Seek Ye First Foundation

Seek Ye First Foundation is a small, closely held Delaware private foundation administered through Foundation Source, a third-party platform used almost exclusively by single-family foundations that outsource compliance rather than employ grants staff. It is run entirely by one person, Brad Halbach, who holds all three governance roles — President, Director, and Secretary — and draws zero compensation, a strong signal of a personal, family-directed giving vehicle rather than an institutional grantmaker with program officers or an open RFP process.

Multiple independent sources (GrantExec, Instrumentl) confirm the foundation 'does not accept unsolicited applications' and operates invite-only; our database's own preselected_only flag agrees. The foundation's website (seekyefirstfoundation.org) is an unclaimed DreamHost placeholder page with no mission statement, programs page, or contact form — there is no public front door to apply through.

The foundation's name is drawn from Matthew 6:33 ('Seek ye first the kingdom of God'), and its grantee history confirms a faith-driven, personal-relationship giving pattern: Youth With A Mission San Diego-Baja ($5,000 for its 'Homes of Hope' program), Timberlake Christian Fellowship ($3,000, explicitly 'to purchase two Basketball Hoops'), Recovery Beyond ($7,000 across 2 grants for a charitable event and software implementation), Youth Dynamics ($8,000 across 2 grants), and Acres of Diamonds ($20,000, general/unrestricted). These are small, often single-purpose gifts rather than competitively evaluated proposals — several fund one named activity rather than a general operating request weighed against dozens of applicants.

For grant seekers, there is effectively no competitive process to enter. The realistic path is a warm, personal introduction to Brad Halbach or to an existing grantee, most plausibly through Christian ministry, youth-development, or addiction-recovery networks in Washington State (the foundation's stated geographic focus, with one exception reaching California). Cold LOIs or portal submissions are unlikely to be read: there is no application_form_url, opportunities_url, or stated deadline anywhere in our data or in any third-party foundation profile. Organizations should treat Seek Ye First less as a grants program to apply to and more as a relationship to cultivate — get introduced through a shared board member, church, or missions network, keep the ask small and specific (median gift $5,000), and be prepared to receive funding for a discrete need rather than multi-year general operating support.

Median grant size in our matched grantee sample is $5,000, average $6,143, ranging $3,000-$20,000 across 7 tracked grants. The foundation's own typical_grant_size field, drawn from its most recent Form 990-PF, reports median $5,000, average $9,333, min $3,000, max $20,000 across 3 grants — consistent with the broader sample.

Giving has contracted sharply over the past decade. Total giving peaked at $581,619 in FY2012 and $327,747 in FY2013 (with grants paid of $558,000 and $306,000 respectively), then fell to a trickle: $73,005 (FY2019), $51,367 (FY2020), $70,619 (FY2021), $21,040 (FY2022), and $26,634 (FY2023) in total giving; actual grants paid in the same years were $50,000, $28,000, $51,660, $4,000, and $7,000. FY2024 total giving is not yet broken out, though total revenue was $99,343 against $1,082,057 in assets.

On roughly $1.19M in reported assets (consistent since 2013, ranging $1.04M-$1.22M), the standard ~5% private-foundation minimum distribution requirement implies close to $55,000-$60,000/year should flow out — well above the $4,000-$26,000 actually granted in 2022 and 2023. That gap suggests either set-asides/administrative allocations counting toward payout, or simply light current-year grantmaking with reserves building; the low recent totals should not be read as the foundation being out of money.

Geographically, 6 of the 7 tracked grants went to Washington State recipients and 1 to California, matching the foundation's stated WA geographic focus. By program area, funding mixes general operating/unrestricted support (Acres of Diamonds $20,000; Youth Dynamics $8,000 across 2 grants) with narrowly restricted, project-specific gifts (Recovery Beyond's $7,000 for a charitable event and software implementation; Youth With A Mission's $5,000 for 'Homes of Hope'; Timberlake Christian Fellowship's $3,000 for two basketball hoops).

