Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation

What it reported doing in 2024

Historic preservation advocacy: the blue grass trust lends our voice to historic preservation efforts in our central Kentucky communities. Our advocacy work includes: community outreach: through programs, events, and outreach efforts, we strive to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the region's cultural heritage and legacy for future generations, actively advocating for policies, programs, and initiatives that protect and promote historic sites, buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes through means such as highlighting demolition threats and organizing petitions to save endangered buildings. In 2023-2024, we led the community efforts to save 13 national-register-listed buildings from demolition and successfully argued against unfair bond requirements for preservation advocacy at the Kentucky supreme court. Preservation awards: for over 30 years, the preservation awards have highlighted the positive, far-reaching impact that preservation plays in central Kentucky by honoring individuals, projects, and organizations that exemplify the promotion, awareness, or practice of historic preservation within the central Kentucky region. Preserving palmer pharmacy: saved from demolition in 2017, the blue grass trust has led the effort to find a new steward for historic palmer pharmacy, a mid-century gem with an important civil rights story, located in lexington's east end neighborhood. The blue grass trust was able to raise $100,000 to offset the renovation costs and assisted the new steward with preservation consulting. The building reopened as the marksbury family waypoint center of the united way of the bluegrass at historic palmer pharmacy in may 2024.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.1%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 2.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.11; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 21%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings