The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation is the non-profit 501(c)3 charitable arm of the Kentucky Derby Festival.

To further the Festival’s mission, the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation was founded in 1998. The Foundation, a 501(C)3 not-for-profit charity, receives and manages charitable contributions on behalf of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Inc., its supporters and the general public.

The Foundation perpetuates the Festival’s impact on the community by developing projects that highlight the Festival’s influence on the area’s cultural heritage. It works to further the Festival’s educational and charitable mission through exhibitions and performances and producing educational programming on the Festival’s schedule of events, such as a STEM Robotics Competition, JusticeFest and the Derby Festival Royal Court Program.