The foundation shows no contributions_received in any recent filing year (2019-2023), meaning it is not actively fundraising — its giving capacity is funded solely by net investment income ($22,671 in FY2023, $14,770 in FY2022), reinforcing that this is a passive, endowment-style family vehicle rather than a growing philanthropy.

All five peers are asset-matched to within a few hundred dollars ($1,188,594-$1,189,005), indicating they belong to the same national cohort of small, single-family foundations under $1.2M rather than direct cause-area competitors — none publish grantee lists, mission statements, or working websites in available data, which is the norm at this size tier. Seek Ye First stands out only in having a verifiable public grant history at all, likely because its Foundation Source administration produces more complete 990-PF grant schedules that flow into aggregator databases like GrantExec and Instrumentl. For a grant seeker, this entire peer tier behaves identically: no open competitions, no program staff, and funding decisions driven entirely by the founding individual's or family's personal networks and causes.

No dated press releases, leadership changes, or program announcements were found for Seek Ye First Foundation in 2025-2026 across web search, Cause IQ, GrantExec, Instrumentl, or ProPublica — consistent with a foundation that has no communications function and an unbuilt website. The clearest recent-activity signal is financial: aggregator sites report 2025 giving of $20,000 across 2 grants (median $10,000), in line with the foundation's multi-year pattern of modest, low-volume giving following its 2012-2013 peak of over $300,000-$580,000 in annual giving.

No new officers or governance changes appear in available records; Brad Halbach has held President/Director/Secretary continuously across all filings in our data, with zero reported compensation each year — a structure unchanged for over a decade. The foundation's Form 990-PF filings extend through FY2024 in available data (total revenue $99,343, assets $1,082,057), though FY2024 total giving is not yet broken out separately.

Given the absence of any public grants program, new RFP, stated deadline, or working contact channel, the most useful takeaway for grant seekers is a negative one: there is nothing to react to or time an application around. This reads as a dormant-appearing but still-active small family foundation whose 2025 activity ($20,000 across 2 grants) shows it continues to give at token levels relative to its 2012-2013 peak, not that it has shut down, relaunched, or changed direction.

Because Seek Ye First Foundation is explicitly invite-only and does not accept unsolicited applications — with no application_form_url, opportunities_url, deadline, or published grants contact in our data or on any third-party foundation profile — standard cold-outreach tactics are very unlikely to work here.

• Lead with relationship, not a formal LOI. With sole officer Brad Halbach making all decisions, the highest-value action is a warm introduction via a shared board member, church leadership, or missions/recovery-network contact, since existing grantees (Timberlake Christian Fellowship, Youth With A Mission, Recovery Beyond, Youth Dynamics) cluster tightly in Christian ministry and youth/recovery services.
• Emphasize Washington State presence or impact. Six of the seven tracked grants went to WA-based organizations; the one California grant (Youth With A Mission San Diego-Baja) shows some flexibility for missions work outside WA, but WA-based programming remains the safer fit.
• Keep the ask specific and modest. Typical gifts run $3,000-$20,000 with a median of $5,000, funding a defined need — equipment, a named program, or a discrete project like 'software implementation' — rather than a large multi-year operating grant. Frame the request around one concrete dollar figure, not a broad annual campaign.
• Use language consistent with the foundation's namesake. Matthew 6:33 ('Seek ye first the kingdom of God') suggests explicitly faith-motivated organizations and language resonate more than secular framing; the known grantee list skews entirely toward Christian ministry, missions, and faith-informed recovery/youth work.
• Do not expect a grants manager or review committee. As a Foundation Source-administered foundation with a single uncompensated officer, there is no program staff to engage in dialogue — decisions rest with Halbach personally.
• Treat the listed phone number, (800) 839-1754, as a Foundation Source administrative/compliance line, not a grant-inquiry line; a cold call there is unlikely to reach Halbach directly.
• Common mistake to avoid: assuming our database's 'accepting_applications: true' flag means an open door. Every independent third-party source (GrantExec, Instrumentl) explicitly labels this foundation invite-only / non-accepting of unsolicited proposals — budget zero staff time on a cold submission here unless a personal connection already exists, and prioritize other Washington-based Christian or youth-focused funders instead.