The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KyPolicy) is a left-of-center research and advocacy group that promotes increased government spending on health care and welfare as well as labor-union friendly employment policies. It supports a progressive tax system and greater public investment, and its reports are cited by media outlets sympathetic to these policy aims. ¹

Programs

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy supports increased state spending, progressive tax policies, and welfare expansion through its research and advocacy. It leads and partners with groups such as the Kentucky Food Action Network, the Kentucky Together coalition, and the ThriveKY coalition, pushing for budget changes, higher income supports, and broader social safety net programs. ²

The organization also backs reducing incarceration, often framing the system in terms of racial and economic “inequities.” KyPolicy is a member of the State Priorities Partnership, a network of left-of-center think tanks. The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy is also a member of the pro-organized labor Economic Analysis and Research Network, and is affiliated with the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. ³

Financials

In 2024, the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy reported total revenue of $883,597 and total expenses of $1,074,319, resulting in a net loss of $190,722. The organization held $2,152,876 in total assets and $154,267 in liabilities, leaving net assets of $1,998,609. The overwhelming majority of its revenue, $863,231 or 97.7 percent, came from contributions. Other revenue sources included $4,608 in investment income and $15,758 in miscellaneous income. On the expense side, the center reported $112,024 in executive compensation and $559,914 in other salaries and wages, which together accounted for over 62 percent of total expenditures. ⁴

In 2023, the Just Trust for Education, a left-of-center grantmaking organization established and funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative which has been fiscally managed by the New Venture Fund, reported a $250,000 grant to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy for “project support for criminal justice reform in Kentucky.” ⁵

In 2023, the Economic Policy Institute, a research institution funded and promoted by labor unions, reported a $105,000 grant to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. ⁶

In 2023, VOCAL-NY gave a $25,000 grant to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. ⁷

People

Jason Bailey is the founder and as of 2025 was the executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. He has served on state advisory panels including the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System Funding Work Group. Bailey holds a master’s degree in public administration from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Carson-Newman College. ^{8  1}

1. Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. “About.” Accessed July 3, 2025. https://kypolicy.org/about/.
2. Kentucky Health News. “Coalition: ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Result in Deep Safety-Net Cuts; Says Proposed Cuts to Provider Taxes Are Harmful.” Published June 20, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://kyhealthnews.net/2025/06/20/coalition-big-beautiful-bill-will-result-in-deep-safety-net-cuts-says-proposed-cuts-to-provider-taxes-are-harmful/.
3. Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. “About.” Accessed July 7, 2025. https://kypolicy.org/about/.
4. ProPublica. “Kentucky Center For Economic Policy Inc.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/844979582.
5. Just Trust for Education. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Schedule 1, part 2, line 67.
6. Economic Policy Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Schedule 1, part 2, line 19.
7. Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders Vocal Ny Inc. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Schedule 1, part 2, line 4.
8. LinkedIn. “Jason Bailey.” Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bailey-01393491/.