United Vision Foundation

United Vision Foundation is a Seattle-based private foundation operating at the intersection of interfaith peacebuilding, international youth service, and character-based development. Founded in 1999 and holding approximately $14.2 million in net assets (FY2025), the foundation gives primarily to a tightly held cluster of organizations aligned with a values-based, One Family Under God philosophy — most prominently Global Peace Foundation, Family Peace Association, and Service For Peace. These three recipients have absorbed approximately 97 cents of every tracked grant dollar.

This giving pattern reveals the foundation's operating logic: it functions less as an open grantmaker and more as a directed funding vehicle for a specific organizational ecosystem. The IRS classifies it as NTEE X11 — Single Organization Support in the Religion category — which formally acknowledges this approach. The foundation's website is password-protected, no public application guidelines have been published, and ProPublica's most recent filing confirms no unsolicited proposals are invited. Grant databases classify it as preselected_only.

First-time applicants face a significant credentialing challenge. The realistic path to a grant is not through a portal but through relationship-building within the networks the foundation already trusts. Organizations doing hands-on service in the Dominican Republic, Sub-Saharan Africa, or South or East Asia — particularly on youth leadership, interfaith dialogue, or community peacebuilding — are the most plausible new entrants. Small grants of $2,000–$30,000 have been made to organizations such as The Cookstove Project and North Adventure Outdoor Education, suggesting the foundation will occasionally make introductory or exploratory gifts outside its three core partners.

Leadership stability reinforces this relationship-driven model. Michael Sommer has served as President and Director continuously since at least 2010, maintaining consistent giving priorities for 15-plus years. The FY2025 arrival of Kenneth Bates as an additional director may signal a network expansion or succession planning. Mark Sano serves as uncompensated Secretary/Treasurer. For organizations already embedded in peacebuilding or service networks that intersect with Global Peace Foundation, UPF International, or Service For Peace, a warm introduction to Sommer or Bates is the most productive first step. The foundation's listed contact number (201-750-5560) carries a New Jersey area code despite the Seattle address, suggesting a personal or legacy contact line — direct written correspondence to 506 2nd Ave Suite 1400, Seattle WA 98104 may be more reliable.

United Vision Foundation's financial profile is defined by a long-term asset drawdown. From a peak of $20.5 million in FY2020, net assets have declined to $14.2 million in FY2025 — a 31% reduction in five years — as annual giving and operating expenses consistently exceed investment income. In FY2025, revenue reached $1.23 million (83% from asset sales, 7% from dividends) while expenses reached $1.43 million, requiring an approximately $200,000 draw on principal.

Annual giving has ranged widely across documented years: $287,000 in FY2012, $215,000 in FY2013, $174,700 in FY2014, $121,000 in FY2018, $165,296 in FY2019, $1.03 million in FY2020, $823,000 in FY2021, and a dramatic $3.92 million in FY2022. The FY2022 spike appears to reflect a major capital commitment to Global Peace Foundation, which received $3.83 million across three grants in the tracked data — roughly 26% of the foundation's total assets at the time.

Across 13 documented grants totaling $5.94 million, the average grant is $456,806. This figure is heavily skewed by the three largest commitments. The distribution breaks into three clear tiers:

• Major commitments ($1M+): Global Peace Foundation ($3.83M across 3 grants; individual grants averaging $1.28M) and Family Peace Association ($1.65M across 2 grants, including a land donation of the Boulder River valued at approximately $1.5M)
• Mid-tier grants ($100K–$500K): Service For Peace ($434,296 across 4 grants, averaging $108,574 each)
• Small exploratory grants ($2K–$30K): Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund ($30,000), The Cookstove Project ($2,000), North Adventure Outdoor Education ($2,000)

The typical_grant_size database field (median $30,000, average $55,099) reflects only the smaller-grant tier and significantly understates the foundation's true capacity for anchor grantees.

Program expenditures in the most recent detailed 990 break down as $1,047,531 for domestic and international youth and service programs (95.5% of program spend) and $49,594 for peacebuilding and interfaith understanding initiatives (4.5%). Geographically, tracked grants reached California (4 grants), Maryland (3), Montana (2), Washington (2), New Jersey (1), and Ohio (1) — reflecting the multi-state footprint of primary grantees rather than a purely local strategy.

