2008 Year In Review

The Foundation authorized twenty-six grants in the calendar year 2008 totaling $35,486,500. The Foundation paid in the 2008 calendar year $19,486,500. Approximately 92% were awarded to non-profit organizations in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Sixty-five percent of all grants awarded were for construction or renovation projects, 6% were awarded for land acquisition and approximately 28% for program support. Percentage breakout by program area by grants paid was Civic Affairs – 21%, Culture/Humanities – 10%, Health – 21%, Education – 21%, and Human Services – 27%. Reflected in the amount paid for 2008 was the first of five $4 million grant installments payable to the University of Louisville’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

The Foundation completed a strategic planning process in 2008 to formally define the strategy that will guide the Foundation’s grant making over the next 5 years. As a result, four areas were identified on which the Foundation will focus its efforts: (1) Quality of Life, (2) Education, (3) James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and (4) Top Performance & Governance. Goals and strategies were developed for the focus areas along with evaluation tools. As a result of this planning process, two signature initiatives were put forth:

  1. The Brown Foundation will support as strategic partner the James Graham Brown Cancer Center’s efforts to become a premier cancer research and clinical center in the United States. The Foundation committed $20 million over five years to be used to facilitate the growth necessary to recruit additional faculty, retain current faculty and build research infrastructure necessary for NCI designation.
  2. An enrichment program that is focused on challenging Kentucky’s higher education institutions to become more competitive will be developed in 2009. The Brown Fellows Program will offer exceptional summer experiences to attract scholars within Kentucky and outside the state to attend Kentucky higher education institutions. The Brown Fellows Program will initially partner with the University of Louisville and Centre College. The Foundation will fund the enrichment program, scholar support services and other related assistance. After four years the program will be evaluated and possibly expanded to other schools.