Key Takeaways
- Bill Gatton Foundation $30 million gift: accepted Oct. 23, 2026, by the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees for The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky.
- Gift compared with charitable disbursements: the $30 million is 1.06 times the $28,293,907 in charitable disbursements the foundation reported for all of 2024.
- Foundation total assets: the gift equals 3.2% of the $930,727,219 in total assets the foundation reported at the end of 2024.
- Arboretum improvement details: UKNow reports that planned improvements and renovations will be announced at a 10 a.m. celebration on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.
The Bill Gatton Foundation's $30 million gift to The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, was accepted Oct. 23, 2026, by the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. UKNow reports that details of the planned improvements and renovations will be announced Oct. 29.
Bill Gatton Foundation 2024 Charitable Disbursements Against the Gift
The Bill Gatton Foundation is a private foundation, and its most recent return in ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer covers the year ending Dec. 2024. ProPublica lists that return as a Form 990-PF filed Nov. 15, 2025. Form 990-PF is the annual tax return a private foundation files. ProPublica describes it as "Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance."
That return reports $28,293,907 in charitable disbursements for 2024. The $30 million gift is 1.06 times the foundation's disbursements for all of 2024, so the gift is larger than one full year of those disbursements. Neither UKNow nor WKYT compares the gift with the foundation's own filings.
Charitable disbursements were $9,591,953 in 2023 on the foundation's return for that year, so the 2024 figure was 2.95 times the 2023 figure. Charitable disbursements are the amounts a foundation pays out for charitable purposes in a year.
Arboretum Improvement Details Come at the Oct. 29 Celebration
The Arboretum is a 100-acre public garden on the University of Kentucky campus, according to WKYT. UKNow describes The Arboretum as a partnership between the University of Kentucky and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. WKYT says it began in 1991 as a joint effort between the university and that government. UKNow says the garden is managed through the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and that it connects university teaching and research with opportunities for people of all ages to explore Kentucky's natural world.
UKNow reports that a celebration of the gift is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at The Arboretum. UKNow says the event will include university and city leaders, donors, volunteers and community members, and that the planned improvements and renovations will be announced there.
Neither UKNow nor WKYT describes those improvements or renovations.
Bill Gatton Foundation Total Assets and the $30 Million Gift
Total assets are the value of everything an organization holds at year end, as its return reports them. The foundation reported $930,727,219 in total assets at the end of 2024, up from $876,404,389 at the end of 2023. That is an increase of $54.3 million, or 6.2%.
The $30 million gift equals 3.2% of the foundation's total assets at the end of 2024. ProPublica's database lists 2024 as the latest fiscal year, so these ratios use that return. The gift was accepted Oct. 23, 2026, after that year ended, and neither UKNow nor WKYT says when the $30 million will be paid.
In a LEX18 report of Dec. 2, 2025 on the foundation's $150 million arts district gift to UK, UK President Eli Capilouto said, "This gift will realize a vision to create an arts district on the western edge of our campus." The Arboretum gift equals 20% of that amount.
Related WYDE record: largest gifts to US colleges and universities.
People Also Ask
How much did the Bill Gatton Foundation give The Arboretum?
The Bill Gatton Foundation gave a $30 million gift to The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees accepted the $30 million gift on Oct. 23, 2026. UKNow and WKYT both report the amount.
When will the Arboretum improvement details be announced?
The details of the planned improvements and renovations at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, will be announced at a celebration at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. UKNow reports that date. Neither article describes the planned work.
How large is the Bill Gatton Foundation?
The Bill Gatton Foundation reported $930,727,219 in total assets at the end of 2024, according to its Form 990-PF. Its charitable disbursements for 2024 were $28,293,907, so the $30 million gift is larger than one full year of those payouts.
What is The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky?
The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, is a 100-acre public garden on the University of Kentucky campus. The Bill Gatton Foundation's $30 million gift to the garden was accepted by the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees on Oct. 23, 2026.
Sources: UKNow, WKYT, LEX18, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.