Blue Grass Community Foundation
Legal name: Blue Grass Community Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 616053466
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
- Location
- Lexington, KY, US
- Phone
- 859.225.3343
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $64,287,841
- Expenses
- $34,010,126
- Assets
- $296,229,100
- Liabilities
- $30,713,398
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LISA ADKINS (PRESIDENT/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LISA ADKINS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $295,972 total reported compensation
- BRIAN DINEEN (VP OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRA): $190,189 total reported compensation
- SCOTT FITZPATRICK (EMPLOYEE): $151,207 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To inspire philanthropy and strengthen communities in Central and Appalachia Kentucky.
What it reported doing in 2024
Community engagement the community foundation leads and convenes on key community issues and projects. We partner with national funders, state and city government and local residents to make our region the most generous, vibrant and engaged place it can be. Examples of our community engagement efforts include "lexington black prosperity initiative", "goodgiving challenge and "bgcf 365". To learn more about these programs and other leadership and engagement efforts please visit www.bgcf.org/engage.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 88
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
- Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $211.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 89.7%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 47.1%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.71; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 11 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $31M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $296K · 24 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 517 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 462 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.