Nine Six Foundation

Nine Six Foundation is a young, all-family private foundation — its IRS determination letter is dated June 2022, and it was seeded with a single $3,700,000 contribution in its first fiscal year (FY2021), during which it made no grants at all. Governance is entirely in-house: Sean Stumler (Chairman), Jennifer Stumler (Treasurer/Secretary), Alli D. Stumler (Director), and Christian M. Roberts (Director) run the foundation with zero officer compensation across every filing year, confirming a no-staff, volunteer-board operation. The giving philosophy is explicitly scriptural — the foundation's name and public identity come from 2 Corinthians 9:6, with a stated goal to 'sow seeds of hope, kindness, and opportunity' under the values 'Love God, Love People, Impact Community.'

Across its first ten recorded grants (FY2022-2023, totaling $336,200), the pattern is unmistakably relationship- and faith-driven: Hillcity Church alone received $200,000 across two grants (59% of all matched giving) for direct 'church operations' funding, and 812 Mx Ministry received $40,000 for the same purpose. Missions and welfare organizations round out the list — What Matters Ministries and Missions ($15,000, Guatemala orphan/widow programs), God's Pantry ($10,000, hunger relief), George Jr Republic ($10,000, a Pennsylvania youth shelter), and Christian Student Fellowship ($1,200). The one clear outlier is Sagamore Institute, an Indianapolis research and public-policy nonprofit that received $60,000 across two grants for 'research and skills building programs' — a relationship that stands apart from the ministry-heavy portfolio and likely reflects a personal board connection rather than an open-call fit.

First-time applicants should treat this as a relationship-first funder, not a competitive RFP process. There are no published funding priorities, no stated grant range, and no formal guidelines document — the website's 'Grant Application' page is a bare inquiry form ('fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly'), not a structured portal. Combined with a tight, repeat-heavy grantee list, this points to a foundation that primarily funds within a known network centered on the Louisville/New Albany, Indiana corridor. Expect a personal reply and a conversational cultivation process — inquiry, direct conversation with a board member, decision — rather than a multi-stage LOI-to-site-visit pipeline typical of larger institutional funders.

Nine Six Foundation's asset base has moved from $3,699,990 (FY2021, its founding year, funded entirely by one $3,700,000 contribution) to $3,515,868 (FY2022) to $3,493,326 (FY2023), as the foundation shifted from banking its seed gift to active distribution. Grants paid climbed from $0 in FY2021 to $186,200 in FY2022, then eased to $150,000 in FY2023 — a roughly 19% pullback worth watching in future filings. 'Total giving' (grants plus other charitable distributions) ran somewhat higher in both active years: $210,755 (FY2022) and $180,401 (FY2023). Net investment income has been modest relative to the asset base — $23,468 in FY2022 and $83,906 in FY2023, roughly a 2.4% yield on ~$3.5M — meaning current-year payouts are being funded partly by drawing down the original corpus rather than purely by investment returns, typical of a young, still-stabilizing family foundation.

At the grantee level, the ten grants captured across FY2022-2023 (totaling $336,200) average $33,620 each, with a median around $20,000 and a range from $1,200 (Christian Student Fellowship) up to individual awards near $100,000 within the $200,000 Hillcity Church relationship. By purpose, church operations and direct ministry support dominate: Hillcity Church ($200,000, 59.5% of all matched dollars) and 812 Mx Ministry ($40,000) together account for 71% of total giving, both explicitly labeled 'church operations.' Missions and humanitarian causes add What Matters Ministries and Missions ($15,000, Guatemala orphan/widow care) and God's Pantry ($10,000, hunger relief), while George Jr Republic ($10,000) supports disadvantaged-youth shelter services. The sole non-faith-labeled relationship, Sagamore Institute, received $60,000 (17.8% of total) for 'research and skills building programs' — the second-largest dollar relationship in the portfolio.

Geographically, six of ten grants — and the largest dollar totals — went to Indiana organizations, with Kentucky taking two grants (New Albany sits directly across the Ohio River from Louisville), and single grants reaching Pennsylvania and Colorado. There is no evidence of a formal program-area budget split; allocation appears driven by board relationships and regional presence rather than a published portfolio strategy or percentage targets by cause area.

