Kentucky Foundation for Women

Kentucky Foundation for Women

Founded	1985
Founder	Sallie Bingham
Type	501(c)3 Private, Independent Foundation
Focus	KFW funds two grant programs, Artist Enrichment and Art Meets Activism, awarding $200,000 in grants annually. They also own and operate Hopscotch House, an artist retreat center.
Location	Louisville, Kentucky
Method	Applications for grants in both categories are reviewed by panels of independent grant reviewers. Each grant review panel consists of three reviewers, two from Kentucky and one from out-of-state, who are all highly qualified artists and activists from a range of disciplines.
Key people	Judith Jennings, Ph.D., Executive Director Sherry Hurley, Hopscotch House Program Director Rae Strobel, Grant Program Administrator Sue Massek, Administrative Assistant Katie Anderson, Hopscotch House Property Manager

The Kentucky Foundation for Women^[1] promotes feminist art and social justice by awarding grants to individual artists and organizations, providing time and space for artists and activists at its retreat center, sharing information, and building alliances.

The Kentucky Foundation for Women is a 501(c)3 private, independent foundation that was established in 1985 by author Sallie Bingham^[2] of Louisville, Kentucky. At the time, Ms. Bingham's philanthropic gift of $10 million was the largest endowment to any women's fund in the United States. The mission of the Kentucky Foundation for Women is "to promote positive social change by supporting varied feminist expression in the arts."^[3]

The foundation funds two grant programs annually, they are Artist Enrichment and Arts Meets Activism. Both grant programs are artist-centered, feminist in nature, and demonstrate high artistic quality. Applicants to both programs are expected to be able to express their commitment to feminism and their understanding of the relationship between art and social change.

Grant awards range from $1,000 to $7,500 per project. Social change, as defined by the foundation, includes "eliminating societal barriers to women: neutralizing discrimination against women based on age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical ability, economic condition, and geographic origin; and producing actions, conditions, policies, attitudes, and behaviors that benefit women."^[4]

Between 1985 and 2005 the Kentucky Foundation for Women awarded 1298 grants to individuals and organizations totaling $7,140,831.

Hopscotch House is a program of the Kentucky Foundation for Women; it is first and foremost an artist retreat center for feminist artists. It is also used by a variety of groups and organizations that are working to better the lives of women and girls in Kentucky.

Hopscotch House was purchased by the Kentucky Foundation for Women in 1987 and was first used by a group of women writers known as the Wolf Pen Writer's Colony. In the early 1990s Hopscotch House became available to other women artists and women's groups. Over the years, Hopscotch House has served hundreds of women including artists, activists, feminists, eco-feminists, art critique groups, drumming circles, quilting groups, social justice groups, girls' empowerment groups, arts organizations, and social service organizations.

The property is considered a "classic" Kentucky farmstead and is located 13 miles east of downtown Louisville. The house has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a library of women's literature and reference works, a large living room/dining area, a sun room, and a deck. The large kitchen is fully furnished and well equipped so that residents can prepare their own meals. Separate studio space for artists is available upon request.^[3]