United Vision Foundation sits in a cohort of religion-category private foundations with assets in the $14–15 million range. All five peer foundations identified by asset proximity are classified under the Religion NTEE category, consistent with UVF's NTEE X11 (Single Organization Support) designation.

Of the five comparable foundations, United Vision Foundation is the only one with a current, indexed ProPublica profile disclosing detailed grantee data. The peers lack public websites or grant portals — a pattern typical of religion-category private foundations that give through directed, relationship-based channels rather than open grant cycles.

UVF's asset base is meaningfully below its own 2019 peak of $20.4M, distinguishing it from peers that may hold assets more conservatively. Its willingness to give at 2–4 times annual investment income (particularly in FY2022) is unusual in this peer cohort and reflects exceptional commitment to anchor grantees rather than asset preservation. Holy Spirit Radio Foundation is the only peer with a functioning public web presence.

The most current data available comes from United Vision Foundation's FY2025 IRS filing (accessed via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer). Net assets stood at $14.246 million at fiscal year end, with $1.226 million in total revenue and $1.425 million in total expenses. Revenue breakdown: 83.1% from asset sales, 7.4% from dividends, 9.5% other income. Charitable disbursements represented 91.5% of expenses — a high mission-alignment ratio.

A notable FY2025 development is the appearance of Kenneth Bates in a President/Director capacity alongside Michael Sommer. Sommer, who has led the foundation since at least FY2010, saw his compensation increase to $112,845 — up from $99,304 in the last year with detailed compensation records. Mark Sano continues as uncompensated Secretary/Treasurer.

No press releases, news articles, or public announcements specific to this foundation (EIN 91-1924248, Seattle WA) were found in web research. The foundation's official website requires authentication and is not publicly accessible. Note: web searches for 'United Vision Foundation' return results predominantly about a separate Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) also named United Vision Foundation (EIN 26-2937067) that focuses on LA community services — this is an entirely different organization.

The last confirmed high-activity giving period was FY2022, when the foundation disbursed $3.92 million in grants — the largest single-year giving on record for tracked years. Since then, no publicly available 990 data confirms FY2023 or FY2024 giving levels, though the declining asset trajectory suggests continued above-income disbursements.

Given that United Vision Foundation is classified as preselected_only with no documented public application process, traditional grant-seeking strategies do not apply. The following guidance is specific to this foundation's model.

Network Entry (Priority One): The most viable path to a grant is to become known within the international peacebuilding and service ecosystem already funded by UVF. Global Peace Foundation (globalpeace.org), Service For Peace, and Family Peace Association are the gateway organizations. Attending Global Peace Foundation summits or One Korea-related conferences, volunteering with Service For Peace programs, or partnering with Family Peace Association on a joint project builds the relational credibility UVF's leadership looks for before making any grant.

Alignment Language: Introductory letters should echo specific phrases found in UVF's 990 mission documentation: 'international youth and service programs,' 'Dominican Republic, Africa, and Asia,' 'promote peace, understanding, and hope,' 'identity-based conflicts,' and 'interfaith understanding.' Reference work in these specific geographies rather than domestic-only or unrelated global regions.

Direct Outreach Format: Contact should be addressed to Michael Sommer or Kenneth Bates at 506 2nd Ave Suite 1400, Seattle WA 98104. A concise two-page introductory letter — not a full grant proposal — describing your organization's work in UVF's focus regions, with a reference from a GPF or Service For Peace staff member, is more appropriate than any formal submission.

Optimal Entry Point: Three grantees received small grants of $2,000–$30,000 (The Cookstove Project, North Adventure Outdoor Education, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund). Environmental sustainability-linked development projects and outdoor or experiential youth programs operating in rural international settings appear to be the most accessible small-grant category for new organizations.

Timing: No fixed grant deadlines have been identified; the foundation does not publish an annual RFP cycle. Cultivate relationships year-round. Given the highly variable giving history ($121,000 in FY2018 vs. $3.92 million in FY2022), do not budget around a predictable annual award amount.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Do not submit through generic grant databases expecting a response — no portal is monitored. Do not lead with US-only domestic programs. Do not present a purely secular framing; the foundation's entire grantee ecosystem operates within an interfaith, values-grounded context, and proposals that ignore this will not resonate with leadership.