All five peers sit within $3,275,260-$3,278,564 in total assets — essentially identical to Nine Six Foundation's $3,276,773 — and share the same broad 'Philanthropy & Grantmaking' NTEE classification, indicating this comparison set was built on asset size rather than program overlap. None have public websites in this dataset, so their giving levels, focus areas, and application processes cannot be independently verified the way Nine Six Foundation's can. What is known is structural: family-named foundations at this $3.2-3.3M asset tier typically run with no paid staff and a small family board making relationship-based decisions rather than issuing open RFPs — Nine Six's own board (four members, all uncompensated) fits that pattern exactly. Grant seekers should treat this table as a sizing benchmark, not a strategy guide: Nine Six is unusual among its tier in that it maintains a public website and an (even if bare-bones) online application form, making it comparatively more accessible than most similarly-sized, closed-network family foundations.

Web searches for 'Nine Six Foundation' news and grant announcements covering 2025-2026 turned up no dedicated press coverage, press releases, or third-party reporting — consistent with a foundation this small and this new (IRS determination letter dated June 2022). The clearest public record is the foundation's own IRS Form 990-PF filings and its Squarespace website (ninesixfoundation.com), which is itself sparse: a mission page built around 2 Corinthians 9:6 and the tagline 'Love God, Love People, Impact Community,' a page describing Time/Talent/Treasure ways to give, and a one-field 'Grant Application' contact form. No staff bios, published grantee list, annual report, or active social media presence were found during this research.

The foundation's filing history is its clearest activity trail. It was seeded with a single $3,700,000 contribution in its first fiscal year (FY2021), made no grants that year, then began active grantmaking in FY2022 ($186,200 paid) and continued into FY2023 ($150,000 paid) — a modest step-down that may reflect either a deliberate payout calibration or simply fewer qualifying relationships cycling through that year. Leadership has been stable across all three filing years on record: Sean Stumler (Chairman), Jennifer Stumler (Treasurer/Secretary), Alli D. Stumler (Director), and Christian M. Roberts (Director), with no compensation changes or board turnover recorded. Grant seekers should not expect a visible news cycle around this funder — cultivation and outreach will have to run through direct contact (email or phone) rather than monitoring press releases or RFP announcements.

Because Nine Six Foundation publishes no funding priorities, deadlines, or grant-range guidance, applicants need to read its actual behavior rather than its website copy. Several patterns stand out:

1. This is a relationship-first, not portal-first, funder. The 'Grant Application' page is a short inquiry form ('fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly') — there is no LOI template, budget worksheet, or guidelines PDF. Treat the form as a first-contact email: state who you are, what you do, and why you fit a foundation whose entire public identity centers on 2 Corinthians 9:6 and 'sowing seeds of hope, kindness, and opportunity' — echo that framing only where it is an honest fit for your mission.

2. Faith alignment is the strongest predictor of funding. 71% of matched giving ($240,000 of $336,200) went to two churches for direct 'church operations' funding, and every grant besides Sagamore Institute carries explicit faith or ministry framing (missions, orphan care, campus fellowship). Secular nonprofits without some values overlap should expect a harder path in.

3. Geography matters. Eight of ten recorded grants went to Indiana or Kentucky organizations — the Louisville/New Albany/Southern Indiana corridor where the Stumler family's businesses are based. The Pennsylvania and Colorado grants appear to be cause-driven exceptions (a youth shelter, an international missions organization) rather than regional-presence exceptions, so a compelling program can still succeed outside the core region, but it competes against strong local favoritism.

4. A warm introduction beats a cold form. With a four-person, all-family board and zero officer compensation, this foundation runs on personal trust rather than a program-officer review process. Any connection to Sean Stumler, Jennifer Stumler, Alli D. Stumler, Christian M. Roberts, or to current grantees like Hillcity Church, Sagamore Institute, or 812 Mx Ministry is worth using.

5. Right-size the ask. Grants have ranged from $1,200 to roughly $100,000 per award, with a median near $20,000. First-time, unsolicited applicants should anchor expectations toward the lower-to-middle of that range rather than the $100,000+ tier reserved for the foundation's closest relationship (Hillcity Church).

Avoid treating this like a large institutional funder with published review cycles — there is no evidence of stated deadlines or multiple formal cycles per year; expect an ad hoc timeline driven by board availability rather than a calendar.