Korum For Kids Foundation

The Korum For Kids Foundation operates as a tightly family-controlled grantmaker shaped by a deeply personal founding story. Jerry and Germaine Korum established the foundation in 1991 after their daughter Sonja's learning disabilities prompted them to mobilize resources — built through the Korum Motors automotive dealership group in Puyallup — on behalf of all children facing challenges. That emotional origin is not incidental; it defines every aspect of how this funder evaluates proposals.

The foundation's guiding motto, "Because, Kids Matter," telegraphs a moral rather than programmatic framework. Successful applicants consistently frame their work in terms of individual children's transformation and direct service delivery rather than systems change or advocacy positioning. Multi-year grantees like Mary Bridge Children's Foundation, Step by Step, and the YMCA of Pierce & Kitsap Counties reflect organizations that have built genuine community relationships with the Korum family over time — and the grant record shows it, with cumulative awards to these organizations reaching $1.2M, $171K, and $295K respectively.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with no published annual deadlines. The entry point is a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) submitted through the foundation's website at korumforkids.org/how-to-apply/. After the LOI, the review cycle runs 60–90 days before a decision or invitation to submit a full proposal. Site visits are not described as a standard step, but relationship-building through community events — the Washington State Fair, Annie Wright Schools programs, Pierce County Prayer Breakfast — is consistent with how the foundation's highest-value multi-year grantees cultivated board familiarity.

Sophia Hall serves as the operational Trustee-Manager and primary contact (sophiahall@korumforkids.org, (253) 355-5882), with Jerry Korum and Sonja Campbell (née Korum) remaining on the board as uncompensated trustees. First-time applicants should address the LOI process directly and save personal outreach for after an initial relationship is established through the formal review cycle.

The geographic restriction to the 253 area code is a hard boundary — organizations based or primarily operating outside Pierce County and adjacent South Puget Sound should not apply unless they can document specific, active local programming. National organizations such as Convoy of Hope that appear in the grant record all had demonstrable local campaigns or disaster relief activity tied to the region.

Korum For Kids' grant distribution spans an unusually wide dollar range: from token contributions of $50 to a 10-year pledge to Mary Bridge Children's Foundation totaling $1,200,000 for a pediatric oncology unit. The database median grant is $5,000 and the average is $17,241, but these figures are anchored by a high volume of community-tier awards in the $5,000–$15,000 band that dominate count while representing a minority of total dollars.

A clearer picture of the foundation's ambition emerges at the portfolio level. Across 169 recorded grants totaling $3,298,572, five grantees account for roughly 62% of cumulative dollars: Mary Bridge Children's Foundation ($1,200,000), Youth Marine Foundation ($500,000), Step by Step ($171,550), Washington State Fair Foundation ($156,659), and WA State Community Connectors ($100,000). All are Washington-based organizations in the foundation's Pierce County core.

Total annual giving has grown substantially: $469,013 in FY2015; $1,053,421 in FY2020; $1,257,719 in FY2023. Grant databases indicate approximately 87 awards in 2025, with top distributions including $415,000 to Mary Bridge, $265,000 to YMCA, $250,000 to Youth Marine Foundation, and $110,000 to Step by Step — placing estimated 2025 totals in the $1.5–2M range. Foundation assets have tracked a parallel trajectory: $7.6M in FY2015, $18.7M in FY2019, $25.1M in FY2023, and an estimated $33M by 2025.

By program area, children's health and hospital services consume the largest share: Mary Bridge alone represents roughly 36% of tracked top-50 cumulative dollars. Youth social services and shelter organizations (Step by Step, St. Francis House, Convoy of Hope, Exodus Housing) account for approximately 22%. Education — private schools, college foundations, learning disability programs — represents about 15%. Food security and community nutrition (Sumner Food Bank, Eatonville Family Agency, Nourish Pierce County), youth sports and recreation (YMCA, Washington Premier FC, Peak 7 Adventures), and mental health (WA State Community Connectors, NAMI Washington, Harmony Hill) each account for 7–10% of historical giving.

Geographically, 156 of 169 recorded grants (92%) went to Washington state organizations. Pierce County — Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Lakewood, Federal Way — is the undisputed epicenter. The seven out-of-state grants all connected to causes of apparent personal significance to the Korum family (addiction treatment, grief support, disaster relief).

