foundation has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 21% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
95% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund University of Louisville Research Foundation.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 46% · 2018 34% · 2019 21% · 2020 21% · 2021 27% · 2022 16% · 2023 28% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
33% of University of Louisville Research Foundation's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
University of Louisville Research Foundation draws 60% of its grant income from funders outside Kentucky, across 20 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
University of Louisville Research Foundation has grown faster than half of the 684 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 684 education nonprofits over $100M, FY2025
Organizations like University of Louisville Research Foundation
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Kentucky
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
98% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 5 related entities
- University of Louisville · exempt
- University of Louisville Athletic Association · exempt
- University of Louisville Medical School Practice Assoc · exempt
- University Physicians Group Inc · exempt
- University Medical Center Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for University of Louisville Research Foundation: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds University of Louisville Research Foundation?
- University of Louisville Research Foundation (Kentucky) receives grants from 92 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,010,725 to it, the largest being PEDIATRIC ENDOWMENT FUND INC ($10,731,609). 49 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does University of Louisville Research Foundation have?
- IRS filings report 92 organizations giving $52,010,725 in grants to University of Louisville Research Foundation, 49 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of University of Louisville Research Foundation?
- PEDIATRIC ENDOWMENT FUND INC is the largest funder on record, with $10,731,609 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like University of Louisville Research Foundation find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Kentucky. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 92 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing