The James Graham Brown Foundation and the Louisville Zoo – A History of Partnership and Commitment to the Community

Partnership Overview

The James Graham Brown Foundation has enjoyed a rich history of collaboration with the Louisville Zoo dating back to Mr. Brown’s gift of $1.5 million in 1962 to establish a Zoo in our community.  As a testament to James Graham Brown’s commitment to education and quality of life, the Louisville Zoological Garden officially opened to the public on August 2, 1968.  In the first year of operation, the Zoo was home to just a few different species, hosted approximately 300,000 guests, and operated with an annual budget of less than $300,000.  And in the Zoo’s early years, the cost of admission was 75 cents for adults and 40 cents per child.

Today, the Louisville Zoo connects visitors to more than 1,300 animals, reaches thousands of children each year with formal and informal education programs, and is known as an innovator among its peers in the areas of animal training and cutting edge exhibit design. With the opening of Glacier Run in 2011, Zoo attendance reached an all time high of 867,000 visitors, positioning the Zoo as the largest non-profit attraction in the region for the ninth consecutive year.   Admission costs remain affordable, and the Zoo maintains 37,000 member households which help support a $13 million annual operating budget and help advance the Zoo’s mission to “better the bond between people and our planet”.

Partnership Highlights

Over the last four decades, the James Graham Brown Foundation has supported numerous projects and exhibits that have helped make the Zoo an essential conservation education resource and top spot for family fun.  In addition to the founding support granted in 1962, other exciting successes resulting from our partnership include:

Original “Bear Grotto” (opened in 1972)

The James Graham Brown Foundation made a leadership investment in the first polar bear exhibit at the Zoo—the Bear Grotto.  This popular and expansive exhibit was the long-term home to Irsnak, Skeena and Tahtsa who produced 11 cubs during their long lives at our Zoo. Later, triplets born in the early 1990s helped increase attendance to more than 600,000 guests for the first time in the Zoo’s history.

HerpAquarium (opened 1989).

The HerpAquarium was the first bioclimatic exhibit for reptiles, amphibians, fish, mammals and birds in the US. This was also our Zoo’s first major exhibit for Ectotherms (reptiles, amphibians and fish). Many aspects of design and construction were thoughtfully planned by staff to get the biggest “bang for the buck” for our community. For example, Zoo staff launched a creative “Invasion” themed advertising campaign which helped this new attraction increase by more than 20% the year the exhibit opened.

Islands Exhibit (opened in 1996)

The Foundation made a significant investment in the Islands Exhibit, which was the first multi-species rotational exhibit of its kind in the world.   The unique design of the exhibit is significant because it offers predator and prey animals a variety of enrichment opportunities—including the chance to smell each other—as they rotate through the different exhibit spaces.  This keeps the animals physically active and mentally enriched, which in turn keeps visitors engaged and excited.  Most of the animals in the Islands area are either threatened or endangered, and the Zoo continues to educate visitors about the threats to island habitats worldwide, and to share every day things visitors can do to make a difference for magnificent species such as the iconic orangutan and Sumatran tiger.

Gorilla Forest (opened in 2002)

Gorilla Forest is a four acre, $15 million project that allowed the Louisville Zoo to bring gorillas to Kentucky for the very first time.  The exhibit offers indoor and outdoor areas for gorillas, in addition to spacious behind the scenes “bedrooms” for the gorillas to sleep in or play in when not on exhibit. The James Graham Brown Foundation was instrumental in funding this project, which received 6 awards and honors including the coveted "Best Exhibit" in North America award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The year Gorilla Forest opened, the Zoo reached a record 798,000 visitors. The community continues to take great pride in having gorillas in here in Kentucky.

Glacier Run (Calistoga Splash Park opened in 2007; Alice S. Etscorn Tiger Tundra in 2008; Seal and Sea Lion Habitat in 2010; Bear Habitat and Town of Glacier Run in 2011)

Most recently, the Louisville Zoo launched the largest capital project in its 42 year history: Glacier Run. Glacier Run is a $25 million exhibit modeled after the town of Churchill Canada, where, as the ice melts, polar bears are moving further inland in search of food, and people are learning to live in balance with these top of the food chain predators.  The exhibit design provides nose–to-nose encounters with magnificent animal ambassadors, including polar bear cub Qannik who was orphaned in Alaska and sent to Louisville because of the caliber of the Zoo and this exhibit.

The James Graham Brown Foundation supported Glacier Run with a leadership gift early-on to help conceptualize the project and get it off the ground. In 2009, realizing the value of the new and innovative expansion of the project’s business plan—which grew from one exhibit opening in one year to six exhibits opening in 7 years—the Foundation re-invested in Glacier Run to help bring the project to completion.  This expanded investment also helped leverage further contributions from community leaders, and helped the Zoo successfully reach a 7:1 matching grant from the Kresge Foundation which brought $900,000 from Troy, Michigan to Kentucky.  The James Graham Brown Foundation is thrilled to have supported this institution in becoming one of the premier zoos with one of the best bear exhibits in the world.

Beyond Capital Support

In addition to financial support for capital projects throughout the years, the James Graham Brown Foundation has been able to provide capacity building and leadership support to the Zoo as well. Additional partnership examples include support in the areas of:

• Master planning and business planning processes that have helped the Zoo to run more effectively as a business and non profit.
• Enhancing the Zoo’s profile and credibility with donors in the community and encouraging collaboration with other organizations to maximize its impact on education and quality of life.
• Actualizing the Zoo’s desire to tell a story with all new exhibits by funding focus groups to develop the right exhibit and the right stories for our region. 
• Offering general guidance to help the Zoo maintain its role as an essential conservation education resource and its position as the largest—and one of the most impactful—non profits in our region.
• Helping to expand the Zoo’s reach as a regional attraction and role in growing the Louisville economy, which employs hundreds of people, contributes millions of dollars in tax revenues, and significantly impacts overall spending in the region year after year.  

At the James Graham Brown Foundation, we are proud of what we have been able to achieve together in the spirit of Mr. Brown’s vision and legacy, and we look forward to what the future holds for our Zoo and our community at large.