Among private foundations with comparable asset sizes, Korum For Kids stands out for its publicly accessible application process and detailed eligibility guidelines — a transparency that peers in this asset tier rarely provide.

The Hagle, Pentecost, and Kornfeld foundations have no public websites or documented application processes in their IRS filings, making Korum For Kids the most accessible grantmaker in this asset-peer group by a wide margin. Lucky Seven Foundation maintains a website but focuses on animal welfare and broad community causes rather than children's services.

Within Washington state, Korum For Kids fills a distinctive niche as the primary family foundation dedicated to children and families in the South Puget Sound. Regional peers operating at larger scale — the Norcliffe Foundation (Seattle, ~$120M assets) and the Russell Family Foundation (Gig Harbor, statewide environmental and community focus) — cover different geographies or program areas. For Pierce County-based nonprofits specifically, Korum For Kids represents one of the most accessible and geographically targeted private foundation funding sources available.

No formal press releases or news articles from 2025–2026 were found in public indexes, consistent with the foundation's characteristically low media profile. Grant database records confirm active and growing grantmaking.

In 2025, the foundation executed an estimated 87 grant awards — its highest confirmed volume. Notable distributions include: $415,000 to Mary Bridge Children's Foundation (continuing a long-term pledge for the pediatric oncology unit and Beads of Courage program), $265,000 to YMCA of Pierce & Kitsap Counties for a new teen center, $250,000 to Youth Marine Foundation (completing the vessel purchase campaign pledge), $110,000 to Step by Step for early childhood center programming, and $100,000 to Children's Museum of Tacoma for a water playscape renovation.

The most significant structural change in recent years is the formalization of Sophia Hall as a $67,000/year compensated Trustee-Manager beginning in FY2023. In all prior years on record (through FY2022), officer compensation was listed as $0 across all trustees. This shift reflects the foundation's growing operational scale — it now distributes more than $1.4M annually compared to $469,000 in FY2015 — and likely means application review has become more consistently managed.

Foundation assets are estimated to have grown from $25.1 million (FY2023 990 filing) to approximately $33 million by 2025, driven by continued Korum family contributions: $3.7M in FY2020, $2.0M in FY2021, $500,000 in FY2022, and $900,000 in FY2023. This active capitalization pattern — rather than a static endowment model — suggests continued asset and grantmaking growth is likely through the near term.

Enter through the LOI portal and nowhere else. The foundation's current process is digital-first via korumforkids.org/how-to-apply/. Sophia Hall is the operational contact (sophiahall@korumforkids.org, (253) 355-5882), but outreach before submitting an LOI is not indicated. The form is the gate.

Confirm the 253 geography before writing a word. Pierce County and adjacent South Puget Sound is the hard boundary. If your programming extends beyond this area, your LOI must document specific, active local delivery. National organizations must lead with the local footprint, not the broader mission, or risk immediate disqualification.

Lead with children's names and stories, not systems. Every high-value long-term grantee in this portfolio does direct service work. The founding family created this foundation because of a specific child — Sonja — who needed help. Grant prose that centers identifiable children, specific diagnoses, and concrete services (therapy sessions delivered, meals served, scholarships awarded) consistently outperforms abstract impact framing. Avoid advocacy, policy, or systemic-change language entirely.

Align with the stated values framework. Foundation guidelines note support for organizations aligned with Christian and conservative values. This does not require applicants to be faith-based, but proposals should use community-centered, family-strengthening, individual-empowerment language. Capacity-building projects, advocacy work, and equity-framework framing are likely to underperform in this context.

Size the ask appropriately. The cap of approximately 10% of total operating revenue means a $300,000-revenue organization should not request more than $25,000–$30,000. Small organizations with appropriately scoped project requests are competitive at the $5,000–$20,000 level. Over-asking signals poor planning and likely triggers cap review.

Invite a pledge structure for capital projects. The foundation's two largest grantees (Mary Bridge, Youth Marine Foundation) both operate on multi-year pledge commitments. Capital campaigns, major equipment purchases, and facility projects should explicitly note willingness to receive a pledged commitment over 2–5 years — this aligns with the foundation's demonstrated preference and may unlock significantly larger awards.

Show who else is at the table. Matching funds and collaborative partnerships are explicitly listed in the funding guidelines as favorable. Name co-funders, government partners, or matching commitments in the LOI to differentiate your application.