V.V. Cooke Foundation

OVERVIEW: The V.V. Cooke Foundation supports religion, education, civic, and humanitarian needs in and around Louisville, Kentucky.

IP TAKE: This funder is open to unsolicited requests from nonprofits in the Louisville area, but first-time grantees should keep requests under $10,000. However, it lacks transparency, restricting information about its interests and strategies.

PROFILE: Incorporated in 1947 and granted charitable status in 1950, the V.V. Cooke Foundation is an independent foundation in Louisville, Kentucky. Cooke became the president of V.V. Cooke Chevrolet Company after attending Baylor University and serving in the U.S. Air Force. Grantmaking areas of interest include religion, education, civic and humanitarian needs.

The foundation does not have a website to guide grant seekers. However, this funder often supports nonprofit organizations around its home region in Kentucky. Past grantees include the Family & Children’s Place, Louisville’s leading agency for complex issues of child violence, abuse and neglect, as well as Teach Kentucky, Louisville Free Public Library, and Dare to Care Food Bank.

Foundation grants range between $1,000 and $25,000. Review the funder’s recent tax records to learn more about its local giving. The foundation’s giving is largely focused on the cities of Louisville and Georgetown in Kentucky. Other occasional grant support has gone to groups in Philadelphia, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Richmond, Virginia.

This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from local nonprofits. Send applications to the foundation via mail, including eight copies of the application with a single copy of the applicant’s IRS exemption letter. Submission deadlines are in mid-January, April, July and October.

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