Sustainability Foundation Created by Brown-Forman and Brown Family

LOUISVILLE, KY, July 22, 2013 /3BL Media/ – DendriFund, an environmental sustainability foundation created by Brown-Forman Corporation and the Brown family, the founding family of the beverage alcohol company, today announced its first grant recipients. The four organizations receiving the foundation’s inaugural grants are:

• The Land Institute (Salina, KS) - sustainable agriculture – To support exploratory research into the long-term potential to identify and develop a perennial corn that would be an extraordinary breakthrough environmentally and economically.  www.landinstitute.org
• The Kentucky Resources Council (Frankfort, KY) - fresh water protection – To support the Council’s water-related advocacy work, which takes on varied forms in response to the diverse threats against water supply/quality across the state, most notably Eastern Kentucky communities.  www.kyrc.org
• American Forests (Rocky Mountains) - sustainable forestry – To add another element to a comprehensive program to raise awareness as well as protect and restore forests endangered by the bark beetle. The grant will go toward the planting of new disease-resistant seedlings and protecting adult disease-resistant trees.  www.americanforests.org
• Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (London, KY) - fresh water protection – To aid the Community Science & Public Health Project, aimed at providing water quality testing and monitoring to Eastern Kentucky mining communities impacted by mountaintop removal.  www.kftc.org

"DendriFund is thrilled to support these organizations doing such important work in their specific fields of environmental sustainability,” said Stuart Brown, president, Board of Directors of DendriFund. “Importantly, these partners are very closely aligned with DendriFund's mission and the values shared by Brown-Forman employees and the Brown family." 

DendriFund is a non-profit entity managed by a Board of Directors composed of six Brown family members, four Brown-Forman Corporation employees and one independent director. The foundation’s mission is: to enhance life by advancing environmental sustainability in our communities by leveraging the unique heritage of Brown-Forman and the Brown Family.

The DendriFund charitable foundation was established by Brown-Forman to honor the environmental legacy and industry-leading sustainable business practices of Fetzer Vineyards, sold by Brown-Forman in 2011. Fetzer was recognized consistently as a leader in varietal wine development, sustainable agriculture, and environmental performance.

Grants are made according to DendriFund guidelines and its mission of enhancing life by supporting organizations advancing environmental sustainability. For more information about DundriFund, see www.dendrifund.org.

For more than 140 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Jack Daniel’s & Cola, Canadian Mist, Korbel, Gentleman Jack, el Jimador, Tequila Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord, New Mix, Tuaca, and Woodford Reserve. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by nearly 4,000 employees and sold in approximately 160 countries worldwide.  For more information about the company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com/.