2005 Year In Review

The Grants Payout in 2005 was $18,737,169.  This payout reflects forty-eight grants totaling $13,738,169 plus the first of three $5 million grants to the University of Louisville for the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  The JGBCC grant was committed in 2004, but payable over three years beginning in 2005.

In higher education, four of the five priority colleges (Bellarmine, Centre, Kentucky Wesleyan and Thomas More) received significant contributions to the James Graham Brown Scholarship Endowment Funds.  These grants represented approximately 71% of total higher education grant-making.  The Foundation also awarded a $500,000 grant to the Prichard Committee to grow their operational endowment.

The Foundation responded to two significant natural disaster relief efforts in 2005.  The Red Cross, Louisville Chapter received funding ($100,000) to aid victims of the December 26, 2004 Asian tsunami disaster along the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.  The Foundation also made grants totaling $1 million toward emergency relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region.  The Red Cross' portion of that gift was $750,000 while the Salvation Army received $250,000 for its work in the area.

The Foundation continued its support of merged government with a fifth grant ($600,000) toward the Strategic Development initiative (part of the Greater Louisville Project) to aid metro government.  With this grant and $35,000 toward the "Competitive City Report" publication, the Foundation has awarded $1,735,000 toward this effort.

The largest grant awarded in 2005 was $3 million for the acquisition of land to create a ring of parkland around the metropolitan area.  The grant supported a $20 million initiative to create a wealth of new recreational opportunities across the community and to make Louisville Metro a "City of Parks".  Known as the City of Parks initiataive, the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy was a partner in the project.