University profileLexington, KYFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does University of Kentucky Research Foundation get?
University of Kentucky Research Foundation received $263.5 million in federal awards in FY2025, 76th of 998 institutions (top 8%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $263.5 million to University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, KY), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 76th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of University of Kentucky Research Foundation.
| University of South Florida #73 · FL | $269M |
| Florida International University #74 · FL | $265M |
| Arizona State University (Scottsdale) #75 · AZ | $265M |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation #76 · KY | $263M |
| University of Dayton #77 · OH | $262M |
| University of Missouri System (Columbia) #78 · MO | $258M |
| Harvard University (Cambridge) #79 · MA | $254M |
What the money is
That is up 0.5% from FY2024 ($262.2 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 5.2%. The largest share came as grants ($257.3 million, 97.7%). The Department of Health and Human Services was the biggest funder ($165.1 million). Its largest programs were Aging Research ($24.0 million); Military Medical Research and Development ($16.9 million); Biomedical Research and Research Training ($16.0 million). It ranks 76th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, THE (UEI H1HYA8Z1NTM5). Money that reaches it as a subaward through another organization is not included. Separately incorporated foundations, hospitals and laboratories have their own records and are not added in. Grouping rules are explained in the methodology.
Federal awards by year
University of Kentucky Research Foundation: $263M in FY2025, up 5% on FY2019
Federal award obligations by fiscal year and type, FY2018–FY2026, nominal dollars. FY26* is preliminary and still filling in.
- Insurance and other
- Loans (subsidy cost)
- Direct payments
- Grants
- Contracts
View every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Contracts | Grants | Direct payments | Loans | Insurance and other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | $11.0M | $205.6M | $0 | $0 | $1.7M | $218.3M |
| FY2019 | $5.6M | $243.5M | $0 | $0 | $1.4M | $250.5M |
| FY2020 | $5.0M | $259.2M | $0 | $0 | $1.9M | $266.2M |
| FY2021 | $3.0M | $276.2M | $0 | $0 | $2.4M | $281.5M |
| FY2022 | $3.2M | $249.3M | $0 | $0 | $2.4M | $254.9M |
| FY2023 | $3.8M | $237.6M | $0 | $0 | $2.4M | $243.8M |
| FY2024 | $6.5M | $252.4M | $0 | $0 | $3.3M | $262.2M |
| FY2025 | $4.1M | $257.3M | $1.8M | $0 | $320,707 | $263.5M |
| FY2026* | $3.6M | $282.2M | $988,735 | $0 | $1.1M | $287.8M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to University of Kentucky Research Foundation, and the largest federal programs. Programs are federal Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA numbers); contracts have no listing number, so they do not appear there.
Top awarding agencies
| Agency | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | $165.1 million | 62.7% |
| National Science Foundation | $34.1 million | 12.9% |
| Department of Defense | $30.3 million | 11.5% |
| Department of Energy | $17.9 million | 6.8% |
| Department of Agriculture | $6.5 million | 2.5% |
| Department of Education | $2.3 million | 0.9% |
| Small Business Administration | $1.8 million | 0.7% |
| Department of the Interior | $1.8 million | 0.7% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $1.4 million | 0.5% |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $999,979 | 0.4% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aging Research Assistance Listing 93.866 | $24.0 million | 9.1% |
| Military Medical Research and Development Assistance Listing 12.420 | $16.9 million | 6.4% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $16.0 million | 6.1% |
| Cardiovascular Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.837 | $11.9 million | 4.5% |
| Integrative Activities Assistance Listing 47.083 | $9.9 million | 3.8% |
| Computer and Information Science and Engineering Assistance Listing 47.070 | $8.8 million | 3.3% |
| Basic Scientific Research Assistance Listing 12.431 | $8.3 million | 3.2% |
| Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs Assistance Listing 93.279 | $8.2 million | 3.1% |
| Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.855 | $8.0 million | 3.1% |
| Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research Assistance Listing 93.847 | $8.0 million | 3.0% |
Other institutions in Kentucky
- University of Louisville$142M
- University of Kentucky$88M
- University of the Cumberlands$42M
- Eastern Kentucky University$42M
- Western Kentucky University$40M
- Kentucky State University$32M
- Bluegrass Community & Technical College$27M
- Kentucky Community & Tech College System (Louisville)$26M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does University of Kentucky Research Foundation receive?
- $263.5 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does University of Kentucky Research Foundation's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Health and Human Services ($165.1 million, 62.7%). By type, grants were $257.3 million and contracts $4.1 million.
- Did University of Kentucky Research Foundation's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $263.5 million; FY2024: $262.2 million (+0.5%).
Sources and notes
- USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by recipient ID(s) c477975b-68db-c3dc-4a79-b95cb9f6ab3e-C, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.